• November 19, 2010 |

    Cleary unveils plans to launch in Brazil

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is set to launch in Sao Paulo next year as the US leader moves to reinforce its highly-rated Latin American practice. The firm is planning to relocate New York capital markets partner Juan Giraldez and Rome corporate finance partner Francisco Cestero to head up the Brazilian branch. The office will comprise 10 US-qualified lawyers initially covering international finance, cross-border M&A, regulatory issues and litigation. The launch, which is subject to regulatory approval, is set for 2011.

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  • November 11, 2010 |

    Dealmaker: Dean Poster

    Mishcon de Reya corporate partner Dean Poster on his loveable banking contacts and why no-one likes a smart arse...

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  • November 9, 2010 |

    Private equity firm names advisers on first-ever Africa panel

    Private equity house Actis has finalised its first-ever Africa panel, with magic circle firm Clifford Chance (CC) and City firm Hogan Lovells both securing an appointment. The firms were appointed in October following a competitive tender process led by Actis' London-based general counsel, Paul Owers.

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  • November 5, 2010 |

    CC agrees New Year start date for Glover at Simpson Thacher

    High-profile Clifford Chance (CC) partner Jason Glover is set to join Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in the New Year after months of negotiations over his exit from the magic circle firm. The news emerges four months after it was announced that Simpson Thacher had hired the CC partner to launch a funds practice in the US firm's City office.

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  • October 13, 2010 |

    Leading firms vie for roles on first post-Lehman BarCap US roster

    Barclays Capital has kicked off a review of its legal advisers in the US, marking the first time the group has overhauled its panel since its acquisition of Lehman Brothers' US investment banking operations. The review, which is being led out of New York by Americas general counsel Michael Crowl, is believed to be part of a bid to reduce the number of external counsel after the bank's $1.75bn (£950m) acquisition of Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking and capital markets business in 2008.

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  • October 12, 2010 |

    Weil Gotshal leads as $3.9bn PE sale ends record hotel group bankruptcy

    A raft of US firms have taken roles on the bankruptcy of Extended Stay Hotels, the largest Chapter 11 case ever filed by a US hotel owner, reports The Am Law Daily. The hotel chain operator, which operates 700 hotels throughout the US and Canada, was sold to a private equity consortium last Friday (8 October) in a $3.9bn (£2.5bn) deal after filing for bankruptcy in New York in June 2009.

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  • October 1, 2010 |

    US trio reprise roles as AIG confirms bailout repayment plan

    Davis Polk & Wardwell, Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have taken roles as AIG finalises plans to repay the US government, reports The Am Law Daily. The three law firms, which played leading roles crafting the first of many AIG bailout provisions were on hand again, two years later, when the government and the limping insurer finally worked out a complex plan to sever ties, according to lawyers who worked on the deal.

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  • 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

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  • September 13, 2010 |

    Linklaters adds Cravath high yield specialist to City partnership

    Linklaters has boosted its high yield capabilities with the hire of Cravath Swaine & Moore European counsel Mark Hageman as an equity partner in the City. Hageman, who will join the magic circle firm after serving his notice period at Cravath, specialises in advising on European leveraged financings, cross-border M&A and SEC reporting and compliance by non-US companies. Linklaters global head of banking Rob Elliott pointed to the increasingly important role of high yield as a motivating factor for the appointment.

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  • September 8, 2010 |

    Takeover surge prompts busy summer for deal finance teams

    Europe's leading deal finance teams are forecasting a revival in activity after advisers benefited from a recent flurry of debt-financed takeovers. Firms to have secured large acquisition finance mandates in recent weeks include Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters, Latham & Watkins and Clifford Chance (CC).

    1 minute read