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  • October 17, 2013 |

    The next big thing – regulation's booming popularity in legal business

    September 2007. A month Ian McDonald remembers well. "My banking and finance colleague Kevin Hawken came to see me and said: 'What do you know about SIVs [structured investment vehicles]?'" recalls McDonald, London head of commercial dispute resolution at Mayer Brown. "I thought it was a kitchen gadget. I really had no idea – but that is part of the challenge as litigators." His ignorance was short-lived. Mayer Brown's litigators were among the first called upon to help restructure SIVs – complex financial products once worth an estimated $400bn (£247.3bn) – when the 2007 credit crunch halted the short-term funding that underpinned them. For McDonald and his colleagues, it marked the start of busy few years.

    1 minute read

  • October 10, 2013 |

    Top firms set to do battle at 2013 British Legal Awards

    Linklaters is leading the way in nominations for the top practice awards as the shortlist for the 2013 British Legal Awards has been unveiled. The magic circle has nominations M&A, banking, financing or restructuring, and commercial team of the year categories. However, it missed out on the law firm of the year shortlist.

    1 minute read

  • October 9, 2013 |

    CC private equity partner re-joins David Walker at Latham

    Latham & Watkins has raided Clifford Chance's (CC) private equity practice for the second time this year with the hire of Tom Evans as partner. Evans joins just months after CC private equity chief and key Carlyle relationship partner David Walker made the switch.

    1 minute read

  • October 9, 2013 |

    Norton Rose Fulbright and Pinsents advise on Falklands oil and gas merger

    Norton Rose Fulbright and Pinsent Masons have landed the leading roles on a deal that will see Falkland Oil & Gas (FOGL) acquire fellow exploration company Desire Petroleum. The combination of the two Falklands companies, which will create an entity worth around $250m (£156m), will see FOGL's shareholders own 60% of the combined group's issued share capital after the offer closes, with Desire stakeholders owning the remainder.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2013 |

    Former Fulbright competition co-head joins Brodies in Edinburgh

    Brodies' Edinburgh office has re-hired Norton Rose Fulbright regulatory and competition partner Rod Lambert. Lambert, who trained at the Scottish firm before moving to London, joins Brodies' public law and regulatory team, where he will advise clients on antitrust litigation matters including cartel defence, antitrust compliance and merger control.

    1 minute read

  • October 3, 2013 |

    Cleary moves out of Hong Kong's Central district as faltering deal flow forces firms to downsize

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has become the first Wall Street law firm to move out of Hong Kong's main business district in Central after signing a lease on a property in neighbouring Causeway Bay. The move comes as growing numbers of overseas firms based in the city's most expensive district have downsized or sublet space.

    1 minute read

  • October 2, 2013 |

    HSF ramps up in Australia with hires from Bakers, Norton Rose Fulbright

    Herbert Smith Freehills has ramped up in Australia with the hire of two new partners. Corporate partner David Ryan joins the Sydney team from Baker & McKenzie, whilst finance partner David Lyons has moved to HSF in Brisbane from Norton Rose Fulbright. Ryan was global head of mining and metals with Bakers, and had a strong energy and resources practice focusing on M&A in the electricity and gas sector. He will continue to concentrate on M&A and offer more general commercial advice in his new role.

    1 minute read

  • September 30, 2013 |

    Burges Salmon advises as Europe's largest tidal power generation project gets go-ahead

    Burges Salmon has helped secure consent for the largest tidal power generation project to have gained approval in Europe. The firm has advised MyGen - a joint venture between investment bank Morgan Stanley (45%), GDF SUEZ (45%) and tidal technology provider Atlantis Resources Corporation (10%) - on the 86MW Phase 1 Pentland Firth tidal generation development, which was given approval earlier this month.

    1 minute read

  • September 30, 2013 |

    CMS partner appointed as new lord mayor of the City of London

    CMS Cameron McKenna energy partner Fiona Woolf has been appointed Lord Mayor of the City of London. Woolf was elected today as the 686th Lord Mayor but only the second female holder of the post in its 800-year history.

    1 minute read

  • September 26, 2013 |

    UK duo take top roles on creation of world's biggest solar power plant

    Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright have landed key roles on the creation of the world's largest solar power plant, which is under construction in Ouarzazate, Morocco. Ashurst advised the project company ACWA Power on the development and financing of the first phase of the programme, with a team led by energy partner David Wadham and finance partner James Coiley. ACWA Power will sell the plant's output to the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Masen currently owns 25% of ACWA Power. Norton Rose Fulbright advised Masen, with global head of energy Simon Currie taking the lead role.

    1 minute read