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  • May 11, 2010 |

    Simmons finance practice set to keep quietly outperforming

    Simmons & Simmons may have seen a double-digit fall in revenue in the last financial year, but the prospects look relatively rosy for the firm's upwardly-mobile finance practice. Out of Simmons' four sector groups, financial institutions now count for around half of the firm's international business after the group's income more than doubled between 2005 and 2009. Since City banking partner Jeremy Hoyland took over the helm of the financial markets practice group from current managing partner Mark Dawkins five years ago, the firm has maintained a low-key but steady ascent up the pecking order of many of the world's leading banking institutions.

    1 minute read

  • May 4, 2010 |

    DLA cleared after sex discrimination allegations from former partner

    DLA Piper has successfully defended itself against allegations of sexual discrimination brought by a former partner. A Liverpool employment tribunal cleared the firm of the charges brought by former real estate partner Sarah Sweeney, dismissing all of her claims at the end of last month.

    1 minute read

  • April 27, 2010 |

    Elite trio take top roles on US Treasury's Citigroup share sale

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is advising the US Treasury on its plan to unload 7.7 billion government-owned Citigroup shares in a series of sales rather than all at once, reports The Am Law Daily. The US Government has retained Morgan Stanley to prepare the sale and place the initial batch of 1.5 billion Citi shares on the market, with Davis Polk & Wardwell and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton sharing the job of advising Morgan Stanley.

    1 minute read

  • April 23, 2010 |

    Four firms take top spots on on $10.6bn telecoms tie-up

    A quartet of US firms have taken lead roles on the $10.6bn (£6.9bn) acquisition of Qwest Communications by rival telecoms company CenturyTel, reports The Am Law Daily. Qwest was advised by US firms Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. Skadden provided M&A advice with a team led by partner Charles Mulaney, while WilmerHale advised on antitrust and regulation with a team led by partners James Lowe, Lynn Charytan and Samir Jain.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    Morgan Lewis boosts energy team with senior nuclear hire

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius has moved to beef up its London energy team with the hire of the former group legal director and company secretary of British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), Susan Quint. Quint, who left BNFL at the end of 2009, had been group legal director and company secretary since 2007, having previously held the role of general counsel.

    1 minute read

  • April 1, 2010 |

    FSA sustains City crackdown with seven charged for insider dealing

    The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has charged seven people in relation to alleged insider dealing in the latest crackdown on market abuse by the City watchdog. The group faces charges on 13 counts of insider trading following a 21-month investigation which relates to dealing in shares of 12 companies, including Morgan Crucible, Misys, Reuters and Enodis, between 2006 and 2008. According to the FSA, activity during the two-year period involved alleged unlawful profits of around £2.5m.

    1 minute read

  • March 24, 2010 |

    Freshfields and Linklaters act on tech company's £400m IPO

    Magic circle duo Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have won lead roles on Promethean World's £400m initial public offering (IPO). Interactive learning technology company Promethean, which makes high-tech whiteboards, handheld learning systems and electronic equipment for the classroom, priced at £2 per share, giving it a market capitalisation of £400m.

    1 minute read

  • March 24, 2010 |

    Linklaters calls on former partners to assess performance with key clients

    Linklaters is expanding a client relationship review programme that will see the magic circle firm use former partners to gauge how well the firm is managing its dealings with clients. The programme is set to be extended across Linklaters' entire client base after early trials saw the firm conduct research with small groups of core clients.

    1 minute read

  • March 24, 2010 |

    Simmons hit by loss of 20-strong team from Rome office

    Simmons & Simmons is set to lose a team of 20 lawyers from its Rome office. The team, which is headed up by a quartet of partners, handed in their notice in the last few days. The four partners are: Italy corporate chief Antonio Lombardo, Rome projects head Rodolfo Errore and corporate partners Ernesto Apuzzo and Francesco Aleandri.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2010 |

    Garrigues advises Spanish bank on £557m insurance business sale

    Spanish giant Garrigues has advised on a €556.8m (£505.9m) M&A deal in one of the biggest transactions in Spain so far this year. The firm has advised Caixa Catalunya, one of Spain's largest banks, on the sale of half of its insurance business to Spanish insurance company Mapfre.

    1 minute read