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  • December 22, 2009 |

    Weil Gotshal and Skadden lead on $1.9bn Sanofi-Aventis buyout

    Weil Gotshal & Manges and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have taken lead roles on Sanofi-Aventis's $1.9bn (£1.2bn) purchase of consumer care products company Chattem, reports The Am Law Daily. The acquisition, set to create the fifth-largest consumer products company in the world, will give the French pharmaceutical company a toehold in the over-the-counter drugs market.

    1 minute read

  • December 17, 2009 |

    Mayer Brown leads on GM sale of Saab assets to Chinese company

    Mayer Brown has taken the lead role for Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) on the purchase of Saab assets and intellectual property rights from General Motors. The deal, valued at SEK1.4bn (£119m), could stave off bankruptcy for Swedish car maker Saab while GM continues to search for a buyer, following the failed takeover attempt by Swedish car maker Koenigsegg in the autumn.

    1 minute read

  • December 15, 2009 |

    Skadden and Davis Polk lead on Exxon's $31bn natural gas buyout

    Davis Polk & Wardwell and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have won lead roles on the biggest energy deal since 2006 - Exxon Mobil's acquisition of natural gas company XTO Energy for $31bn (£19bn). Davis Polk, which represented Exxon on its $80bn (£49bn) purchase of Mobil in 1999, reprised its role as lead M&A counsel, with a team led by M&A head George Bason, alongside corporate partners Louis Goldberg and Arthur Golden, tax partner Avishai Shachar, benefits partner Edmond FitzGerald and environmental partner Gail Flesher.

    1 minute read

  • December 13, 2009 |

    Latham & Watkins

    A great US practice and renowned as a decent place to work. However, the London office still looks uneven, so approach very much on the basis of your practice area.

    1 minute read

  • December 8, 2009 |

    Quinn Emanuel set to report profit for 2009 after strong City debut

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Hedges' London office is expecting to record a profit little more than a year after formally launching in the City. The London office is set to post a net profit when it reports its results for the 2009 calendar year - despite only launching properly in October 2008.

    1 minute read

  • December 4, 2009 |

    Ex-Broadcom GC avoids criminal charges amid claims of misconduct

    The former general counsel of Broadcom has avoided criminal charges in a stock options backdating case following claims of prosecutorial misconduct, reports The National Law Journal. David Dull, who left the electronics company in 2008 after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against him, is expected to reach a non-prosecution agreement with the US Government, according to court documents.

    1 minute read

  • December 1, 2009 |

    Independent Law Firms in Europe: A model of resilience

    The global recession has done little to alter the faith of Europe's independents in the strength of their law firm models. While the global UK and US-based firms have been busy with internal housekeeping and the struggle for position in their home markets, Europe's independent law firms cannot be accused of having let the opportunity pass them by.

    1 minute read

  • December 1, 2009 |

    Weil Gotshal makes up just three to partnership as London misses out

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has announced a depleted partner promotions round, with just three lawyers set to join the partnership on 1 January 2010. No London-based lawyers will join the firm's partnership in this year's round, with the total of three promotions representing less than half of last year's tally, when seven were made up worldwide, including one in the City.

    1 minute read

  • November 3, 2009 |

    Cravath kicks off US bonus season with reduced awards

    Cravath Swaine & Moore has drastically cut back associate bonuses for its most junior lawyers as the firm this week became the first major US practice to reveal its hand, writes the New York Law Journal. Second-year associates will receive a $7,500 (£4,600) bonus, down from $17,500 (£10,700) last year, according to a memorandum obtained by the New York Law Journal. Senior associates at the leading Wall Street law firm will earn $30,000 (£18,400), the same as in 2008, but first-year associates, who earn $160,000 (£98,000) a year, will not receive a bonus.

    1 minute read

  • October 20, 2009 |

    Law firm management: Learning to lead

    Harvard started a revolution in leadership training for law firms in the 1990s. Alex Aldridge and Alex Novarese tell the story and assess what management training can offer

    1 minute read