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  • September 4, 2008 |

    Heller eyes Mayer Brown deal after Baker Mac talks collapse

    Just two weeks after merger talks between Baker & McKenzie and Heller Ehrman broke down over conflicts issues, Heller has entered into talks with Mayer Brown. News of the discussions was broken by Legal Week's sister title The American Lawyer last week, with sources close to both firms revealing that California-based Heller is aggressively pursuing other merger options, of which the most promising is a combination with Chicago-based Mayer Brown. Both firms have declined to comment on the claims but the talks are understood to represent a second effort to combine the two firms.

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  • September 4, 2008 |

    A&O closes in on Sao Paulo launch as elite law firms pile into Latin America

    CC drafts in senior lawyers to Brazil, DLA Piper mulls LatAm launch and A&O gears up for Sao Paulo debut.Allen & Overy (A&O) is set to launch its first Latin American office within weeks, it has emerged, as growing numbers of international law firms look to make their mark in the region.

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  • September 3, 2008 |

    Insurer Ace lines up City firms for panel roster

    A raft of City firms have been appointed onto the legal panel of insurer Ace European Group. Clyde & Co, Norton Rose, Mayer Brown, Holman Fenwick & Willan and CMS Cameron McKenna have all been appointed external counsel to the company. The firms will advise on non-claims related work. The firms will also work across sub-panels including real estate, corporate and regulatory work.

    1 minute read

  • September 3, 2008 |

    The single solution

    On a crisp sunny day in late March, fee earners from 39 law firms gathered at the corporate headquarters of pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer, a nondescript office building a couple of blocks east of Grand Central Station in New York. The collective mood was cheerful. After all, each of the firms still had a piece of Pfizer's US litigation work. Two years earlier, the company had dumped 80% of its hundreds of outside counsel in a convergence project called P3 - the Pfizer Partnering Programme. Now, representatives from the survivors had been convened to receive an update.There was nothing surprising in what the first speaker, Sandra Phillips, head of the company's product litigation group, had to say. But the second speaker had some unexpected news to deliver. Margaret Madden (pictured right), head of Pfizer's employment law group, explained how her staff had slashed its roster of 50 outside law firms in the first phase of P3 to 10. A quick look around the room, however, revealed that just one of those employment firms was present. What happened to the other nine?

    1 minute read

  • September 3, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 04/09/08...

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

    1 minute read

  • September 2, 2008 |

    LG tax partner switches to Boodle Hatfield

    Regional firm Boodle Hatfield has boosted its tax capacity with the hire of LG tax and private capital partner Karen Marks. Marks made the switch last month (18 August), joining Boodle Hatfield's international private client team. Her practice focuses on international tax and trust planning, acting for clients including offshore trustees, private banks and financial institutions, entrepreneurs and investment bankers. She also advises on offshore structures and relocation to and from the UK.She joined LG in 1999 and was promoted to the partnership in May 2003.

    1 minute read

  • September 1, 2008 |

    Heller Ehrman and Mayer Brown in merger talks

    Just two weeks after merger talks with Baker & McKenzie broke down due to conflicts, Heller Ehrmann...

    1 minute read

  • September 1, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 01/09/08...

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

    1 minute read

  • August 29, 2008 |

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

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

    1 minute read

  • August 28, 2008 |

    Mayer Brown JSM added to HSBC's SmartSearch knowledge database

    Banking giant HSBC has signed up Mayer Brown JSM to its knowledge-sharing venture, taking the tally of law firms sharing legal know-how with the bank to 11. HSBC officially rolled out its SmartSearch software, which allows its in-house legal team to access know-how and precedents at panel firms, in January with 10 panel firms. Mayer Brown's data will now be available to HSBC by the end of the month.

    1 minute read