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  • June 8, 2011 |

    Italian law champions restructurings over liquidation

    talian bankruptcy law has undergone extensive reform in recent years, aimed at increasing the efficiency of the bankruptcy system by reducing the incidence of business liquidations in order to limit their high social cost in terms of value destruction. The underlying focus of the Italian bankruptcy system has, therefore, generally shifted to incentivise debt restructurings and reorganisations of failing businesses. Prior to 2005, the Italian bankruptcy system was centred on the idea that failed businesses should be liquidated and insolvent debtors expelled from the economic system. As a result, the typical outcome of Italian insolvency proceedings was the liquidation of the debtor's assets, with pre-insolvency restructurings kept out of court and, therefore, outside a clear framework of legal protection. As a consequence, both the debtor and the creditors were exposed to clawback actions and criminal liability risks in case of subsequent bankruptcy of the debtor.

    1 minute read

  • June 7, 2011 |

    Shearman London office keeps on all bar one of September qualifiers

    Shearman & Sterling has become the first firm in the City to announce its September retention rates, with the US firm set to retain 11 of its 12 of its qualifying trainees. Shearman has offered 11 positions to its September qualifiers, equating to a retention rate of 92%. All trainees who were offered a job accepted the offer.

    1 minute read

  • June 2, 2011 |

    Howrey team hands Shearman brace of clients including Nestle and Hilton

    Shearman & Sterling's Brussels office has picked up a number of clients from defunct firm Howrey, including Nestle and Hilton. The US law firm, which hired a five-partner competition team led by the co-head of Howrey's global antitrust practice, Trevor Soames, in February, is advising on a number of matters for the team's former Howrey clients.

    1 minute read

  • June 1, 2011 |

    Sullivan, Shearman and Hogan lead on £1bn Jaguar high-yield bond

    Sullivan & Cromwell, Shearman & Sterling and Hogan Lovells have lined up on Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) first high-yield bond offering since it was taken over by Tata Motors in 2008, in a deal valued at £1bn. The company – which appointed Hogan Lovells and Shearman as joint counsel on UK and US aspects respectively – will use the proceeds of the bond sale to refinance debt and to help develop new vehicles and technologies.

    1 minute read

  • May 20, 2011 |

    Shearman raises salary bands for UK lawyers by as much as 15%

    Shearman & Sterling has announced salary hikes for its English-qualified lawyers, increasing pay levels in the firm's three-tier merit-based system by as much as 15%. The salary increases, which took effect from 1 May, will see the basic pay level for junior associates - those with up to three-and-a-half post-qualification experience (PQE) - rise 7% from £73,000 to £78,000, with the maximum amount junior associates can be paid rising 14% from £95,000 to £108,000.

    1 minute read

  • May 18, 2011 |

    Davis Polk boosts Paris with Shearman hires

    Davis Polk & Wardwell has moved to strengthen its Paris office with the hires of US rival Shearman & Sterling's local corporate and antitrust practices. Corporate partner Jacques Naquet-Radiguet, who was also the deputy managing partner of Shearman's Paris office, joined Davis Polk as a partner on Monday (16 May), after leaving Shearman last week.

    1 minute read

  • May 11, 2011 |

    There's something about Canada – but are the country's law firms ready for international mergers?

    Every summer, rodeo fans flock to Calgary for the city's annual Stampede. This year they may be joined by a posse of managing partners from Am Law 100 and other international law firms looking to rope in a merger partner. Top of the list of likely candidates are DLA Piper and Clyde & Co, both of which are currently in talks with Canadian firms about prospective tie-ups.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2011 |

    Rugged individualism – 2010 was a year of firm-specific achievement in the US

    If US culture traditionally celebrates individual achievement, the financial results for the world's largest legal market proved suitably patriotic last year. Overall there was little surprise, with the US top 100 firms achieving underlying revenue growth of 1.4% - a modest but respectable result that returned the group to growth after the 3.4% contraction seen in 2009. The prolonged squeeze on costs was enough to turn this modest revival into an 8.4% increase in average partner profits overall - very solid going for a hardly solid market.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2011 |

    US law leaders shrug off tough market to hike profits by 8%

    America's largest law firms returned to growth last year despite turbulent market conditions, with many US leaders achieving sharp increases in profits on the back of a prolonged squeeze on costs. Financial results for the 2010 financial year from Legal Week's affiliate title, The American Lawyer, show gross revenues across the US top 100 grew by 4% to $67.4bn (£40.4bn) against a healthy increase in profits per equity partner (PEP) of 8.4%.

    1 minute read

  • May 3, 2011 |

    Simpson Thacher launches Hong Kong law practice with magic circle duo

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has hired two partners from magic circle rivals to launch a Hong Kong law practice, writes The Asian Lawyer. Celia Lam, the joint Greater China managing partner for Linklaters, and Christopher Wong, the former head of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's China corporate practice, will join Simpson Thacher in the autumn.

    1 minute read