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  • February 26, 2013 |

    Cadwalader goes external for new deputy chairman with JP Morgan hire

    Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has make the rare move of recruiting an in-house lawyer for a senior role, with JP Morgan's co-head of North American M&A James Woolery coming on board as the firm's new deputy chairman and corporate co-chair. Woolery, who prior to his work at JP Morgan was a partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore, is taking up the newly created role at the US law firm, which will cover business development, strategy and external relations.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2013 |

    Cravath splits global M&A leadership as former chief heads for UK

    Cravath Swaine & Moore has split the management of its global M&A practice ahead of the imminent relocation of former global M&A head Richard Hall to London to bolster the firm's European footprint. The firm's Americas M&A practice will now be jointly led by New York partners Robert Townsend and Faiza Saeed. Recent high-profile roles for Townsend have included acting for pharma giant Johnson & Johnson on its $19.7bn (£12.9bn) acquisition of Synthes in 2012, while Saeed counts major corporates such as Kraft Foods, Morgan Stanley and Time Warner among her key clients.

    1 minute read

  • February 14, 2013 |

    Rescue remedy – is Spain's bad bank the answer to good health?

    As Spain's economic woes roll on and Spain Inc continues to draw negative publicity worldwide, the impact of the country's banking crisis is inevitably having a severe knock-on effect on law firms. Deal activity is down, particularly in the corporate sector, and Garrigues managing partner Fernando Vives says: "The reduction in credit has impacted directly on M&A and all the fields that are concerned with M&A, ie public law and environmental law. Law firms will suffer from a reduced number of M&A deals." In December, Garrigues announced a 5% dip in revenues for 2011-12 which, in light of the market conditions, it decreed to be "a highly satisfactory year" – not just in terms of economics, but the way the firm had met the crisis head-on. Cuatrecasas Goncalves Pereira meanwhile saw a marginal rise of 1.2% to €245.6m (£211.5m).

    1 minute read

  • February 14, 2013 |

    Davis Polk, Kirkland lead on Warren Buffett's $28bn Heinz acquisition

    Davis Polk & Wardwell and Kirkland & Ellis are among a line-up of US firms scoring roles on the $28bn (£18bn) acquisition of food giant Heinz by an investment consortium. The deal, which is believed to be the biggest ever acquisition in the food industry and has been approved by Heinz's board of directors, will see the Pittsburgh company acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, which is owned by US billionaire Warren Buffett, and 3G Capital.

    1 minute read

  • February 12, 2013 |

    CC, DLA and Skadden take roles on biggest IPO since Facebook

    Clifford Chance (CC), Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and DLA Piper are among a number of law firms to have advised on the initial public offering (IPO) of Pfizer's former animal health business Zoetis, in the largest IPO by a US company since Facebook. The listing, which went ahead on the New York Stock Exchange at the start of February, is said to have raised $2.2bn (£1.4bn), valuing the company at around $13bn (£8.3bn). Pfizer will retain an 80% ownership of Zoetis.

    1 minute read

  • February 7, 2013 |

    London partner recruitment by US law firms hits record levels

    The collapse of Dewey & LeBoeuf helped drive partner hiring by US law firms in London to record levels in 2012, with senior lateral recruitment in the City climbing by almost 40% during the last calendar year. Legal Week's annual survey of London partner recruitment trends at some of the leading US law firms found there were 141 lateral partner hires made by the City arms of 47 US law firms last year, compared with 103 across the same firms in 2011.

    1 minute read

  • February 7, 2013 |

    US law firms grow City presence by 8% in face of tough market

    US law firms grew their London offices by an average of 8% last year, despite continued depression in the UK and European legal markets. Research by Legal Week into the activities of 47 US firms in London found that partner headcount increased from 1,205 at the start of 2012 to 1,300 by the first day of 2013, with non-lawyer headcount also rising by a similar proportion. The increase in partner numbers comprises internal promotions, relocations and external hires.

    1 minute read

  • February 6, 2013 |

    Line-up of top law firms lead on $23.3bn Virgin Media acquisition

    Shearman & Sterling, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson and Allen & Overy (A&O) are among a raft of top firms to have advised on the $23.3bn (£14.9bn) purchase of Virgin Media by US cable giant Liberty Global. The cash and stock merger, which is subject to regulatory and stockholder approval, would create the world's largest broadband communications company, covering 25 million customers in 14 countries.

    1 minute read

  • February 5, 2013 |

    Hogan Lovells, Weil and Debevoise among legal line-up on $24.4bn Dell LBO

    Debevoise & Plimpton, Hogan Lovells and Weil Gotshal & Manges are among a line-up of top law firms to have advised on the $24.4bn (£15.5bn) buyout of computer manufacturer Dell, in the largest leveraged buyout (LBO) since the financial crisis. Founder Michael Dell is buying back the PC group, together with private equity group Silver Lake, offering stockholders $13.65 (£8.69) in cash per share.

    1 minute read

  • February 4, 2013 |

    Slaughters, Simpson Thacher among firms on $398m Chinalco HK listing

    Slaughter and May, Paul Hastings and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are among a raft of firms to have advised on the $398m (£253m) Hong Kong initial public offering of Chinalco Mining Corporation International. The company, a subsidiary of Chinalco, China's biggest producer of aluminium, is raising cash to help fund a copper mining project in Peru.

    1 minute read