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  • May 20, 2009 |

    CC, Slaughters and Davis Polk take on top roles on £510m Taylor Wimpey fundraising

    Clifford Chance (CC), Slaughter and May and Davis Polk & Wardwell have all won roles advising on troubled house builder Taylor Wimpey's £510m fundraising. The fully underwritten placing, which is subject to shareholder approval this month, will cut the company's debt by around one-third. Slaughters reprised its role for regular client Taylor Wimpey, with corporate partner Jeff Twentyman leading the firm's team. Davis Polk advised the house-builder on US aspects, with London-based corporate partner Nigel Wilson advising.

    1 minute read

  • May 13, 2009 |

    The Am Law 100: Lessons of the Am Law 100

    Nothing grows forever. For the first time since 1991, both average profits per partner and revenue per lawyer dipped last year among the Am Law 100 firms, the top-grossing firms in the nation. And, given the weakness in the market thus far in 2009, another decline seems likely this year.Those are the headlines from The American Lawyer's 23rd annual Am Law 100 report. These results are for 2008. They capture the start of the economic distress that set the stage for record law firm layoffs and anxiety but, because of the cutoff date, they mask the distress many firms are now dealing with. Last year, overall gross revenue grew by 4.1%, to $67bn (£44.4bn), a new record. But head count grew faster, increasing by 5.4%, to 81,992 lawyers. As a result of that growth, plus a serious drop in demand during the second half of 2008 for high-end work - especially in the corporate and finance sectors - profits per equity partner (PEP) fell by 4.3%, to an average of $1.26m (£836,000), and revenue per lawyer (RPL) dropped 1.2%, to $818,000 (£542,000).

    1 minute read

  • May 13, 2009 |

    The Am Law 100: By the numbers

    Want an example of just how much the world changed in 2008? Look no further than The Am Law 100's top revenue per lawyer (RPL) gainers and decliners. Cravath Swaine & Moore was the year's biggest loser, posting an 18.2% drop in RPL, to $1.2m (£810,000). A year earlier, Cravath posted a 9.2% gain. By contrast, 2008's biggest RPL increase, 15.2%, was seen at Howrey; in 2007 that firm's RPL slid 8.5%.

    1 minute read

  • May 13, 2009 |

    The Am Law 100: Losing their balance

    What has the world come to when Cravath Swaine & Moore has a terrible year? The firm that has served for decades as the touchstone for prestige in the profession last year suffered a 13% drop in revenue and a 24% plunge in profits per equity partner (PEP), and has asked incoming first-year associates to delay their start dates.

    1 minute read

  • April 22, 2009 |

    Top firms share roles in Taylor Wimpey debt restructure deal

    A raft of City and US firms have advised as troubled house-builder Taylor Wimpey agreed £2.47bn of debt facilities. The deal, agreed earlier this month, generated roles for firms including Ashurst, Allen & Overy (A&O), Slaughter and May and Davis Polk & Wardwell as the company restructured its borrowings.

    1 minute read

  • April 21, 2009 |

    Latham takes lead on Oracle's $7.4bn Sun buyout

    Latham & Watkins has taken a lead role on Oracle's $5.6bn (£3.8bn) acquisition of Sun Microsystems, reports the Am Law Daily. The definitive agreement was reached two weeks ago after talks between IBM and Sun ended in a disagreement over price and Oracle stepped in to pay $9.50 (£6.50) a share, a slight increase on the $9.40 (£6.45) offered by IBM. The Latham team acting for Oracle was led by San Francisco corporate chair John Newell, alongside partners Daniel Wall, Karen Silverman, Joseph Yaffe and Laurence Stein. Oracle was also advised by Silicon Valley boutique GTC Law Group.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2009 |

    Davis Polk seals top-level SEC hire for DC office

    Davis Polk & Wardwell's Washington DC office has added another lawyer to its bench of former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials. Linda Thomsen, who headed the SEC's enforcement division until February, will join the US firm as a partner in its white-collar defence and government investigations and enforcement practices in June.She will join former SEC commissioner Annette Nazareth, who started at Davis Polk last year, and Robert Colby, who joined the office this year after serving as deputy director of the SEC's trading and markets division.

    1 minute read

  • April 9, 2009 |

    US firms outpace UK rivals to lead Q1 M&A rankings

    Wall Street has trumped UK rivals to top the global M&A rankings by value for the first quarter of 2009. Rankings compiled by Mergermarket show Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom heading the global value table - working on 28 deals worth $169bn (£113bn). Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Sullivan & Cromwell and Davis Polk & Wardwell take the next slots by value, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer the highest-placed UK firm in the table at number five.

    1 minute read

  • March 3, 2009 |

    US trio take lead on latest AIG bailout

    Davis Polk & Wardwell, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Sullivan & Cromwell have grabbed lead roles on the latest multibillion pound bailout of AIG. The insurer, which yesterday (2 March) reported a record fourth quarter loss of $61.7bn (£43.5bn) and an annual loss of $99.3bn ((£70.1bn), reached an agreement that will see the Treasury give the company up to $30bn (£21.1bn) of additional funds. The agreement also forgives some of AIG's existing debt to the government by turning it into equity; attaches a lower interest rate to AIG's outstanding debts and gives the government control of two AIG subsidiaries.

    1 minute read

  • March 3, 2009 |

    Debevoise reports 7.2% revenue increase for 2008

    Debevoise & Plimpton has reported a 7.2% increase in revenues for 2008, however, profits per equity partner lagged behind, falling by nearly 3% over the year. The New York firm saw turnover increase to $760.8 (£537.25m), on the back of significant litigation and white-collar investigation work for clients including Siemens AG. However, PEP dropped to $2.23m (£1.57m), showing that the firm is not immune to the effects of the financial crisis.

    1 minute read