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  • November 4, 2010 |

    The path less travelled - roundabout routes into City law

    Missing out on a training contract with a leading firm doesn't mean you'll never make it to the top. Alex Aldridge meets four lawyers whose careers have veered away from the conventional path

    1 minute read

  • November 2, 2010 |

    Simmons hires Latham partner to head up Germany real estate

    Simmons & Simmons is bulking up in Frankfurt with the hire of Latham & Watkins partner Martin Meissner to head its German real estate practice. Meissner is set to join the firm in Germany on 1 January 2011 from the Frankfurt real estate group at Latham. He brings with him a team of two associates, Sabine Wieduwilt and Harald Heller, and will be the sole partner in the group.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2010 |

    Carbon scheming - the Government's CRC bombshell

    We should have known better. The very idea that any Government would go to the trouble of constructing a scheme as 'baroque' (per Chris Huhne) as the Carbon Reduction Commission (CRC) to raise billions of pounds only to hand it all back to the poor business taxpayer was always going to be improbable at best. What is most galling though about George Osborne's tax grab - which you can find buried somewhere midway through the Spending Review 2010 - is the fact that our new Chancellor seems utterly indifferent to that quaint old custom that says you need to share decisions to impose massive tax hikes with Parliament.

    1 minute read

  • October 26, 2010 |

    Insurance giant Axa kicks off panel review in effort to drive down costs

    French insurer Axa has kicked off its latest panel review, with the overhaul coming as group general counsel George Stansfield takes up an additional role as head of human resources (HR). The Paris-led tender process, which started earlier this month, is the first comprehensive review of the insurer's legal advisers since May 2009, when Axa named at least 11 firms to its panel, including Clifford Chance (CC) and Norton Rose.

    1 minute read

  • October 25, 2010 |

    CC, SJ Berwin and Mayer Brown win roles on €580m Caterpillar-3i deal

    Clifford Chance (CC), SJ Berwin and Mayer Brown have advised on Caterpillar's €580m (£517m) acquisition of a German engine manufacturing company from 3i Group, reports the Am Law Daily. Caterpillar, the world's largest construction company, has agreed to acquire MWM Holding from UK private equity firm 3i after being outbid for the company three years ago when 3i paid £360m for MWM. CC advised 3i on the deal, while SJ Berwin provided tax counsel to the private equity firm, with German private equity and M&A partner Gerald Thomas leading the firm's team.

    1 minute read

  • October 20, 2010 |

    Simmons keeps US tie-up on the table as part of growth strategy

    Simmons & Simmons has told its partners that a transatlantic tie-up remains an option for the firm, despite the breakdown of merger discussions with Mayer Brown earlier this year. The UK top 15 law firm's management used its annual partner weekend earlier this month (9-10 October) to stress that while a US merger is not a key strategic target, management at the firm still considers it a possibility.

    1 minute read

  • October 20, 2010 |

    New ideas in law: The geek shall inherit...

    Having reached the profession late, law blogging has emerged in recent years to secure real influence. Alex Aldridge assesses how the format has introduced a new range of voices to the legal community

    1 minute read

  • October 20, 2010 |

    Raft of UK firms win spots on first post-merger Lloyds panel

    Lloyds Banking Group has finalised its new-look legal panel, with a raft of City names winning spots on the first combined legal adviser roster since Lloyds TSB sealed its takeover of HBOS in January 2009. Firms understood to have been appointed include regular HBOS adviser Allen & Overy (A&O) and longstanding Lloyds counsel Linklaters, with Clifford Chance (CC), Hogan Lovells, SNR Denton, Norton Rose, Herbert Smith, Ashurst, Mayer Brown, Eversheds and CMS Cameron McKenna among the other firms appointed to the roster.

    1 minute read

  • October 18, 2010 |

    Jones Day Madrid chief relocates to Sao Paulo to launch new Brazil base

    Jones Day's Madrid head Luis Riesgo is relocating to Sao Paulo to launch a Brazil office for the US firm, reports The Am Law Daily. Riesgo, the chair of the firm's Latin American practice, will be followed by partners Sanjiv Kapur and Wade Angus, who have begun the process of becoming licensed as consultants in foreign law in Brazil. The partner trio will be joined two associates who are qualified to practise in New York and Madrid.

    1 minute read

  • October 18, 2010 |

    Speechly Bircham recruits former Mayer Brown partner for City base

    Speechly Bircham has bolstered its City corporate practice with the hire of a former Mayer Brown partner. Jonathan Crawford joins the firm's London office as a partner in the financial services team and will focus on large, cross-border transactional work, working closely with financial services sector group head Nick Janmohamed. At Mayer Brown his practice focused on M&A, restructurings and joint venture transactions. He left at the end of last year after 11 years at the firm, prior to which he was a lawyer at DLA Piper - joining legacy firm Alsop Wilkinson in Liverpool in 1995.

    1 minute read