• May 16, 2013 |

    Herbert Smith makes second German hire with Norton Rose partner

    Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has made its second partner hire in Germany, with the Anglo-Australian firm hiring Norton Rose's Frankfurt corporate partner Nico Abel for its recently-opened practice. Abel, who mainly advises strategic investors and private equity sponsors on multi-jurisdictional work, including joint ventures, carve-outs and distressed M&A, was a corporate team leader in Norton Rose's Frankfurt office.

    1 minute read

  • May 15, 2013 |

    Shearman to boost City ranks with Weil partner duo

    Shearman & Sterling is to bolster its London practice with the hire of a three-lawyer team from Weil Gotshal & Manges' in the City, including private equity partner Mark Soundy and tax partner Sarah Priestly. The trio, who are set to join in the coming weeks, is completed by associate Simon Burrows.

    1 minute read

  • May 15, 2013 |

    Raft of US firms score roles on AsiaInfo-Linkage take private

    A raft of US law firms have acted on the take private of AsiaInfo-Linkage, the latest Chinese company to de-list from a US bourse through a management buyout. The Chinese telecom software provider this week said it had accepted an offer to be acquired by a private investor consortium led by CITIC Capital Partners and AsiaInfo-Linkage co-founder Edward Tian, which values the company at $890m and would see it removed from Nasdaq.

    1 minute read

  • May 14, 2013 |

    Green Investment Bank names Pinsents partner as GC

    The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has hired Pinsent Masons energy finance partner Euan McVicar as its first formal general counsel. Edinburgh-based McVicar, who will join the Government-backed bank in late summer, specialises in the financing and development of energy projects at Pinsents, as well as related M&A activity.

    1 minute read

  • 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