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  • August 15, 2008 |

    JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley settle securities probes

    JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley will spend more than $7bn (£3.8bn) buying buy back auction-rate securities in a settlement announced on Thursday by New York state attorney general Andrew Cuomo and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement division director Linda Thomsen, writes The American Lawyer. The deal ends investigations by the SEC and several states' attorney generals into false claims made by the two banks in marketing auction-rate securities. At issue was the banks' continuing effort to bill the securities as a safe investment even after the unravelling credit markets made them risky, less easily liquidated bets.

    1 minute read

  • August 8, 2008 |

    Kirkland becomes latest to launch in Palo Alto

    Kirkland & Ellis has launched in the coveted tech market of Palo Alto, in a move that hands the Chicago-based law firm its third practice in California, writes The Am Law Daily. The firm said the move, which comes five years after Kirkland set up an office in San Francisco, was driven by the growth of its Bay Area practice."It was not an issue of space," says patent litigator Chadd Taylor, who now heads up the new branch after transferring from San Francisco. "We just want full access to the Bay Area for client relationships and recruiting."

    1 minute read

  • July 30, 2008 |

    Cadwalader faces its 'cataclysmic event'

    Just last year, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft was riding high. Double-digit growth in profits per partner over the last five years had catapulted the…

    1 minute read

  • July 30, 2008 |

    Cadwalader lays off 96 in new round of cuts

    Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft announced today it is laying off 96 lawyers in a second round of job cuts as the Wall Street firm continues to cope with the ongoing effects of the credit crunch.W Christopher White, the firm's chairman, says the cuts will be in its capital markets and global finance groups, which have been hit hard by the reduced appetite on Wall Street for commercial mortgage-backed securities. The cuts are on top of the 35 associates Cadwalader laid off in January, bringing the total to 131.

    1 minute read

  • July 29, 2008 |

    Simpson Thacher to lead on multibillion-dollar KKR listing

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is to advise longstanding client Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) on the private equity powerhouse's public offering, reports The American Lawyer.The transaction is a significant departure from KKR's original plans, announced a year ago, to raise $1.25bn (£627m) through an initial public offering. Instead, KKR will go public by taking over its Amsterdam-listed investment fund, KKR Private Equity Investors (PEI). After the transaction is completed, shares of KKR will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The proposed deal values KKR at a reported $12bn-$15bn (£6bn-£7.5bn).

    1 minute read

  • July 29, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 29/07/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and more

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  • July 17, 2008 |

    Sao Paulo sizzles as US firms hit Brazil market

    After jetting down to Sao Paulo every few weeks for years, Jonathan Bisgaier has as many close friends in Brazil's largest city as he does in his native New York. And, starting this month, he'll be seeing them even more often. The Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom partner heads up the firm's newly opened Sao Paulo office, joining a recent rush of Am Law 200 firms opening up in Latin America's hottest economy. "As robust as everything has been for some time, it's been even more so since 2004," says Bisgaier, who brings with him half a dozen Portuguese-speaking associates from New York. "The view is that Brazil has finally broken out of its boom-and-bust cycle."

    1 minute read

  • July 16, 2008 |

    Simpson Thacher set to open Sao Paolo office in autumn

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has confirmed it is planning to open in Sao Paulo, subject to approval from the Brazilian authorities. The office is set to open this autumn and will be headed by New York corporate partners Todd Crider and Jaime Mercado.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2008 |

    US firms in London – time to forget Sonnenschein

    Being in its own way such a tight community, a few isolated episodes can have an impact for a very long time within the global-yet-narrow confines of the…

    1 minute read

  • July 10, 2008 |

    Magic circle trio break into profits top 10 as City firms move up Global 100

    Profits per equity partner (PEP) at top US law firms still narrowly exceed key UK rivals - despite the significant increases the magic circle have achieved in turnover and profitability in recent years. Figures compiled by Legal Week and The American Lawyer show that just three UK firms make it into the global top 10 by PEP - Slaughter and May, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. In contrast, seven US firms make the grade - headed by elite firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

    1 minute read