• May 25, 2010 |

    NY-based Howes replaces Blanch as McDermott arbitration head

    McDermott Will & Emery has appointed New York partner Ted Howes as head of the firm's international arbitration group, replacing recently-departed head Juliet Blanch. Howes has worked in international arbitration for the past 20 years, arbitrating cases both in the United States and abroad, including France, England, Switzerland and Hong Kong. He currently heads the firm's Chinese litigation and dispute resolution practice.

    1 minute read

  • May 19, 2010 |

    US trio take lead roles on record CEE listing

    A trio of US firms have taken the lead on Central Europe's largest ever initial public offering (IPO), the $2.7bn (£1.8bn) listing of insurance company PZU. Dewey & LeBoeuf scored a role for PZU, Poland's biggest insurer, which listed on the Warsaw stock exchange for the first time last week (11 May). The team was led by Warsaw managing partner Jaroslaw Grzesiak, Warsaw partner Ireneusz Matusielaski and London partner Joseph Ferraro.

    1 minute read

  • May 19, 2010 |

    Wall Street's legal elite stage recovery but fees fall at US top 100

    Wall Street's leading law firms have defied gloomy predictions to stage a notable comeback in 2009, emerging as the top performers among the US's 100 largest law firms. Financial results for 2009 from Legal Week's US sister title The American Lawyer show that the 13 New York firms with profits per equity partner (PEP) of more than $2m (£1.3m) overcame the toughest trading conditions for a generation to raise partner profitability by 3%.

    1 minute read

  • May 18, 2010 |

    CC, A&O and US trio advise on Man Group's $1.6bn hedge fund buyout

    Five law firms have taken major roles on Man Group's $1.6bn (£1.1bn) cash-and-stock acquisition of hedge fund GLG Partners, reports The Am Law Daily. The deal, which creates an investing behemoth with $63bn (£44bn) under management, will help Man Group to diversify its holdings and cope with the EU's new regulatory structure for hedge funds, which is set to require increased transparency from international hedge funds wanting to do business within the EU.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2010 |

    McDermott sees London structured finance chief depart firm

    McDermott Will & Emery has lost its London head of securitisation and structured finance Paul-Michael Rebus. Rebus' next move is currently unclear but it is understood that McDermott's City structured finance practice is set to see further losses in the coming weeks.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2010 |

    Weil Gotshal recruits CC funds partner for Hong Kong office

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has grown its Hong Kong funds practice with the hire of Clifford Chance (CC) partner John Fadely. Fadely joins Weil from the magic circle firm, where he had been a partner in the funds group since 2008. Prior to working at CC he was at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

    1 minute read

  • April 23, 2010 |

    Freshfields and Weil Gotshal lead on £500m private equity buyout of DFS

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Weil Gotshal & Manges have won roles on a £500m private equity deal that sees Advent International take over UK furniture retailer DFS. DFS and Lord Kirkham, the founder and owner of the company, were advised by a Freshfields team led by finance partner Chris Howard and corporate partner Andrew Hutchings.

    1 minute read

  • April 21, 2010 |

    Media and internet: The content business

    Once, life was simple in the media business. Media companies produced content - though they didn't call it that - for the masses. Film studios, record companies, publishers and broadcasting groups either owned or had significant control over distribution channels for that content. Life was also much simpler for media lawyers. Work was filled with low-level litigation, turning out fairly standard copyright agreements and, if you worked for one of the acquisitive media conglomerates, bringing in external counsel for intermittent bouts of empire building

    1 minute read

  • April 19, 2010 |

    The top-rated Indian TV show about corporate lawyers - really

    "Ah, Friday night . Time to kick back and relax. Hey, The Firm is on. Corporate lawyers talking about corporate law. Great show. Tonight, Jeff Smith of Cravath Swaine & Moore is talking about SEC rules on climate change disclosure? Excellent." That imaginary train of thought doesn't come from The Twilight Zone . It's from India, where The Firm: Corporate Law in India , airing on TV18, is all the rage.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    Weil Gotshal recruits McDermott partner Blanch in City disputes boost

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has made a key hire for its London litigation team, taking on McDermott Will & Emery's disputes partner Juliet Blanch. Blanch - who heads up the law firm's international dispute avoidance and resolution practice group - is set to join Weil Gotshal's two-partner London disputes group, headed up by partner Matt Shankland.

    1 minute read