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  • March 16, 2009 |

    CC re-elects Medwick as Americas chief

    Clifford Chance (CC) has re-elected Craig Medwick as regional managing partner for the firm's Americas practice. Medwick (pictured), who is also a member of the firm's global management committee, will now take up a second four-year term in the role. He has been a partner with CC since 1987 and his practice focuses on corporate and securities transactions.The role as Americas head involves overseeing CC's offices in New York, Sao Paulo and Washington DC.

    1 minute read

  • March 4, 2009 |

    Through the wire

    The series of US criminal prosecutions of online gaming companies during the last three years can be seen as the inevitable result of the wishful thinking surrounding two widely-held misperceptions about the reach of US laws. The first of these was the belief that US anti-gambling laws applied only to persons who were physically present within US borders. The second was the expectation that US prosecutors could not bring prosecutions against online gaming operators because for a period of years they had not. Both of these misperceptions have been unambiguously resolved by the recent actions of the US Department of Justice (DoJ). Two further questions about the reach of US laws have proven more stubborn, though. The first lingering question relates to the scope of the Wire Act, the federal statute that makes it illegal to engage "in the business of betting or wagering... on any sporting event or contest" using wire communications. The DoJ has consistently taken the view that the Wire Act applies broadly to betting or wagering on all forms of gambling, including sports betting and poker. By contrast, in In Re MasterCard International [2002], the only US appellate court that has considered the scope of the Wire Act held that the statute is narrowly drawn and applies only to sports betting. This difference of opinion remains important particularly because the DoJ interprets the Wire Act to apply to any gambling business engaged in "betting or wagering" using wire communications. If the contrary view - that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting - is correct, then illegal gambling includes only a more narrow group of activities that are defined to be illegal under the laws of individual states.

    1 minute read

  • March 3, 2009 |

    Debevoise reports 7.2% revenue increase for 2008

    Debevoise & Plimpton has reported a 7.2% increase in revenues for 2008, however, profits per equity partner lagged behind, falling by nearly 3% over the year. The New York firm saw turnover increase to $760.8 (£537.25m), on the back of significant litigation and white-collar investigation work for clients including Siemens AG. However, PEP dropped to $2.23m (£1.57m), showing that the firm is not immune to the effects of the financial crisis.

    1 minute read

  • February 19, 2009 |

    Shearman PEP down 9% but firm eyes 'opportunity'

    Shearman & Sterling has posted a 4.9% dip in revenues to $876m (£608m) for 2008, along with a 9.6% fall in profits per equity partner to $1.665m (£1.15m). The percentage declines recorded by Shearman were similar to those reported by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and in the middle of the pack for major New York firms that have so far posted their results."It was the second-best year in the firm's history," said senior partner Rohan Weerasinghe. "That we did as well as we did is a testament to the strength of our platform globally."Shearman is more global than some of its US peers, with 45% of its lawyers based overseas, but less diversified in its practice mix, with only 22% of its revenues deriving from litigation.

    1 minute read

  • February 19, 2009 |

    Editor's Comment: A happy cult?

    Of the firms with any pretence to global credibility, there is no doubt that Latham & Watkins, until recently, had the best brand. That's not to say its partnership or client base match up to a Linklaters or Skadden - plainly, they don't. But having hauled itself out of its Drexel-induced hangover of the early 1990s, the firm had built a phenomenal brand that obscured the odd shortcoming and made it the easiest client in recruitment. The building blocks of this were strong leadership, clear strategy and sound quality control. But the key factor was its genius in marrying a performance culture with a supportive atmosphere. Many firms have achieved one or the other but Latham was the only one of its global peer group that managed both for any length of time. It was this trait that led the firm to be once described in an influential US directory as "a cult, but a happy cult". And bottom-line performance was every bit as impressive. When in 2007, Latham became one of only two US firms to generate more than $2bn (£1.4bn) in revenue, the firm crowned a five-year period in which it achieved incredible growth, while profitability and its global network had likewise expanded.

    1 minute read

  • February 18, 2009 |

    QC 2009 – they'll be back

    You have to give the QC system credit - no matter how many times it's predicted to be on the way out, just like the Terminator, it keeps coming back for more. And the current round, announced today, appears to be winning more support at the Bar after the two earlier rounds of the relaunched QC kitemark were met with criticism for an unwieldy and expensive applications process. By general consent, the revised and slimmed-down version has been an improvement, even if the new version has come at a considerable cost – around £6,000 for successful applicants.

    1 minute read

  • February 12, 2009 |

    Profits dip at Sullivan, Skadden and Davis Polk

    Wall Street leaders Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Sullivan & Cromwell and Davis Polk & Wardwell have all posted falling profits for 2008, it has emerged, despite the trio avoiding year-on-year declines in revenues. The Am Law Daily reports that Skadden managed to remain the highest-grossing law firm in the US top 100 to date, eking out a 1.4% increase in gross revenue to reach a 2008 total of $2.2bn (£1.47bn). In a dreadful year for M&A, Skadden's corporate practice was relatively strong, particularly in representing takeover targets.Gross revenue at Sullivan and Davis Polk, both of which logged thousands of hours in hectic bailout-related work in the last quarter of 2008, was flat. Sullivan grossed $985m (£670m) and Davis Polk $789m (£537m) - both exactly matching their 2007 results.

    1 minute read

  • February 11, 2009 |

    SH brings in Pinsents hire for projects debut

    Stephenson Harwood has set up a dedicated projects practice after hiring a partner from Pinsent Masons to lead the group.The City firm has brought in Clare McConnell to lead a new standalone projects practice that will bring together 25 partners from the firm's London, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore offices.McConnell spent four years as a partner at Pinsents. Prior to that she served as an associate at Berwin Leighton Paisner and Simmons & Simmons. She has a wide range of experience advising both private and public sector clients on PPP/PFI projects within the health and transportation sectors.

    1 minute read

  • February 10, 2009 |

    Skadden hires Shearman partner as Sao Paulo chief

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has recruited a new head of its Sao Paulo office with the hire of high-profile Shearman & Sterling capital markets partner Richard Aldrich. Aldrich was the founder and co-head of Shearman's Sao Paulo office, which opened in 2004. He joined the firm in 1975, made partner in 1983, and from 1984 to 1987 headed up the firm's Hong Kong office.Aldrich's practice focuses on public and private financings and he advises on securities offerings, structured financings, project financings and restructurings. He has worked on several high-profile US/Brazil-related deals and is also the former president of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

    1 minute read

  • February 9, 2009 |

    Latham profits plunge 21%, revenue down $100m

    Latham & Watkins saw its profits drop 21% last year, one of the largest falls so far reported by a leading US law firm, writes The Am Law Daily. Profits per equity partner fell from $2.27m (£1.54m) in 2007 to $1.8m (£1.22m) in 2008, it was confirmed today (9 February).The top 10 US firm also saw a dip in revenues - a 4% fall to $1.9bn (£1.29bn) knocked the firm back below the $2bn (£1.36bn) mark. Last year, Latham and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom became the first two US firms to break past the $2bn level in gross revenue.

    1 minute read