Filter This View

  • March 20, 2008 |

    Advisers scramble as credit turmoil claims Carlyle fund and Bear Stearns

    Finance lawyers are scrambling to position themselves globally after renewed turmoil in credit markets led to the collapse of two hedge funds in Europe and the fire-sale of Wall Street giant Bear Stearns.First to secure lead roles were Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Linklaters as Carlyle Capital Corporation announced its liquidation after defaulting on debts of $16bn (£7.8bn).

    1 minute read

  • March 19, 2008 |

    US Briefing: Opportunities and threats

    Ryan Rettmann left Thacher Proffitt & Wood in the nick of time. Last March, not long before the subprime crash paralysed the debt markets, the first-year structured finance associate moved to Chicago's Kirkland & Ellis. At Thacher Proffitt, he had been working on securities backed by home mortgages, a niche that was dead in the water by the end of summer. At Kirkland, he took a job working on auto-loan securitisations, a considerably healthier asset class. Rettmann was not prescient, just in love. He and his new wife had decided to leave New York and settle in Chicago, where he lined up the Kirkland interview after one phone call.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2008 |

    JP Morgan sets aside $6bn to combat Bear Stearns claims as Wachtell secures trophy mandate

    JP Morgan Chase is setting aside $6bn (£2.9bn) to cover potential litigation as it agrees to buy stricken Wall Street giant Bear Stearns for just $240m (£119m). Following the announcement on 16 March that it is buying the bank for a fraction of its previous value, JP Morgan said it is estimating the cost of the transaction at around $6bn - taking into account the potential of litigation stemming from the drop in Bear Stearn's stock value and severance costs.

    1 minute read

  • March 14, 2008 |

    Reed Smith, Herbies in as AOL buys $850m Bebo

    The City arm of Reed Smith Richards Butler has picked up a profile-raising mandate on the $850m (£420.6m) acquisition of social networking website Bebo by AOL. The firm's London arm advised longstanding client Bebo on UK aspects of the deal, with senior associate Gregor Pryor leading a team that also included associates Krista James and Daniel Barnett.

    1 minute read

  • March 12, 2008 |

    Visa to shell out $15m in fees on landmark IPO

    White & Case is in line for a bumper pay-day after it emerged that client Visa is to shell out $15m (£7.45m) in legal fees and expenses for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), writes The American Lawyer. Visa disclosed details of its legal fees in an amended registration statement filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) last week ahead of this month's IPO, which the company says could net a US record $18.8bn (£9.33bn) in stock sales.

    1 minute read

  • March 3, 2008 |

    Wall Street Journal parts ways with GC

    The Wall Street Journal has parted company with general counsel Stuart Karle, writes the Legal Times, following the change of ownership at the iconic business publication. Karle, vice president and of the Journal since 1992, was asked to leave the publication on Thursday (28 February).

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2008 |

    Simpson Thacher conflict hands Sullivan role on Microsoft's landmark approach for Yahoo!

    Sullivan & Cromwell has been drafted in to advise Microsoft on its landmark $44.6bn (£22.7bn) attempted takeover of internet giant Yahoo! after New York rival Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was conflicted out. Simpson Thacher last week confirmed that it had been forced to withdraw from the deal due to a conflict that could not be resolved. The firm had initially been handed the lead role for Microsoft, as reported by legalweek.com (4 February).

    1 minute read

  • February 27, 2008 |

    Howrey sets up IP team in Madrid office

    Sullivan & Cromwell has been drafted in to advise Microsoft on its landmark $44.6bn (£22.7bn) attempted takeover of internet giant Yahoo! after New York rival Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was conflicted out. Simpson Thacher last week confirmed that it had been forced to withdraw from the deal due to a conflict that could not be resolved. The firm had initially been handed the lead role for Microsoft, as reported by legalweek.com (4 February).

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2008 |

    Sullivan seizes lead on Microsoft's Yahoo bid

    Sullivan & Cromwell has been drafted in to advise Microsoft on its landmark $44.6bn (£22.bn) attempted takeover of internet giant Yahoo after New York rival Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was conflicted out. Simpson Thacher this week confirmed that it had been forced to withdraw from the mandate due to a conflict which could not be resolved. The firm had initially been handed the lead role for Microsoft, as reported by legalweek.com on 4 February.

    1 minute read

  • February 20, 2008 |

    Up from the ashes

    The ladies' room at Clifford Chance's (CC's) New York office is replete with small luxuries usually found in the dressing rooms of private clubs - moisturising lotion, hair spray, mouthwash and fragrance, among other niceties. But what really stands out are the bottles of Molton Brown soap perched to the right of each basin. Fine English soap gracing the counters of a washroom in midtown Manhattan is a minor yet telling detail. Like Molton Brown, CC is an institution that has transformed itself into an international brand - albeit one that has had a hell of a time keeping some of its US partners in line since a messy 2000 merger with New York's Rogers & Wells.

    1 minute read