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  • November 21, 2007 |

    That failed bid for Sainsbury's: making life taste bitter

    When Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom won the lead role on the Qatar Investment Authority's (QIA's) £10.6bn bid for Sainsbury's through Delta Two, the mandate was understandably seen as a coup for the US firm's City arm. But with the deal's last-minute implosion there are recriminations and some questioning of the tactics of the bidders; where did it all go wrong for what looked like one of the most daring European deals of the year?

    1 minute read

  • November 21, 2007 |

    US firm settles age claim with GE rainmaker

    Winston & Strawn has settled on the eve of trial a lawsuit brought against it by a New York partner who claimed the firm broke a deal to exempt him from "decompression," a policy sharply reducing partners' pay after age 65, writes the New York Law Journal. Throughout the 1990s, Anthony LoFrisco, 74, was one of the law firm's highest-paid partners, based largely on his close relationship with former General Electric (GE) chairman John "Jack" Welch. According to a 1994 agreement with Chicago-based Winston, LoFrisco was to be paid an amount equal to at least 13% of the firm's GE billings.

    1 minute read

  • November 14, 2007 |

    Commentary: CC job cuts show finance lawyers must diversify or die

    When it emerged last week that Clifford Chance (CC) had blamed the credit crunch for the firm axing a six-lawyer team from its Manhattan HQ, eyebrows were raised for a number of reasons.

    1 minute read

  • November 14, 2007 |

    The transformers

    It was ingenious and audacious, and officials at the Internal Revenue Service were upset.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2007 |

    CC rules out further post-crunch staff cuts following six-lawyer NY team loss

    Clifford Chance (CC) has ruled out further redundancies in its finance practice as a result of the credit crunch, following the firm's axing of a six-lawyer team from its New York office on Monday (5 November). As first reported by Legal Week's sister publication, The New York Law Journal (6 November), the magic circle giant laid off the six-associate team as Manhattan's structured finance lawyers feel the repercussions of the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2007 |

    Sidley edges in to advise on $80bn 'superfund' creation

    Top US securitisation practice Sidley Austin has secured a high-profile instruction to advise alongside rival Mayer Brown on the cutting-edge $80bn (£38bn) 'superfund' designed to restore confidence in the credit markets, as firms look to secure roles on the process. The fund, created by Citi, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, was announced at the end of last month and aims to halt a further drop in market prices by offering to buy assets from structured investment vehicles (SIVs), helping them to avoid dumping securities.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2007 |

    K&L Gates ditches mandatory retirement age

    Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis has ditched its mandatory retirement age for equity partners, the US law firm announced today (7 November). The change, which takes effect immediately, sees the previous retirement age of 70 scrapped.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2007 |

    Deal Week Dispatch: 7/11/2007

    Deal Week Dispatch brings readers an early taster of news from Legal Week's unparalleled deals coverage, with Ashurst, Norton Rose and Travers Smith among the movers and shakers

    1 minute read

  • November 6, 2007 |

    CC lays off NY six in structured finance

    In one of the first clear signs that slumping credit markets are causing economic pain at law firms, Clifford Chance (CC) laid off six structured finance associates on Monday (5 November), writes the New York Law Journal. John Christian, the partner in charge of the magic circle firm's US personnel committee, said the firm had made a difficult "business decision" to lay off the six associates in a practice group that worked exclusively for credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P). The lawyers in the group had reviewed the documentation S&P used to rate mortgage-backed securities, the market for which has collapsed in recent months.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2007 |

    Bar Talk: Sidley's seven-year itch

    On April 5, 2000, Sidley Austin executive committee chair Thomas Cole sent a letter to partners and clients unveiling a new business plan designed to "improve…

    1 minute read