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  • July 23, 2010 |

    CC recruits Mayer Brown partner to head up Americas real estate group

    Clifford Chance (CC) has hired a Mayer Brown partner to lead its Americas real estate group, reports The New York Law Journal. Douglas Wisner, who for the last four years has led Mayer Brown's real estate practice group in New York, joins CC's base in the city as a partner. He said that CC's decision could be "characterised as a strategic decision on their part to expand the real estate group."

    1 minute read

  • July 21, 2010 |

    Financial regulation: Hunting the hunter

    The FSA is to be broken up as part of a huge shake-up of regulation by the new Government - despite strong misgivings from City professionals. Alex Aldridge charts the watchdog's rise and fall and looks at the new bodies that will replace it

    1 minute read

  • July 14, 2010 |

    Second acts: Dentons-Sonnenschein tie-up offers a chance for reinvention

    The upcoming union of Denton Wilde Sapte and Sonnenschein offers two firms that have suffered their fair share of setbacks a chance to reinvent themselves for the global legal market. Sofia Lind and Alex Novarese ask if the deal can help the pair to galvanize their businesses

    1 minute read

  • July 7, 2010 |

    What now for Simmons after Mayer Brown fling?

    The breakdown of merger talks between two law firms often proves to be an unsettling moment for both parties. Sometimes it can prove a lot worse than that. When talks between Mayer Brown and Simmons & Simmons foundered last week (29 June), Mayer Brown was keen to get the message across that it, rather than Simmons, had called negotiations to a halt. Partners at Simmons, however, appear relaxed about the affair. "We don't feel like the injured party here," observes one Simmons partner, "but we have no interest in getting into a spin debate in the media." Another partner adds: "Obviously it's not nice to have your firm's name on the front page of every legal newspaper unless it's to do with a new big client win. But internally I don't think people are too upset since the talks were so preliminary and no-one aside from the management had really had a chance to get excited about it."

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2010 |

    Mayer Brown and Simmons call off merger discussions

    Simmons & Simmons and Mayer Brown have called off merger talks, the two firms have confirmed in a joint press statement sent today (29 June).

    1 minute read

  • June 22, 2010 |

    Risky business - A return on Simmons/Mayer Brown won't come easy

    If transatlantic merger bids are the current flavour of the month, in one important sense the talks between Simmons & Simmons and Mayer Brown are a break with recent convention. The birth of Hogan Lovells and SNR Denton and the ongoing talks between SJ Berwin and Proskauer Rose all represent deals that come with minimal risks given their strategic importance. Lack of overlap in practices and clear areas of responsibility mean that putting these businesses together will somewhat limit the always daunting challenges of integration.

    1 minute read

  • June 18, 2010 |

    Simmons confirms Mayer Brown merger talks to partnership

    Simmons & Simmons has informed its partners that it is discussing a merger with Mayer Brown. Senior partner David Dickinson confirmed the talks in an email to the partnership last night (17 June), which stated that the two firms are in "preliminary discussions" about a merger. The note also said that the partners will be informed further about the talks next week. It has been added as a point to the agenda of a scheduled partner meeting due to take place next Friday (25 June), at which other topics will include the voting on this year's new partner promotions.

    1 minute read

  • June 17, 2010 |

    Band of US firms ready for UK tie-up as SJB/Proskauer talks continue

    Reed Smith, K&L Gates and Bryan Cave are among a group of US-based practices that would actively consider a merger with a London firm, according to Legal Week research. The finding is contained in Legal Week's annual international firms in London focus, which includes submissions from most major foreign practices operating in the Square Mile.

    1 minute read

  • June 17, 2010 |

    In depth: International firms in London

    As profits buckle at their City rivals, will international firms in London seize the moment?

    1 minute read

  • June 16, 2010 |

    Ex-Mayer Brown partner settles with SEC one year after Refco conviction

    Former Mayer Brown partner Joseph Collins, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the $2.4bn (£1.6bn) Refco fraud, has settled charges filed against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports The Am Law Daily. Corporate partner Collins was sentenced in January for his role in the fraud that brought down commodities trader Refco - Collins' largest client when measured by billable hours. The final judgment against Collins enjoins him from violating a section of the securities code on the use of manipulative and deceptive practices in the purchase and sale of securities. Collins consented to the judgment without admitting or denying the SEC's charges.

    1 minute read