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  • September 28, 2010 |

    Gibson Dunn, Debevoise advise as Vivendi sells $2bn NBCU stake to GE

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Debevoise & Plimpton have taken roles as French media conglomerate Vivendi has sold a portion of its stake in NBC Universal to General Electric (GE) for $2bn (£1.3bn), reports AmLaw Daily.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2010 |

    Number of US lawyers applying to practice HK law quadruples in two years

    The number of US lawyers applying to practice local law in Hong Kong has quadrupled over the past two years as the region becomes a hot spot for companies listing on its stock exchange. Figures from the Hong Kong Law Society show that 64 US lawyers took the Hong Kong overseas lawyers qualification examination (QLQE) exam last year compared to 14 in 2008, and the trend looks set to continue with an estimated 65 having taken the exam so far in 2010.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2010 |

    Latin America: Tomorrow's country today

    From the dark days of the 1980s, a newly-confident Brazil has emerged. Alex Aldridge reports on one of the most hotly-tipped emerging economies and the lawyers scrambling to keep up

    1 minute read

  • August 19, 2010 |

    US firms in driving seat on upcoming General Motors listing

    Jenner & Block and Davis Polk & Wardwell have secured lead roles on General Motors' highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO), reports The Am Law Daily. The car manufacturing giant filed for the IPO yesterday (18 August), just over a year after the company emerged from bankruptcy. Jenner corporate partners Joseph Gromacki, William Tolbert and Brian Boch are lead issuer's counsel for the IPO. Gromacki chairs Jenner's corporate practice and serves as co-chair of the firm's securities practice.

    1 minute read

  • August 16, 2010 |

    Freshfields Beijing managing partner joins Davis Polk for HK law launch

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Beijing managing partner is leaving the firm to launch a Hong Kong law practice for Davis Polk & Wardwell, reports The Am Law Daily. Antony Dapiran (pictured), a capital markets lawyer at Freshfields, has taken roles on several high-profile transactions for Chinese state-owned enterprises, including working side-by-side with Davis Polk representing Agricultural Bank of China on its dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which this week became the world's largest initial public offering (IPO) ever with over $22bn (£14bn) raised.

    1 minute read

  • August 12, 2010 |

    Weil and Skadden head up latest billion-dollar AIG sell-off

    Weil Gotshal & Manges and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have taken the lead roles on AIG's sale of an 80% stake in its consumer finance lender, American General Finance (AGF), to the Fortress Investment Group, reports The Am Law Daily. The purchase price of the deal - which will allow AIG to offload between $17bn (£11bn) and $19bn (£12bn) worth of debt - has not been disclosed, but AGF has been previously valued at around $2bn (£1.3bn).

    1 minute read

  • July 23, 2010 |

    Letter from Asia: Should US firms build local practices in Hong Kong?

    The Agricultural Bank of China's initial public offering (IPO), expected to become the world's largest, debuted this week, landing squarely in the middle of a debate over whether leading Wall Street law firms should build local practice capability in Hong Kong. The IPO on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges would seem an obvious rallying cry for those arguing that top US capital markets firms will miss out on deals without their own Hong Kong lawyers - except that the lead lawyers on the AgBank deal are from New York's Davis Polk & Wardwell, which only practises US law.

    1 minute read

  • July 5, 2010 |

    White House releases salary details of senior legal staff

    The Obama administration has released the annual list of lawyers working in the White House, after announcing an extension to last year's pay freeze for senior officials, reports The National Law Journal. White House Counsel Robert Bauer is the top-earner among the list of legal staff, taking home $172,200 (£114,100), the same salary that his predecessor, Gregory Craig, was earning this time last year.

    1 minute read

  • June 22, 2010 |

    Herbert Smith wins role on landmark Chinese bank IPO

    Herbert Smith has won a role on what is set to be the world's largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) as the Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) gears up to go public. The UK top 10 law firm is advising the underwriting banks on the landmark listing, which was initially valued at as much as $30bn (£20.2bn), although market estimates have since been tempered by a drop in China's stock market, with a figure of $23bn (£15.5bn) now thought to be more likely.

    1 minute read

  • June 18, 2010 |

    Herbert Smith wins role on record IPO of Chinese banking giant

    Herbert Smith has won a role on what is set to be the world's largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) as the Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) goes public. The UK top 10 firm is advising the underwriting banks on the landmark listing, which was initially valued at as much as $30bn (£20.2bn), although market estimates have since been tempered by a drop in China's stock market, with a figure of $23bn (£15.5bn) now thought to be more likely.

    1 minute read