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  • February 6, 2009 |

    Mayer Brown boosts London turnover by 8%

    Mayer Brown has posted its 2008 financial results, with revenues increasing by 8% in its London office and 9% firmwide, while profits per equity partner across the firm fell by 11% to $1.1m (£749,000). The Anglo-American firm's City operation billed £111.6m during the year, with the firm as a whole taking in $1.3bn (£886m).

    1 minute read

  • February 4, 2009 |

    Elite trio lead on $666m drinks company sell-off

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Slaughter and May and Mayer Brown have taken lead roles on the $666.5m (£458m) sale of Anheuser-Busch InBev's 20% stake in China's Tsingtao Brewery to Japan's Asahi Breweries.ABInBev, the world's largest brewer, will retain a 7% stake in Tsingtao, the second-largest brewer in China. The deal, which was announced on 23 January, follows InBev's $52bn (£35.7bn) acquisition of Anheuser-Busch last year. The Freshfields team representing ABInBev was led by Robert Ashworth, Freshfields' Hong Kong-based Asia corporate head, and China managing partner Teresa Ko, who is also based in Hong Kong.

    1 minute read

  • January 28, 2009 |

    Commentary: Addleshaws says it ain't broke, let's fix it anyway

    Given that it was regarded as one of the most upwardly mobile mid-market practices in the UK top 50, the question begged by Addleshaw Goddard's decision to remove 19 partners from its ranks is whether it has been mobile enough. Yet Addleshaws, with a practice built on top-tier regional strongholds in Manchester and Leeds and a well-regarded City practice, maintains that the move does not signal weaknesses in its underlying business.The firm talks a decent game, pointing to a solid run of successes in recent months. Among the highlights are debut corporate instructions for six FTSE 100 companies, including Rolls-Royce and Wolseley, as well as new panel appointments to ITV and William Hill. In deals, the firm is understandably proud of its work for the Co-operative Group on its £1.57bn acquisition of Somerfield, a transformational deal for the client. Underlining the firm's strength in the mutual sector is Adam Bennett, who acted on 15 of the last building society mergers. And Legal Week's data provider Mergermarket ranked the firm 10th for volume of UK deals in 2008 - a key benchmark of mid-market strength.

    1 minute read

  • January 28, 2009 |

    The shock of the new

    Good lawyers and good consultants do pretty much the same thing: we come up with creative solutions to problems," says Jeremy Barton, who has recently been appointed general counsel at leading global management adviser Boston Consulting Group (BCG)."This probably explains why I find them such a rewarding group to work with," he adds, leaning back in his chair at BCG's plush offices in Mayfair, central London. "You can really meet with them intellectually - they understand you, they challenge you."It may also explain why so many of BCG's 3,900 consultants, including the firm's regional chairs of Europe and the Americas, are legally trained, many arriving via stints at law firms.So how does Barton, 45, whose appointment at BCG was preceded by 10 years working in-house at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young, see himself - lawyer or consultant?

    1 minute read

  • January 28, 2009 |

    Mayer Brown property litigation partner quits for Howard Kennedy

    Mayer Brown London property litigation partner Michele-Anne Freyne has left the firm to join Howard Kennedy. Freyne, who headed up the property litigation group at the international firm, will hold the same position at Howard Kennedy, where she joins as a partner.She officially took up her role at Howard Kennedy earlier this month (19 January) and will work alongside litigation head Craig Emden.

    1 minute read

  • January 26, 2009 |

    Beachcroft lands Orange role after panel review

    Orange UK has completed a review of its legal advisers, with Beachcroft among the firms to win a place on the telecoms company's newly-expanded roster. The review, Orange's first in three years, sees the company increase its number of advisers to 13. Other new firms added to the panel include regional firm Ward Hadaway and Northern Ireland's Worthingtons.

    1 minute read

  • January 23, 2009 |

    Cads lays off nine associates as another partner quits

    Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft is set to make nine redundancies in the US, with six associates to be laid off in New York and three in Charlotte. The firm has also seen the departure of the chair of its insurance and reinsurance department, Clifford Schoenberg, who has left to join Mayer Brown - the firm's third partner loss in the US this month.Schoenberg's move follows the defection earlier this month of the co-chair of the firm's financial restructuring group, Bruce Zirinsky, along with restructuring litigation partner John Bae - who both quit for Greenberg Traurig - and the walkout of a seven-partner team from the firm's London office last week.

    1 minute read

  • January 22, 2009 |

    Boston Consulting plans Euro legal team overhaul

    Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is planning to ramp up its European legal team as the firm moves to reduce its external legal spend and review its advisers. The management consulting group, which has more than 60 offices worldwide, is set to bring in three new legal positions in Europe - including a continental legal chief. The move will mark a departure for BCG, as legal chief Jeremy Barton, who joined the organisation in May last year, is currently the only lawyer in BCG's seven-strong team based outside the US. Barton, who was previously global general counsel at Ernst & Young, is leading the initiative, with the new lawyers expected to be in place within the next few months.

    1 minute read

  • January 7, 2009 |

    Mayer Brown transfers corporate partner to HK arm

    Mayer Brown has transferred a senior corporate partner from London to Hong Kong, the first such move by the Anglo-American firm since its 2007 acquisition of leading Hong Kong practice Johnson Stokes & Master. Corporate finance specialist Mark Uhrynuk will lead a new US corporate and securities practice, targeting Hong Kong and mainland China companies seeking to list abroad.Uhrynuk's practice covers cross-border M&A, private equity financings, joint ventures and strategic alliances.

    1 minute read

  • December 22, 2008 |

    Economic crisis shifts Asian spotlight to litigation

    The story of international law firms in Asia has long been all about transactions - infrastructure financings, foreign investment and, especially…

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