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  • April 18, 2007 |

    US Top 50/New York: The bigger picture

    Legal Week's top 50 US results show plenty of firms excelling in 2006. But, finds Paul Hodkinson, there is nervousness behind the numbers

    1 minute read

  • April 17, 2007 |

    Cads nabs antitrust head from Fried Frank

    New York leader Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has named a new head of its global antitrust practice after the hire of a senior partner from local rival Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. Charles Rule, who headed up Fried Frank's competition practice, joins Cadwalader in Washington DC as the new chair of its antitrust group. Rule moves after six years with Fried Frank. Prior to joining the firm he was head of competition at Washington firm Covington & Burling.

    1 minute read

  • April 4, 2007 |

    Ontex tussle sets scene for coming restructuring wave

    A raft of City heavyweights have won roles on the E1bn (£680m) restructuring battle surrounding Belgian company Ontex as advisers jostle for position ahead of the next round of workouts.

    1 minute read

  • March 28, 2007 |

    Weil Gotshal turns back on Brussels as firm focuses on Beijing and HK launch

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has made a highly symbolic decision to pull the plug on its Brussels office, as the firm focuses its fire on Asian expansion with plans to open in Beijing and Hong Kong. The New York firm is to close its Belgian operation in the summer and will handle European competition issues out of its other offices in the region.

    1 minute read

  • March 28, 2007 |

    New York leaders eye restructuring hires as economic downturn looms

    US firms are gearing up for an economic downturn with a raft of Manhattan's top managing partners attempting to swell their restructuring practices. Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Cravath Swaine & Moore and Dewey Ballantine are among a number of leading New York firms that have indicated to Legal Week that they are keen to reposition their practices to cope with a rise in restructuring work.

    1 minute read

  • March 28, 2007 |

    Fat Face fits for adviser trio

    Travers Smith, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) have advised on the sale of UK clothing retailer Fat Face to Bridgepoint Capital for £360m. Travers advised existing client Bridgepoint, with corporate partners Charles Barter and David Innes leading the team for the City firm.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2007 |

    GE drops e-bidding for US adviser overhaul

    General Electric (GE) has completed an overhaul of its US panel of advisers, ditching 44 firms and adding 12 new names to the roster. The international conglomerate, which has one of the largest in-house legal departments in the world, has axed 15 litigation firms and 13 US regional firms - including Armstrong Teasdale and Fox Rothschild - from its from its roster, which handles all of GE's legal work in the US.

    1 minute read

  • March 21, 2007 |

    Deal Commentary: Manhattan transfer finds New Yorkers less than bullish

    The business press may be full of record profits on Wall Street but the mood among Manhattan's top lawyers is decidedly more ambivalent, as Legal Week found during a recent tour of the city. Following a (sort of) record year in US M&A, some firms have seen substantial rises in both revenue and profits, meaning double-digit growth from some of Wall Street's finest. But there are also many - mainly Manhattan-centric firms - that have only managed average profit rises of around 5%.

    1 minute read

  • March 21, 2007 |

    Marco Compagnoni: Sold, to the best prepared bidder

    Anyone following the M&A market will have noticed the success rate of private equity players in M&A auctions. This is not necessarily because a private equity house is prepared to pay more - there are a number of reasons why the auction process tends to favour a private equity bidder over a trade buyer.

    1 minute read

  • March 14, 2007 |

    Apax adds two firms to core line-up

    Private equity giant Apax Partners has reviewed its preferred adviser list - widening its panel to cover five firms. The private equity house has reappointed regular advisers Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Ashurst and Weil Gotshal & Manges, while Allen & Overy (A&O) and Kirkland & Ellis have both won a coveted place on the roster for the first time.

    1 minute read