Filter This View

  • October 28, 2009 |

    Bourgeois revolution

    Earlier this year, Forbes magazine named General Electric (GE) as the largest company in the world in its annual Global 2000 list. GE employs 323,000 people globally (among them over 1,000 lawyers) across a range of businesses including electronics, healthcare and financial services. So when it comes to reviews of external legal advisers at the company, the processes involved are complex and lengthy: 18 months, in this case.

    1 minute read

  • October 19, 2009 |

    Weil Gotshal tops list of earners as Lehman bankruptcy fees near $200m

    The sum total of legal fees for work relating to the collapse of Lehman Brothers is rapidly approaching $200m, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records. The ten law firms (plus an individual lawyer in the UK) involved in Lehman's Chapter 11 case have billed the Lehman estate a total of $178.8m (£110m) since the company filed for bankruptcy on 15 September last year.

    1 minute read

  • October 13, 2009 |

    Dundas partner duo quit for new roles at Greenberg and Kennedys

    Dundas & Wilson has seen the departure of two partners from its London office. Corporate partner Ewan Robertson has been recruited by US firm Greenberg Traurig Maher (GTM) after spending seven years as a partner with the Scottish firm. His practice focuses on M&A, joint ventures and project-related matters in the energy, real estate and utilities sector.

    1 minute read

  • October 9, 2009 |

    Leading firms nominated for 2009 British Legal Awards

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Bird & Bird and Norton Rose are among the nominees for a series of accolades at the 2009 British Legal Awards. The trio have been shortlisted for the prestigious Law Firm of the Year award alongside Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Clyde & Co, Kennedys and Stephenson Harwood. Norton Rose has also been nominated for a further two awards, including M&A Team of the Year, while Bird & Bird has secured nominations in three other categories, including Commercial Team of the Year.

    1 minute read

  • October 7, 2009 |

    Herbert Smith takes Virgin Atlantic role on BA investigation

    Herbert Smith has advised Virgin Atlantic on the European Commission's investigation into British Airways' (BA's) planned transatlantic alliance with American Airlines and Iberia. Last week (2 October) the Commission published a statement of objections in relation to plans to co-ordinate BA and American Airlines pricing, routes and marketing activities on certain transatlantic routes.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Bingham McCutchen set to adopt 'merit lockstep' system

    Bingham McCutchen is set to move to a 'merit lockstep' system that will keep base pay on lockstep but introduce a merit component into bonuses, reports The Recorder. Bonuses at Bingham were previously based solely on meeting a billable hours target. Although billable hours will continue to play a significant role in determining bonuses at the US firm, they will also be based on less tangible factors such as teamwork and the overall market rates for bonuses.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Global 100: Emerging markets

    From Russia's grey gloom to Brazil's red-hot ambitions, a look at the state of five emerging legal markets

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Global 100: The great game

    Soon after Simon Davies took over as Linklaters' managing partner at the end of 2007, he brought together a group of the firm's partners for some scenario planning. Turbulence in the subprime mortgage sector had not yet grown into a global economic downturn, but Davies knew that the legal services market was already changing. "We had been striving to run ourselves as efficiently as possible to deliver clear value to our clients and avoid increasing rates," he says. The purpose of the gathering was to run through some 'what-ifs,' determine how the firm would be affected, and consider how it would respond. Scenario three, the worst one under consideration, was the collapse of a major investment bank.

    1 minute read

  • September 25, 2009 |

    Slaughters and Freshfields lead on Unilever's €1.3bn Sara Lee bid

    Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have won key roles on Unilever's €1.275bn (£1.17bn) bid for the personal care division of Sara Lee. The deal, expected to close next year, will see Unilever aqcuire well-known brands such as Radox and Brylcreem

    1 minute read

  • September 23, 2009 | International Edition

    Renewable energy: Great light hope

    There are growth markets, there are long-term bets and then there is renewable energy. But however many false dawns alternative energy has had over the years, in the long run the business of green energy and nuclear power looks certain to ultimately establish itself as a huge, globally-significant industry.

    1 minute read