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  • February 8, 2013 |

    Fifteen Hong Kong lawyers win higher rights to appear in court

    Fifteen lawyers have been granted approval to appear in Hong Kong courts with exemption from litigation training, as the region moves to broaden the scope of work law firms are permitted to handle. Some of Hong Kong's top dispute resolution partners - including top-ranked Skadden disputes partner Paul Mitchard QC and Ashurst senior associate and former barrister Sanjay Sakhrani - are among the line-up receiving Higher Rights of Audience (HRA).

    1 minute read

  • February 7, 2013 |

    Dealmaker: Michael Hatchard

    The Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom partner on sarongs, cheddar and standard underwriting and offer documentation

    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

  • January 24, 2013 |

    Skadden and Sullivan win key roles on €1bn IPO of real estate group LEG

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell have landed roles on German real estate group LEG's initial public offering (IPO), expected to raise up to €1bn (£838m). The listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is due to take place in early February, and is expected to value the Duesseldorf-based housing company at more than €2bn (£1.7bn), according to market analysts.

    1 minute read

  • January 24, 2013 |

    US law firms to grow Hong Kong litigation teams as solicitors get advocacy rights

    Given the US cultural affinity for resolving matters inside a court room, it was perhaps only a matter of time. But finally, America's leading law firms appear to be taking litigation work in Asia seriously. Latham & Watkins, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and O'Melveny & Myers are among several US outfits with plans to strengthen their local disputes teams, while Davis Polk & Wardwell recently entered the litigation arena with the hire of two well-regarded litigators from Clifford Chance (CC). Firms that are considering starting up local disputes practices include Kirkland & Ellis and Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, both of which have strong litigation franchises globally.

    1 minute read

  • January 24, 2013 |

    Jones Day and Withers act as PPR partners up with British designer Christopher Kane

    Jones Day and Withers have won leading roles on the 51% acquisition of British designer label Christopher Kane by French luxury goods group PPR. The transaction, for an undisclosed sum, sees PPR – the parent company of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent – enter into a partnership with Kane (pictured) to grow the brand.

    1 minute read

  • January 23, 2013 |

    Kirkland adds M&A partner in Hong Kong with Paul Weiss hire

    Kirkland & Ellis has added a partner to its Hong Kong corporate practice with the hire of M&A specialist Frank Sun from US rival Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Sun, who worked as an associate at Kirkland's New York office between 2007 and 2008, has rejoined the Chicago headquartered firm, bringing the total number of Hong Kong M&A partners to 13.

    1 minute read

  • January 17, 2013 |

    Skadden, CC among legal line-up on BlackRock's Credit Suisse purchase

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Clifford Chance (CC) are among a line-up of firms advising on asset manager BlackRock's acquisition of Credit Suisse's exchange traded funds (ETF) business. The terms of the deal are undisclosed, but the transaction is reportedly worth between $200m (£124m) and $300m (£186m). The ETF business has around CHF16bn (£10.8bn) of client assets under management.

    1 minute read

  • January 17, 2013 |

    Yorkshire Water appoints new legal head as BLP deal sinks

    Yorkshire Water has appointed a new head of legal with the promotion of in-house lawyer Perminder Kaur, as it emerges that a proposed deal with Berwin Leighton Paisner's Managed Legal Services arm has fallen through. Kaur will take over the leadership of the company's legal team from 1 April, succeeding current head Stuart McFarlane, who she will continue to report to in his new role as company secretary.

    1 minute read

  • January 17, 2013 |

    Libor's long tail – lawyers jostle as bank scandals spread through the market

    The new year may be a time to start afresh, but the Libor scandal that dominated business headlines in the second half of 2012 is – for advisers – showing no signs of abating. At Clifford Chance (CC), the news that its client Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is in the final stages of a settlement with US and UK regulators over its alleged Libor role means the firm's regulatory lawyers will have had a busy start to 2013.

    1 minute read