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  • 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 28, 2009 |

    Blueprint for success

    Law firms have long shunned the kind of process management familiar to contractors in other service industries. But, finds Gina Passarella, the profession is expected to try again

    1 minute read

  • October 27, 2009 |

    Simmons duo depart to join Weil Gotshal in Hong Kong

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has boosted its Asia practice with a double hire from Simmons & Simmons in Hong Kong. Henry Ong has joined Weil's Hong Kong office as a partner along with Jasson Han, who joins as a partner-level senior consultant, the same title he held at Simmons.

    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 12, 2009 |

    Hogan-Lovells union faces many obstacles

    Lovells and Hogan & Hartson are considering one the riskiest manoeuvers in the legal business - a transatlantic merger, which in this case would create a global mega-firm of more than 2,500 lawyers. That strategy can work (see DLA Piper) or turn to brass (see Clifford Chance)

    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 |

    Care home operator debt restructure hands roles to Macfarlanes and A&O

    Macfarlanes and Allen & Overy (A&O) have scored roles as care home operator Four Seasons Healthcare restructured its £1.5bn debt pile after more than a year of negotiations with lenders. The deal, which signed last week (28 October), saw some 30 lenders agreeing a debt-for-equity swap that effectively halves Four Seasons' debt to around £780m and leaves primary lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with a 40% stake in the company.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Microsoft cuts back legal budget by 15% due to recession

    Microsoft's legal department has seen its legal budget cut by 15% over the last 18 months, leading to a 5% reduction in headcount, according to the software giant's general counsel, Brad Smith. Before the cuts, Microsoft's legal department had a $900m (£564m) annual legal budget and 1,050 staff, including 450 lawyers.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Survey of UK lawyers identifies top-rated legal employers

    Linklaters, SJ Berwin and Berwin Leighton Paisner are among a select band of 16 law firms that have been named as Best Legal Employers by Legal Week. The grouping contains representatives from across the Legal Week UK top 50, ranging from international firms such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Norton Rose to regional firms including Hill Dickinson and Weightmans. The London office of New York-based Weil Gotshal and Manges is the only US firm on the list.

    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