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  • May 27, 2011 |

    Hard work without meaning is a prison – does City law pass the Gladwell test?

    Recording a podcast recently, one of my hosts, the media lawyer and writer David Allen Green, argued that City law is intellectually humdrum. The gist was that much commercial practice is vapid and repetitive and that City law is a club that sucks up the academically solid and socially acceptable but not those with independent intellects. This leaves more agile and questioning minds gravitating strongly towards mid-tier practice or the Bar.

    1 minute read

  • May 25, 2011 |

    The grand illusion - are twin-partnership unions mergers in name only?

    Law firm managing partners await publication of The Am Law 100 with great anticipation. In the publishing industry, rankings are a sure seller, and The Am Law 100 is a ranking par excellence. And, while The American Lawyer often relies upon law firms to supply their own financial data, there is widespread belief that the reported metrics are substantially correct. Until now. The ranking has been undermined not by law firms, but by the magazine itself. Because The American Lawyer now treats two or more independent firms within a Swiss verein as a single law firm, it has debased the financial results upon which its ranking rests.

    1 minute read

  • May 23, 2011 |

    OC, Bakers and Skadden head up $975m Motorola-Nokia deal

    Osborne Clarke has taken a role alongside a number of US firms on Motorola's $975m (£600m) sale of assets to Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). The deal, which was announced in July 2010 and completed on 30 April 2011, sees NSN take responsibility for supporting 50 of the mobile phone giant's network operators across 52 countries, as well as approximately 6,900 employees.

    1 minute read

  • May 16, 2011 |

    DLA adds restructuring partner trio with New York and Madrid hires

    DLA Piper has added three partners to its restructuring teams in the US and in Spain with a Skadden hire in New York and a 13-strong team in Madrid. Roca Junyent restructuring partners Javier Diaz-Galvez and Luis Martin joined DLA's Madrid office today (16 May), bringing with them a team of 11 lawyers and economists.

    1 minute read

  • May 11, 2011 |

    There's something about Canada – but are the country's law firms ready for international mergers?

    Every summer, rodeo fans flock to Calgary for the city's annual Stampede. This year they may be joined by a posse of managing partners from Am Law 100 and other international law firms looking to rope in a merger partner. Top of the list of likely candidates are DLA Piper and Clyde & Co, both of which are currently in talks with Canadian firms about prospective tie-ups.

    1 minute read

  • May 11, 2011 |

    Five US law firms line up on Microsoft's $8.5bn Skype purchase

    A raft of US law firms have won roles on Microsoft's $8.5bn (£5.2bn) acquisition of Skype Global, the internet voice and video chat service, reports The Am Law Daily. The all-cash deal - Microsoft's largest acquisition ever - will give the software giant a leading communications brand to partner with its other products such as Outlook, Lync, and Xbox LIVE.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2011 |

    Post-merger turbulence puts pressure on for SNR Denton

    Understandably, the news that SNR Denton's UK arm has launched a sector and practice review to boost profitability was played down by new UK chief executive Matthew Jones as house-keeping. But if strong indications prove correct that profits per equity partner (PEP) are to fall sharply for the UK partnership - perhaps below £250,000 - the firm will be under considerable pressure to demonstrate that it can get the practice back on track.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2011 |

    Picking up new business - is the Nordic legal market on the verge of substantial change?

    The fragmented Nordic legal market is potentially on the verge of substantial change. Unlike in many legal markets globally, the force of change appears to be coming from two ambitious local players, Finnish firms Roschier and Hannes Snellman, which have embarked on a pan-Nordic expansion. Both firms have opened offices in Stockholm in recent years, which has placed them in head-to-head competition with Sweden's biggest firms, Mannheimer Swartling and Vinge. Hannes Snellman has also opened in Copenhagen, dominated by local Danish firms, of which the largest is Kromann Reumert.

    1 minute read

  • April 20, 2011 |

    SNR Denton overhauls UK strategy as partner profits disappoint

    SNR Denton is reviewing the focus of its UK business as part of a push to boost profitability, with profits per equity partner (PEP) at the firm's UK arm expected to drop by more than a third this year. The newly-merged law firm is reviewing the practice and sector focus of its UK limited liability partnership (LLP) as it attempts to shore up revenues and profits going into the new financial year.

    1 minute read

  • April 15, 2011 |

    Skadden seals hire of SNR Denton advocacy chief McAlpine

    SNR Denton is set to lose advocacy chief and former deputy chairman Rory McAlpine to the London arm of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, it has emerged. McAlpine was part of the small group of senior partners from the legacy Denton Wilde Sapte that negotiated the firm's transatlantic merger with US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, which went live in September last year.

    1 minute read