• May 8, 2013 |

    Latham hires four-partner Shearman team for Duesseldorf launch

    Latham & Watkins has launched in Duesseldorf with a four-partner team hire from Shearman & Sterling, two weeks after Shearman announced it was closing two Germany bases in Duesseldorf and Munich. Duesseldorf corporate partner trio Harald Selzner, Rainer Wilke and Martin Neuhaus are joining Latham's new local office, while Munich litigation partner Markus Rieder is joining the US firm in Munich.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2013 |

    The Transfer Window: recent moves including Latham, CC and A&O

    Latham & Watkins has turned to Norton Rose for its latest London partner hire, recruiting banking partner Dean Naumowicz for its City finance team. Naumowicz, who joined Norton Rose as a partner in 2006 from Barclays Capital, focuses on derivatives and structured finance. Roles he has taken on recent deals have included acting for project company Societa di Progetto Brebemi on a €2.3bn (£1.9bn) toll motorway project in Italy, on which he worked with a team of lawyers from the firm's Milan office.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 | International Edition

    Caught in two minds – firms split on whether to stick or twist in tough market

    Recent weeks have presented a somewhat divided picture of the upper echelons of the legal market. On the one hand, against the backdrop of a relentlessly tough market, many of the UK's largest law firms have announced predictably reduced partner promotion rounds – with the magic circle, for example, making up nearly 20% fewer new partners this year than last. On the other, Slaughter and May this week played a strong hand in terms of salaries, with the firm's across-the-board rises for junior lawyers likely to set the bar for its City peers.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 |

    Caught in two minds – firms split on whether to stick or twist in tough market

    Recent weeks have presented a somewhat divided picture of the upper echelons of the legal market. On the one hand, against the backdrop of a relentlessly tough market, many of the UK's largest law firms have announced predictably reduced partner promotion rounds – with the magic circle, for example, making up nearly 20% fewer new partners this year than last. On the other, Slaughter and May this week played a strong hand in terms of salaries, with the firm's across-the-board rises for junior lawyers likely to set the bar for its City peers.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 |

    Shearman Brussels chief leaves for Dechert in wake of Germany office closures

    Shearman & Sterling's European offices have seen a further partner departure, with Brussels office managing partner Hans Juergen Meyer-Lindemann leaving for Dechert. The news comes a week after the US firm announced it was to close its Munich and Duesseldorf offices, leaving it with one remaining base in Germany.

    1 minute read

  • April 30, 2013 |

    Shearman and Simpson lead as e-commerce giant takes $586m stake in China's Twitter

    Shearman & Sterling and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have scored lead roles on a deal which has seen China's biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba, take a stake in the country's own version of Twitter, Weibo. Alibaba is paying $586m (£378m) for an 18% stake in Weibo, valuing the business at more than $3bn (£1.9bn). SINA Corporation, the owner of Weibo, has also given Alibaba the option to increase its share to 30% in the future.

    1 minute read

  • April 23, 2013 |

    Shearman to pull plug on Munich and Duesseldorf offices

    Shearman & Sterling is set to pull out of Munich and Duesseldorf by the end of the year, leaving the US firm with one remaining office in Germany. The office closures, confirmed today (23 April), will result in a number of partners relocating to Frankfurt - including Duesseldorf senior partner Georg Thoma. However, it is also expected to lead to a number of lawyers and staff leaving Shearman in Germany, with the firm still reviewing the possibility of redundancies. It is not yet clear how many positions could be affected.

    1 minute read

  • April 16, 2013 |

    Freshfields recruits Shearman energy finance partner in London

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has sealed the hire of Shearman & Sterling finance partner Tim Pick in London. Pick, who will start his new role at the magic circle firm on 13 May, focuses on the energy and natural resources sector across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He is top rated for UK projects work by Chambers and Partners.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2013 |

    Habib & Clydes among nominees for Corporate Counsel Middle East Awards

    DP World, Hadef & Partners and Herbert Smith Freehills are among the entrants to be shortlisted as Legal Week unveils the nominations for the second annual Corporate Counsel Middle East Awards. Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Clyde & Co are among the firms battling it out for international law firm of the year, with the winner due to be announced at a ceremony held at Dubai's Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi on 16 May.

    1 minute read

  • April 11, 2013 |

    US mega deals fail to get 2013 going as M&A lawyers face up to worst Q1 in a decade

    Anyone seeking reassurance about the state of the deal markets following a spate of mega-mergers earlier this year should probably avoid looking at the latest rankings from mergermarket, which make for depressing reading. Not only was Q1 2013 down 8% on the corresponding period in 2012 by value and nearly 20% by volume, but it was the slowest opening quarter in 10 years – painting a gloomy picture for corporate lawyers.

    1 minute read