• July 30, 2007 |

    Legal Week Lunchbox: 30/7/72007

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today, including a new Career Clinic dilemma to get the week started; plus the pick of readers' comments

    1 minute read

  • July 27, 2007 |

    Mayer Brown hit by $245m Refco lawsuit

    Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw is facing a $245m (£119.5m) lawsuit from a former creditor of Refco, the futures broker on whose 2005 bankruptcy the Chicago-based law firm advised, it emerged yesterday (26 July). Thomas H Lee Partners (THL) - which acquired a controlling stake in Refco in 2004 - filed a claim in New York alleging that Mayer Brown had failed to inform it of the true state of Refco's finances.

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  • July 18, 2007 |

    Skadden, Bingham win big on Refco bankruptcy

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Bingham McCutchen have emerged among the big winners on the Refco bankruptcy, with Skadden alone trousering around $45m (£22m) in fees. Skadden was the main adviser to the struggling futures broker on its bankruptcy, which was filed in October 2005, while Bingham is advising the court-appointed administrator, Marc Kirschner, on what looks set to be a lengthy clean-up process.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2007 |

    Refco creditors eye Mayer Brown 'fraud' action

    Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw could face legal action after a court examiner in the Refco bankruptcy case said evidence had been found that the firm had committed professional negligence and fraud. Creditors of Refco - the futures broker that filed for bankruptcy in 2005 - were told they had a strong case against the Chicago-based law firm after a court examiner found "sufficient evidence" to bring a claim against the firm for "aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty and fraud".

    1 minute read

  • June 27, 2007 |

    Linklaters cuts systems costs with second IT outsourcing deal this year

    Linklaters has sealed its second IT outsourcing agreement so far this year - this time sending a chunk of its IT infrastructure to be managed outside the firm.

    1 minute read

  • June 27, 2007 |

    Chicago's Jenner to downsize partnership

    Chicago-based Jenner & Block has become the latest US firm to announce it will be cutting back its partnership, with the firm demoting around 15 of its equity partners.

    1 minute read

  • June 20, 2007 |

    Tech tonic

    It is a sign of the times that many of the issues legal IT professionals are grappling with are the same issues that are affecting lawyers. Whereas IT may have previously been viewed by fee earners as a back-office function, the strategic goals of IT and legal professionals have since become rather more entwined; both sides have a greater awareness of each other's role within the firm. In the words of Allen & Overy (A&O) managing partner David Morley: "pretty much everything we are doing now has a technology angle, but it is not always obvious."

    1 minute read

  • June 19, 2007 | International Edition

    Freshfields edges in opposite Slaughters on £7bn ICI bid

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have secured lead roles on Akzo Nobel's £7.2bn takeover approach for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Slaughters corporate partner Roland Turnill is advising paint and consumer chemical business Akzo. Its initial bid was rebuffed yesterday (18 June) after ICI's board said the offer undervalued the business but the Dutch company is expected to return with a higher offer.

    1 minute read

  • June 19, 2007 |

    Freshfields edges in opposite Slaughters on £7bn ICI bid

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have secured lead roles on Akzo Nobel's £7.2bn takeover approach for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Slaughters corporate partner Roland Turnill is advising paint and consumer chemical business Akzo. Its initial bid was rebuffed yesterday (18 June) after ICI's board said the offer undervalued the business but the Dutch company is expected to return with a higher offer.

    1 minute read

  • June 6, 2007 |

    Reuters to pilot media training for its advisers

    Reuters has this week written to its legal advisers to offer them media training for the first time.

    1 minute read