• January 31, 2008 |

    Elite US firms struggle to attract senior partner hires in the City

    Lateral partner hires among elite US firms in London have slowed during the last year, according to research from Legal Week, which illustrates the uphill struggle faced by US firms attempting to recruit leading names in the City.The survey of hiring trends at 23 US firms in London found they made a total of 65 lateral hires in 2007, up from 58 the previous year but down on 2005, when hiring activity peaked and 70 lawyers were recruited.Significantly, some of the US' top firms saw a fall in partner-hiring activity with 10 firms, including Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Baker & McKenzie, all reporting a drop in lateral appointments.

    1 minute read

  • January 30, 2008 |

    A&O keeps up the pace post-Vinter to dominate global projects league

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has topped the closely-watched global project finance league tables, storming ahead of rivals in both value and volume rankings. The 2007 Infrastructure Journal tables for legal advisers on global project finance deals show A&O leading the way after advising on 82 deals with a combined value of $68bn (£34.2bn).

    1 minute read

  • January 25, 2008 |

    Paris boutique Lussan lands SocGen fraud role

    Paris boutique Lussan & Associes has landed a profile-raising mandate to advise Societe Generale on its lawsuit against a trader accused of defrauding the French lender and causing losses of around €4.9bn (£3.7bn). Lussan partner Francois Martineau, whose broad practice covers M&A, banking, business crimes and insolvency, is leading the team advising SocGen on its claim against the trader, Jerome Kerviel.

    1 minute read

  • January 23, 2008 |

    Bredin Prat makes up two to partnership

    France's Bredin Prat has promoted two associates to its partnership as well as naming two new counsel in Paris. Olivier Rogivue, formerly an associate in the London and Paris offices of Slaughter and May, and Olivier Saba, a former Shearman & Sterling lawyer, joined the partnership in the corporate department on 1 January. Raed Fathallah and Kate Romain have become counsel.

    1 minute read

  • January 17, 2008 |

    O2 prepares to kick off first post-takeover panel review

    Mobile phone giant O2 is preparing for the first review of its legal advisers since its takeover by Spanish telecoms behemoth, Telefonica. The company, which counts Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer among its main advisers, will kick off a process in the coming months, led by general counsel Justine Campbell.

    1 minute read

  • January 16, 2008 |

    London lawyers fare well in US firms' latest partnership promotions round

    London lawyers have made up around 10% of US firms' overall partnership additions in the latest promotions round. The latest firms to announce their promotions are Dechert, Jones Day and McDermott Will & Emery, which between them have named 98 lawyers as partners worldwide, although only nine of those are London based.

    1 minute read

  • January 16, 2008 | International Edition

    Big four cast long shadow in deal league but nationals gain ground

    It was a good year for London's big four in the key M&A markets, no doubt, but 2007's wildly uneven corporate market also drew a strong performance from firms such as Eversheds and Pinsent Masons. Echoing its market-leading performance in Legal Week's primary adviser tables, which track lead corporate roles on Europe's largest deals, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer topped the full tables for European M&A, according to recently-released research from Mergermarket.

    1 minute read

  • January 16, 2008 |

    Big four cast long shadow in deal league but nationals gain ground

    It was a good year for London's big four in the key M&A markets, no doubt, but 2007's wildly uneven corporate market also drew a strong performance from firms such as Eversheds and Pinsent Masons. Echoing its market-leading performance in Legal Week's primary adviser tables, which track lead corporate roles on Europe's largest deals, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer topped the full tables for European M&A, according to recently-released research from Mergermarket.

    1 minute read

  • January 10, 2008 | International Edition

    High-level Shearman hire hands A&O Germany boost

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has bolstered its German corporate practice with the hire of Shearman & Sterling's global co-head of M&A. Hans Rolf Koerfer will join A&O's Duesseldorf arm, which opened in September, after nearly eight years with Shearman. The appointment of a respected corporate lawyer from one of Shearman's leading European offices will be seen as a boost for the magic circle firm's German practice, which has been identified as a key investment priority.

    1 minute read

  • January 10, 2008 |

    High-level Shearman hire hands A&O Germany boost

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has bolstered its German corporate practice with the hire of Shearman & Sterling's global co-head of M&A. Hans Rolf Koerfer will join A&O's Duesseldorf arm, which opened in September, after nearly eight years with Shearman. The appointment of a respected corporate lawyer from one of Shearman's leading European offices will be seen as a boost for the magic circle firm's German practice, which has been identified as a key investment priority.

    1 minute read