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  • June 19, 2008 |

    Ex-Olswang partner makes return to firm

    Olswang has bolstered its corporate department with the recruitment of Duncan McDonald, who returns to the firm after a stint in-house. McDonald joined Olswang this week as a partner after spending 18 months at Japanese private equity house Nikko Principal Investments. The move brings McDonald back for a second stint at the City firm. He initially joined Olswang as a partner from Pinsent Masons in 2004.

    1 minute read

  • June 11, 2008 |

    The Am Law 100: The giving tree

    Over the last 10 years, dozens of Am Law firms have scrambled to find merger partners. New practice areas, geographic advantages, economies of scale-the rationales for these couplings are endless. But does all the happy talk really translate into bigger clients, busier associates and fatter pay packets? To find out, we assessed the fortunes of eight firms from this year's Am Law 100 that engaged in name-changing mergers with similarly sized partners in the past decade. We scrutinised their performances based on post-merger growth in revenue per lawyer (RPL), profits per partner and average compensation for all partners. Combinations with non-US firms were not included, nor were mergers with fewer than three years of post-merger results to analyse. As a benchmark, we looked at the average growth of The Am Law 100 by RPL, profits per partner and compensation-all partners. For firms where data was available, we also compared the growth of the merged firms with that of their predecessors.

    1 minute read

  • June 11, 2008 |

    Sex and the Sidley

    After Sue Yoo and Robin Cheatham have graced the pages of The Diary in recent weeks, more noteworthy names from the super-smooth charmers at Sidley Austin, whose City office might be a good place for any aspirant Carrie Bradshaws to start looking to bag a Mr Big of her (or his) own. Among the lawyerly ladykillers at the US firm's City arm are the promisingly named partner trio of Andrew Bliss, John Casanova and Julian Goodman, who have all set hearts a-fluttering in the structured finance practice.

    1 minute read

  • May 12, 2008 |

    Herbies corporate man in Covington City switch

    Covington & Burling has announced the hire of the former head of Herbert Smith's Paris corporate practice, Mike Kingston. Kingston joins Covington's London arm to head up the Washington DC-based firm's European corporate practice.

    1 minute read

  • May 8, 2008 |

    A&O still on top in debt capital markets rankings

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has held onto the top spot in the latest quarterly international debt capital markets rankings, advising deal managers on 130 deals worth $54.6bn (£27.6bn). Thomson Financial's rankings show the firm held onto a 6.5% share of the underwriting market from January to April this year. Linklaters remains in second place having advised on 73 deals worth $49.3bn (£25bn), representing a 5.8% share of the market.

    1 minute read

  • April 24, 2008 | International Edition

    Olswang adds partner to City restructuring team

    Olswang has bolstered its restructuring practice, hiring DLA Piper partner Alicia Videon for its City offering. Videon - who specialises in restructuring, with a particular focus on buying and selling distressed debt - joined Olswang's restructuring and insolvency practice earlier this week as a partner.

    1 minute read

  • April 24, 2008 |

    Olswang adds partner to City restructuring team

    Olswang has bolstered its restructuring practice, hiring DLA Piper partner Alicia Videon for its City offering. Videon - who specialises in restructuring, with a particular focus on buying and selling distressed debt - joined Olswang's restructuring and insolvency practice earlier this week as a partner.

    1 minute read

  • April 23, 2008 |

    Corporate Counsel: Soft landings

    It is Wednesday afternoon and Paul McNulty is searching for his taxi outside Dulles International Airport. The former deputy attorney general and current Baker & McKenzie partner is just back from an overnighter in Houston, where he spoke to a group of 25 general counsel.His topic? How to handle federal investigations, of course. After all, McNulty did write the memo that governs federal prosecutions of corporations. While general counsel might not like the spectre raised by the McNulty Memorandum, if they have to comply, who better to consult than its author?

    1 minute read

  • April 16, 2008 |

    US Focus: Legal aid

    When a London-based partner at a magic circle firm took an American colleague and his wife out to the opera recently, the conversation turned to politics.The English lawyer expressed surprise that the US partner appeared to be so familiar with the political views and activities of his fellow partners. Indeed, the US lawyer observed: "Partners are likely to have lunchtime conversation about politics or pull someone across the room and say 'did you read that article today about that speech by Obama?'"While in the UK there are numerous high-level politicians who initially trained as lawyers, on the other side of the Atlantic practising lawyers tend to be more engaged in politics, at both a local and national level. "In the US a large proportion of prominent lawyers are very politically active," says the US partner. "Many may run for office some day or, even if not, they are very politically connected. A significant reason for why lawyers become lawyers in the US is that they have political ambitions or interests - they would like to have some influence."

    1 minute read

  • April 11, 2008 |

    US Briefing: AmLaw's Dealmakers of the Year

    Not since 2002 has the business environment been so grim. And as hard as it is to close a headline-grabbing deal while the economy is flush, the challenge is even greater in tough times. Rescuing deals in distress takes creative solutions. The American Lawyer's annual Dealmakers of the Year report shines a spotlight on lawyers who played pivotal roles in some of 2007's biggest, most creative and most noteworthy transactions. Read on for more about the deals that put them at the top of the list.

    1 minute read