Filter This View

  • July 20, 2011 |

    News Corp lawyers up as FCPA investigation feared

    It may have taken News International and the Metropolitan Police far too long to take allegations of widespread phone-hacking by now-defunct Sunday tabloid the News of the World (NoW) seriously, but they are certainly making up for lost time now. With the ongoing saga seeing senior figures stand down on a daily basis, the story is moving so fast that articles are out of date almost as soon as they are published. But what doesn't look likely to change quickly are the huge potential legal ramifications facing Rupert Murdoch's empire, both here in the UK and in the US, with the company facing the real possibility of substantial civil litigation claims from victims and shareholders, as well as criminal proceedings.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2011 | International Edition

    Partner exits – if you've got to go, don't go quite yet

    On the face of it there are very few parallels between Clifford Chance (CC) and SNR Denton right now, with CC's average profits per equity partner standing around the £1m mark, while those at legacy Dentons lag behind its City peers at just £232,000. But in one respect the pair are taking a very similar approach, with both firms currently planning to hold some of their exiting partners to all, or most, of their notice periods.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2011 |

    BNP Paribas GC launches global panel review with expansion aim

    BNP Paribas has kicked off its first global panel review since bringing in the former head of Herbert Smith's Paris banking practice, Georges Dirani, in October 2010 as general counsel. The France-headquartered bank sent out a tender document to more than 20 firms last month, with a view to increasing the size of the roster to take into account the bank's geographic reach.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2011 |

    Partner exits – if you've got to go, don't go quite yet

    On the face of it there are very few parallels between Clifford Chance (CC) and SNR Denton right now, with CC's average profits per equity partner standing around the £1m mark, while those at legacy Dentons lag behind its City peers at just £232,000. But in one respect the pair are taking a very similar approach, with both firms currently planning to hold some of their exiting partners to all, or most, of their notice periods.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2011 |

    Gov't refers News Corp-BSkyB bid to Competition Commission as Hackgate racks up legal roles

    Legal wrangling over News Corporation's controversial bid to take over BSkyB stepped up a gear this week as the proposed deal was referred to the Competition Commission. The referral by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt on Monday afternoon (11 July) was made in response to News Corp withdrawing from a proposed undertaking to spin off Sky News and came amid mounting public pressure for the tie-up to be halted as allegations continued to emerge in the ongoing phone-hacking scandal.

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2011 |

    A&O faces Gordon Brown con trick scrutiny as hacking row grows

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has questioned aspects of allegations made by The Guardian that the law firm was 'conned' into handing over client files while acting for Gordon Brown, as claims continue to emerge in the phone-hacking scandal. An article published today (11 July) on the guardian.co.uk website alleged that the law firm was tricked into handing over details from the former Prime Minister's file by a conman working for a prominent newspaper, and also described A&O as Brown's "London lawyers", a claim which has since been amended.

    1 minute read

  • July 1, 2011 |

    Elite US trio added to Barclays panel after review of bank's advisers

    Barclays has added three US firms to its general advisory panel, following a comprehensive panel review intended to increase value for money from the bank's regular advisers. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Shearman & Sterling and Sullivan & Cromwell have been added to the bank's main general advisory panel after Barclays decided to include the creation of a US sub-division for the first time.

    1 minute read

  • July 1, 2011 |

    SNR Denton – careful what you didn't wish for

    It's an irony that as SNR Denton faces a tough post-merger period, a fair number of partners seeking to explain the firm's struggles have sought to pin the blame on Denton Wilde Sapte's previous management. The argument goes that the UK firm persistently ducked addressing difficult performance issues in the years preceding its US merger. You can make a solid case for that assertion, but long-time Dentons-watchers are also likely to ask how much the firm as a whole was ready to stomach that sort of medicine.

    1 minute read

  • June 30, 2011 |

    Hogan Lovells leads as News Corp cuts MySpace losses with $35m sell-off

    Hogan Lovells has advised News Corporation on its $35m (£22m) sale of MySpace, six years after the media giant purchased the social networking site for $580m (£362m), reports The Am Law Daily. The acquisition by targeted advertising company Specific Media will see most of MySpace's 400 employees dismissed following the change in ownership, according to an email sent out on Wednesday (29 June) by MySpace CEO Mike Jones which confirmed the deal.

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2011 |

    Freshfields and White & Case secure roles on £300m Aston Martin bond

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and White & Case are among a raft of firms to have taken roles on a £304m high yield bond offering by iconic car brand Aston Martin. The offering, which closed last week, saw notes listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, as well as the creation of a £30m revolving credit facility.

    1 minute read