• February 1, 2012 |

    Hogan Lovells equity capital markets chief quits to join Latham's City arm

    Hogan Lovells equity capital markets (ECM) head Richard Brown has resigned from the firm to join Latham & Watkins. Brown's hire was confirmed through a partner vote at Latham last night (31 January) with his start date yet to be announced.

    1 minute read

  • February 1, 2012 |

    Simmons funds partner duo exit to join US firm's London base

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is set to add two partners to its London funds practice with the hire of Simmons & Simmons funds partners Tim Pearce and Ian Meade. The hire will take headcount in Akin Gump's London funds team to 11 lawyers, including five partners. Pearce and Meade's start dates at the US firm are yet to be confirmed.

    1 minute read

  • January 26, 2012 |

    Quartet of firms lead on proposed sale of Swedish packaging company

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance (CC) Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Eversheds are advising on DS Smith's proposed €1.6bn (£1.3bn) acquisition of a packaging division of Sweden's Svenska Cellulosa (SCA). A&O City corporate partners Don McGown and Richard Browne are leading the firm's team advising UK packaging company DS Smith.

    1 minute read

  • January 26, 2012 |

    Links leads on HSBC's $801m LatAm sell-off

    Linklaters is among six law firms to have taken roles for HSBC on the $801m (£512m) sale of its Latin American businesses to Colombia's Banco Davivienda, reports The Am Law Daily. The deal will see Banco Davivienda pick up 136 bank branches in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras, increasing its size by roughly 20%.

    1 minute read

  • January 25, 2012 |

    Morrison & Foerster seals Hong Kong IPO triple

    Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has signed off three multimillion-dollar listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in recent weeks, as Asian capital markets work continues to grow in importance for international law firms. The US law firm advised the underwriters – China International Capital Corporation, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland – on the $300m (£194m) initial public offering (IPO) of Chinese power company Guodian Technology and Environment Group, which listed on 30 December.

    1 minute read

  • January 19, 2012 |

    Endangered species - the rise and fall of the elite investment bank lawyer

    "From 1997 to 2007 the scale of hiring was phenomenal and the number of lawyers at top investment banks increased tenfold. City law firms were bled of expensive talent" - Scott Gibson charts the rise and fall of the elite investment bank lawyer...

    1 minute read

  • January 19, 2012 |

    CC and Freshfields advise as 11 banks issue £2.36bn of structured debt to ports group

    Clifford Chance (CC) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken roles on a £2.36bn issuance of new debt by Associated British Ports (ABP), the largest ports group in the UK. CC structured debt partner Steve Curtis led the firm's team advising a consortium of 11 banks on the refinancing alongside banking and finance partners Michael Bates, Jeremy Walter, Dan Neidle and City real estate head Jonathan Solomon.

    1 minute read

  • January 18, 2012 |

    Linklaters and Nabarro selected to advise on £5bn Euro power project

    Linklaters and Nabarro have been appointed to advise on one of Europe's biggest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects - expected to attract investment of just under £5bn. The pair are advising 2Co Energy on the planned Don Valley Power Project in Derbyshire, where 2Co plans to build a coal gasification plant that will generate 650 megawatts of power and capture 90% of its entire CO2 output. Planning permission for the power plant has already been granted, with construction expected to start in 2013.

    1 minute read

  • January 12, 2012 |

    At last Davis Polk hits the City, but is the Wall St leader ready to go on offensive?

    Suzanna Ring sizes up Davis Polk & Wardwell's prospects as the US leader makes its English law debut in the City...

    1 minute read

  • January 11, 2012 |

    White & Case and Linklaters head up Indonesia Govt's $1.75bn sovereign debt issue

    White & Case and Linklaters are among a number of firms to have won roles on the Indonesian Government's $1.75bn (£1.1bn) sovereign debt issue on the Singapore Exchange, reports The Asian Lawyer. White & Case is advising on US law aspects of the issue. Jakarta-based Thamrin & Rachman Law Firm is providing Indonesian counsel to the issuer, with Allen & Gledhill - which is currently in talks over a tie-up with Allen & Overy - providing Singapore counsel.

    1 minute read