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  • May 23, 2013 |

    BLP, Olswang and DLA Piper among firms eyeing tie-ups with Singapore outfits

    Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), King & Spalding, Olswang, DLA Piper and K&L Gates are among a group of international law firms eyeing tie-ups with local firms in Singapore after missing out on licences to launch their own local practices earlier this year. The firms have confirmed they would be open to a partnership with a Singaporean outfit, with some looking at a Joint Law Venture (JLV) and others considering a Formal Law Alliance (FLA). All were among 19 unsuccessful applicants for Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licences.

    1 minute read

  • May 22, 2013 |

    Norton Rose, Simmons and Dentons among winners in Shell review

    Shell has concluded a comprehensive review of its global external legal advisers, with a host of UK and US firms winning appointments to advise the world's largest company by revenue...

    1 minute read

  • May 16, 2013 |

    Post-merger Dentons plans first steps into Latin America

    Dentons is planning its first moves into Latin America, with the newly merged firm considering a series of launches in countries including Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. Speaking to Legal Week, global chief executive Elliott Portnoy (pictured) said that the region was of "strategic and economic importance" to Dentons' clients, confirming the firm was actively looking at opportunities there. Following the merger of SNR Denton, Salans and Canadian firm Fraser Milner Casgrain in March, Latin America is the only continent in which Dentons does not have an office or alliance.

    1 minute read

  • May 13, 2013 |

    Singapore's Stamford Law hires Norton Rose funds partner

    Singapore firm Stamford Law has added to its corporate team with the hire of Norton Rose funds partner Daniel Yong. Yong, who will be the first dedicated funds partner for the firm and a director in the corporate department, boosts the number of overall partners at Stamford to 16.

    1 minute read

  • May 9, 2013 |

    Law firms lose lustre as students mull alternative career options

    Decreasing numbers of law students want to work in a law firm when they graduate, according to a major new Legal Week research project, as the difficulty in securing a training contract continues to hit the aspirations of would-be lawyers. Legal Week Intelligence's annual Law Student Report, which this year surveyed more than 3,000 undergraduate and postgraduate law students, found just 60% of undergraduate law students want to pursue a career as a solicitor, with the proportion declining from 80% in 2010.

    1 minute read

  • May 9, 2013 |

    Law Student Report 2013 - the long and dwindling road

    2013 has been another year of change in the law student body. The number of law students wanting to become solicitors has fallen again for the third year in a row. Now just 60% of law students want to pursue a career as a solicitor, compared to 80% in 2010. There has been a fairly steep decrease in just 12 months and a depressing trend over three years, perhaps reflecting the difficulty prospective lawyers are finding in getting a training contract. The number wanting a career outside law altogether has also gone up from 6% three years ago to 16% this year.

    1 minute read

  • May 7, 2013 |

    Sidley Austin bulks up in Singapore with Morgan Lewis & Bockius partner

    Sidley Austin has taken further steps to ramp up its Singapore practice this week with the hire of Morgan Lewis Bockius M&A partner Gregory Salathé. The US firm was one of the four international outfits granted a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licence in the Asian city-state in February this year, allowing it to advise on local law.

    1 minute read

  • April 30, 2013 |

    Stephenson Harwood makes Asia play with Singapore and Beijing moves

    Stephenson Harwood has ramped up its Asia presence with a formal association in Singapore and the launch of an office in Beijing. The agreement with Singapore's Virtus Law, which was signed at the start of April, will cover all Singapore law aspects, with a particular focus on corporate, litigation and asset finance.

    1 minute read

  • April 30, 2013 |

    Transfer Window Asia: recent moves including Hogan Lovells and K&L Gates

    Hong Kong law firm Deacons has added to its corporate team with the hire of private equity partner Robert Woll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (WilmerHale). Woll, who headed the US firm's Beijing office for six years, is a specialist in M&A and private equity transactions, and deals involving venture capital and real estate investment funds.

    1 minute read

  • April 29, 2013 |

    SFO opens criminal probe into mining giant amid Dechert corruption claims

    The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a criminal investigation into mining giant Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), amid reports that its former law firm Dechert uncovered evidence of wrongdoing during an internal probe into corruption allegations at the FTSE 100 company. Dechert, which was removed as lead counsel on the investigation earlier this month, has reportedly sent an eight-page letter to ENRC detailing claims of payments to African presidents, misappropriated cash and document destruction at the mining company, according to a report in The Sunday Times. ENRC denies the allegations.

    1 minute read