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  • September 8, 2010 |

    Ashurst takes lead advisory role for buyout giant Candover on wind down

    Ashurst has taken a lead role on the wind down of listed buyout group Candover, which announced plans to return cash to investors last week (31 August), having failed to conclude a deal to sell its assets to Alberta Investment Management six weeks ago. Candover Investments said in the announcement of its first half results last week that it was set to conduct a sale of its portfolio in order to distribute value to investors.

    1 minute read

  • September 8, 2010 |

    Expansive Ropes & Gray transfers LBO partner to London arm

    Ropes & Gray has relocated one of its Boston-based high-yield partners to bolster the firm's fledgling London office. Jane Rogers, who joined the firm's City arm on Monday (7 September), has switched offices as part of the firm's strategy to build its City-based bank finance and bond team.

    1 minute read

  • September 8, 2010 |

    Not your typical vacation - City law firms on how to get a vac scheme placement

    With training contracts in scarce supply, the vacation scheme is gaining increasing importance. Friederike Heine talks to City law firms about how to get one - and make the most of it

    1 minute read

  • September 8, 2010 |

    The slow trek forward - firms remain unconvinced of legal project management technology

    Listen in on any gathering of IT directors and after the usual stories of budget battles, who's moving to the cloud and maybe a lament about not following mum's advice to study medicine, the conversation usually turns to legal project management. Not the 'what' of project management - successful IT departments mastered 'what' early on. Nor do the discussions linger on 'how' - Amazon.com lists more than 15,000 entries for 'IT project management' backed by consultants, classes and associations. It's the 'who' that prompts the most passionate debate - as in, 'who in my firm, besides me, believes the benefits of project management can be applied to the practise of law?'

    1 minute read

  • September 3, 2010 |

    Quartet of US firms take roles on $4bn Burger King whopper deal

    Four US firms have won roles on the $4bn (£2.6bn) sale of Burger King to investment firm 3G Capital, as the world's second-largest hamburger chain returns to the private sector, reports The Am Law Daily. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advised Burger King with a team led by Eileen Nugent, the co-head of the firm's private equity group, alongside M&A partners Thomas Greenberg and Richard Grossman, employee benefits chair Stuart Alperin, and banking partners James Douglas and Julia Czarniak.

    1 minute read

  • September 1, 2010 |

    Five firms win panel roles as Dubai hotels group cuts back legal roster

    Jumeirah Group has announced its new global legal panel, with five firms appointed to the Dubai hotel chain's streamlined roster. Herbert Smith and Weil Gotshal & Manges have won places on the panel following a pitch process, with Clyde & Co, Mayer Brown JSM and Pinsent Masons all reappointed. Jumeirah has chosen to cut back on the number of firms it uses after setting up its first-ever global panel in 2008, which saw six firms appointed to its main roster of advisers, alongside a further six advising on specialist areas or in specific jurisdictions.

    1 minute read

  • September 1, 2010 |

    Partners anxious about career prospects

    The majority of senior lawyers are anxious about their future career prospects, with many doubting the value of their business contacts outside of the support structure of their law firm, according to Legal Week's latest Big Question survey. In a legal landscape where regular lateral moves throughout a partner's career are now commonplace, many feel uncertain about their future career path. Seventy-four percent of respondents expressed some level of anxiety about their professional future - including 30% who said they were 'quite' or 'very' anxious - while only 26% felt completely confident.

    1 minute read

  • September 1, 2010 |

    CEE-ing potential

    Elections have taken place across the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region this year, including in Hungary and the Czech and Slovak republics. The resulting coalition Governments have had important ramifications for the way businesses operate in each country, with a knock-on effect for local law firms. Many advisers are still focused on the busy infrastructure sector in the region, in particular flagship road projects and the much-touted alternative energy industries.

    1 minute read

  • August 31, 2010 |

    Kirkland makes up nine lawyers to partnership in London office

    Kirkland & Ellis has made up nine lawyers to partner in the US firm's London office. The promotions, which are effective as of 1 October, are spread across several practice areas, including corporate, tax, funds, restructuring and arbitration. Kirkland London office head Jim Learner (pictured) commented: "This reflects the fact that we continue to grow in London, and a number of people who have worked up the ranks here have now had the opportunity to be admitted. The nine lawyers who were promoted are all terrific candidates."

    1 minute read

  • August 31, 2010 |

    Weil Gotshal and Wachtell take top roles on $18.5bn Sanofi takeover bid

    Weil Gotshal & Manges is advising Sanofi-Aventis on its $18.5bn (£12bn) takeover bid for US biopharmaceutical company Genzyme, reports The Am Law Daily. The French pharma giant approached Genzyme earlier this summer for talks about a possible merger, before making an offer in late July, the value of which was revealed this Sunday (29 August).

    1 minute read