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  • July 13, 2008 |

    US firms in London – time to forget Sonnenschein

    Being in its own way such a tight community, a few isolated episodes can have an impact for a very long time within the global-yet-narrow confines of the…

    1 minute read

  • July 10, 2008 |

    Dentons seals IPO double with Eastern Europe energy roles

    Denton Wilde Sapte has scored a lead role on two main market listings in the space of a month as energy companies Arawak Energy and Cadogan Petroleum complete their initial public offerings (IPOs).

    1 minute read

  • July 9, 2008 |

    Analysis: Is it crunch time for litigation?

    Litigators have been banking on the credit crunch to deliver a long-awaited boost to their practices. But, finds Claire Ruckin, a year of market turmoil has yet to prove the case

    1 minute read

  • July 9, 2008 |

    US Firms in London: Tough talking

    US law firms remain publicly committed to expanding their London offices despite wider concerns that it could take until 2010 for current economic conditions to improve. This is the key finding of Legal Week's annual US law firms in London survey, which reveals that 86% plan to increase their headcount over the next 18 months. This is only slightly less than in 2007, when 91% of US firms earmarked further growth for their London operations.

    1 minute read

  • July 3, 2008 |

    Dentons bolsters City corporate team with hire of Reed Smith man Hierons

    Denton Wilde Sapte has bolstered its corporate practice with the addition of Reed Smith partner Richard Hierons. Hierons joins the top 20 UK law firm on 1 July after practising with Reed Smith for three years. Prior to joining Reed Smith, Hierons was a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld for five years, where he launched and headed up the US firm's UK corporate practice. He has also worked at Nabarro, where he was a partner for six years, and Clifford Chance.

    1 minute read

  • June 11, 2008 |

    In-House Lawyer: On a Qwest for improvement

    Richard Baer, Qwest Communications International's general counsel, stood before two-dozen of what he calls a 'murderers' row' of plaintiffs attorneys from firms such as Entwistle & Cappucci, Berger & Montague and Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy. Their clients were angry investors suing to recoup more than $40bn (£20.3bn) after a multibillion-dollar accounting scandal wracked the Denver-based telephone company in 2001. Its stock value had plummeted, and, in June 2002, then chief executive Joseph Nacchio resigned amid rumours of fraud and insider trading. Baer says his department, not outside counsel, had to take primary responsibility for handling the difficult, often tense negotiations with investors. The company's survival and the livelihoods of too many people depended on the outcome - people who had nothing to do with Nacchio's alleged deeds. "It was very important that plaintiffs lawyers understood that the company is made up of people, good people," Baer says. "We tried to humanise the company as best we could."

    1 minute read

  • June 6, 2008 |

    US Briefing: Making history with Obama

    As an avid student of modern US history, Covington & Burling partner Eric Holder Jr is well aware that he has been a groundbreaker. He was the first black US Attorney for the District of Columbia and later the first black deputy attorney general. Now some are wondering whether Holder - the campaign co-chair for Barack Obama and an individual with an acute sense of his duty to serve - could become the first African-American attorney general.

    1 minute read

  • June 5, 2008 |

    Reed Smith hires three-lawyer Clydes team for energy boost

    Reed Smith has strengthened its energy, trade and commodities group with the hire of a three-lawyer team from Clyde & Co. Commodities partner Robert Parson joined the firm at the beginning of this week, bringing with him two associates from Clydes, where he was a partner for six years.

    1 minute read

  • June 4, 2008 |

    Technology, media and telecoms: The convergence challenge

    In a sector that loves buzz words, acronyms and catchy straplines, it could be easy to get caught up in whichever interpretation of convergence is most prevalent at any given moment. Drop the word into conversation at trendy membership clubs such as Shoreditch House or Century and old media types will nod sagely and acknowledge you as a lawyer plugged into the digital zeitgeist: but what does convergence really mean? Entertainment technology is evolving, whether it is the convergence of digital devices (so your PlayStation 3 is a games console, a BluRay DVD player, a media centre and a browser all in one) or the convergence of media (so you can receive audiovisual transmissions via terrestrial, satellite, cable, the internet or even on your mobile phone via digital audio broadcasting). However, it is the broader convergence of advertising, technology and media that is truly driving change. Lawyers who previously advised clients in a discrete practice area have to adapt quickly and learn new skills in other areas of law. Similarly, legislators and regulatory bodies need to move faster than ever to keep up with an audience and marketplace that is constantly changing the rules.

    1 minute read

  • May 20, 2008 |

    2008 Assistant Pay League: a Legal Week Wiki special

    Who pays what and how. Your A-Z guide to the pay scales at the top UK and US firms.

    1 minute read