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  • March 23, 2011 |

    Links and Freshfields act on high-profile float alongside US duo

    Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and US firms Kirkland & Ellis and Weil Gotshal & Manges have picked up roles on the planned initial public offering (IPO) of British vacuum technology producer Edwards Group, which is expected to value the company at £1.5bn. Magic circle firm Freshfields has been instructed by Edwards Group, fielding a team led by London corporate partners Simon Witty and Natasha Good, who are working alongside US-qualified corporate partner Don Guiney.

    1 minute read

  • March 21, 2011 |

    Weil adds partner to City capital markets team with Shearman hire

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has added to its London capital markets practice with the hire of a new partner from Shearman & Sterling. Rob Ferguson, who will join Weil's partnership from his of counsel role at Shearman, has a mainly issuer-focused equity practice, and advises on a range of capital markets transactions including high yield and investment grade debt and equity offerings. His investment banking clients have included Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Standard Chartered Bank.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2011 |

    Wragges wins role alongside Weil on private equity sale of Phones 4u

    Wragge & Co has picked up a role advising alongside Weil Gotshal & Manges and Dickson Minto on the private equity sale of Phones 4u. National firm Wragges is advising Phones 4u's management on the deal, which sees the company switch hands from Providence Equity Partners to BC Partners. Birmingham corporate partner Baljit Chohan took the lead role for the firm.

    1 minute read

  • March 16, 2011 |

    Trio of firms advise as Tchenguiz brothers win right to sue Kaupthing

    The Tchenguiz brothers are free to push ahead with claims worth more than £1bn against failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing in the English courts, after a ruling earlier today which handed roles to a trio of firms. Mr Justice Burton today (16 March) dismissed Kaupthing's attempts to strike out the claims and challenge the jurisdiction of the English court, paving the way for the English High Court to hear damages claims by the Tchenguiz Family Trust and the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust, together worth more than £1bn.

    1 minute read

  • March 15, 2011 |

    Partner profits at top New York firms spike on Wall Street rebound

    Partner profits at elite New York firms saw a strong recovery in 2010 after a surge in M&A and capital markets work, reports The Am Law Daily. Six Wall Street firms in the $2m-plus partner profits (PEP) club saw profitability soar last year, including Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, which saw PEP rise 15% to $3.05m (£1.9m).

    1 minute read

  • March 9, 2011 |

    Ropes signs up Jones Day partner for new City private equity team

    Ropes & Gray has recruited a Jones Day partner for its London private equity practice, in the second partner addition to the new team this month. The US firm has sealed the hire of Peter Baldwin, who has been at Jones Day since 2008 after joining from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft.

    1 minute read

  • March 2, 2011 |

    GE names Europe M&A counsel as Anheuser-Busch InBev reviews firms

    General Electric (GE) has reviewed its European M&A panel, with four of the five firms appointed in 2007 retaining a place on the roster. Slaughter and May, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Allen & Overy and Ashurst have all been reappointed to the panel for another four-year term. The appointments follow a tender process which kicked off last year and was concluded in January after several months of negotiations.

    1 minute read

  • March 1, 2011 |

    The insiders - the professional managers running bluechip legal teams

    The last few years have been difficult for the corporate world and its lawyers. Executives are insisting that business divisions pare expenses, stretch their budgets and manage more efficiently. Law departments are not exempt. The days of general counsel reflexively lobbing work to their old firms, with little thought about cost, are just about over. Chief executives don't want flab - they're looking for six-pack abs. Trouble is, lawyers usually aren't great administrators. They didn't go to law school to become managers, and it's not a skill law schools teach. So law departments often need help meeting these mandates.

    1 minute read

  • March 1, 2011 |

    US invaders back on the offensive

    The number of partner promotions in the City offices of US law firms is on track to exceed last year's tally, with 33 new partners made up in London in 2011 so far out of a global promotions total of 382. Legal Week's annual survey of US firms' lateral partner hiring and internal appointments found there have been only five fewer partner promotions in London so far this year than in the whole of 2010.

    1 minute read

  • February 22, 2011 |

    Gide and Salans - the French empires

    Gide Loyrette Nouel is the pinot noir of law firms. The most exquisite of wine grapes, pinot grows in small quantities in many regions around the world and sometimes fails to flourish - but always thrives best in its native France. With 19 offices, Gide is one of only two firms with French roots and international ambitions. About half of its approximately 650 lawyers are based in France and half abroad, mostly practising civil law for French clients. As Samantha Campbell, the firm's Vietnam practice leader, notes: "If you want a French cultural connection and an international experience, then Gide is the only choice."

    1 minute read