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  • October 23, 2009 |

    Law Firm of the Year – why they made the shortlist

    As previously mentioned, this year Legal Week's editorial team has taken a more hands-on role in helping to draw up the shortlists for the 2009 British Legal Awards. The clearest example of that is for arguably the biggest award of the night, Law Firm of the Year, for which there are no submissions. Instead, the editorial team have drawn up the shortlist for our judging panel of senior clients and industry veterans.

    1 minute read

  • October 23, 2009 |

    Shearman set to boost Italy presence with Milan office launch

    Shearman & Sterling is set to open its second office in Italy with the addition of a presence in Milan to its existing Rome base. Shearman is setting up the new office, due to open in January 2010, with the relocation of two Rome-based partners - corporate partners Tobia Croff and Fabio Fauceglia. The US firm will also transfer a number of associates who currently work in the Rome office.

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  • October 13, 2009 |

    Bank Of America set to reveal legal advice from Merrill merger deal

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has advised Bank of America to waive privilege and reveal legal advice that the bank received last year in its merger with Merrill Lynch, reports The American Lawyer. On Monday (12 October), Paul Weiss lawyers, along with counterparts from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, advised the bank's board to make a surprising change in strategy and vote to waive privilege in the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) much-publicised disclosure case against Bank of America, which is now set for a trial next year, after Manhattan federal district court Judge Jed Rakoff rejected a $33m (£21m) settlement between Bank of America and the US Government.

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  • October 9, 2009 |

    Leading firms nominated for 2009 British Legal Awards

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Bird & Bird and Norton Rose are among the nominees for a series of accolades at the 2009 British Legal Awards. The trio have been shortlisted for the prestigious Law Firm of the Year award alongside Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Clyde & Co, Kennedys and Stephenson Harwood. Norton Rose has also been nominated for a further two awards, including M&A Team of the Year, while Bird & Bird has secured nominations in three other categories, including Commercial Team of the Year.

    1 minute read

  • October 8, 2009 |

    Hogan/Lovells – the view stateside

    If Hogan & Hartson, the Washington giant, and Lovells, one of the most global of the leading UK firms, consummate their merger talks, the new entity has the potential for a name out of Harry Potter - Hogells - and a chance to remake a corner of the Big Law marketplace. It would be the first major transatlantic merger of globally-oriented equals. It would be the first transatlantic deal that would be built, in significant part, on the strength of its combined litigation practices. It would be the first deal of its sort that didn't pretend to offer entree into the New York capital markets. And it would be a sign that while the magic circle and most financially elite New York firms continue to insist on their independent futures, firms just one step behind can see a future where a combination is greater than the sum of its parts.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Shearman takes lead role for SocGen on €4.8bn cash call

    Shearman & Sterling has advised Societe Generale on a €4.8bn (£4.4bn) cash call that will allow the bank to repay state aid it received from the French Government during the credit crunch. The US firm fielded a team led out of Paris by corporate partner Herve Letreguilly and capital markets partner Robert Treuhold.

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  • October 6, 2009 |

    Global 100: Emerging markets

    From Russia's grey gloom to Brazil's red-hot ambitions, a look at the state of five emerging legal markets

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  • September 29, 2009 |

    Cleary Gottlieb wins headline role on €4.3bn BNP Paribas rights offering

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has won a mandate as deal counsel to BNP Paribas on its €4.3bn (£3.9bn) rights offering launched today (29 September). The Wall Street firm's Paris office fielded a team led by capital markets partners Pierre-Yves Chabert and John Brinitzer.

    1 minute read

  • September 29, 2009 |

    Freshfields, Cleary and Salans head up $1.6bn Russian energy deal

    A trio of international law firms have won roles on a $1.6bn (£1.0bn) Russian energy deal as Gazprom moves to grow its share of the market. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has advised Gazprom on the deal, which closed last week (23 September) and saw the Russian energy giant buy a 51% stake in SeverEnergia from Italian utility companies Enel and Eni.

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  • September 29, 2009 |

    Freshfields and Bakers advise long-term clients on $7.1bn pharma buyout

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Baker & McKenzie have taken lead roles on Abbott Laboratories' $7.1bn (£4.5bn) acquisition of pharma company Solvay's drug unit, reports The Am Law Daily. Solvay turned to a team from Freshfields led by corporate partners Geert Verhoeven in Brussels and Timothy Wilkins in New York.

    1 minute read