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  • January 15, 2009 |

    Links, Slaughters lead on £1.6bn RBS sell-off

    Linklaters and Slaughter and May have won lead roles on Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS's) £1.6bn sale of its stake in Bank of China.Linklaters has picked up the main role for regular client RBS on the transaction, with London corporate partner Anne Drummond and Hong Kong corporate partner Betty Yap leading the team for the firm.Slaughters advised ABN Amro and Morgan Stanley on the transaction, fielding a team from its Asian practice led by Hong Kong corporate partner Benita Yu.

    1 minute read

  • January 14, 2009 |

    Predicting the unpredictable

    As the financial downturn grew in intensity through 2008, a number of high-profile general counsel took proactive steps in response. ITV general counsel Andrew Garard, for example, banished the billable hour on completion of his panel review in November, and James Blendis, legal chief of T-Mobile, entered into a round of frank discussions with the company's legal advisers in a bid to drive down costs.Earlier in the year, Tyco's much-heralded contract with Eversheds, which ushered in detailed billing transparency and widespread use of fixed fees, attracted much attention as evidence of clients taking control of legal services procurement.But not all the in-house changes were positive - the continued loss of jobs in the banking sector led to widely reported losses in the legal teams at Barclays Capital and Nomura, with the cuts spreading to media companies including Channel 4.

    1 minute read

  • January 9, 2009 |

    Blake Lapthorn wins British Red Cross role after adviser review

    Charity organisation British Red Cross has completed a review of its property advisers, with regional firms Blake Lapthorn and Harrison Clark landing key roles. The regional duo have been added to the organisation's preferred firms list alongside longstanding advisers DLA Piper, following a review by British Red Cross property head John Walford.The firms will work closely with the charity on a number of matters including property, property litigation and construction.

    1 minute read

  • January 6, 2009 |

    CC hires new partner from US governmental body

    Clifford Chance (CC) has bolstered its US antitrust offering with the high-profile hire of former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) general counsel, William Blumenthal. Blumenthal joins as a partner in the firm's corporate and litigation groups in New York, and will act as chairman of the antitrust group.At the FTC, Blumenthal represented the governmental body in front of federal and state courts, in addition to advising on proposed legislation, supervising reports to the US President and advising on policy.

    1 minute read

  • January 6, 2009 |

    Morgan Cole completes Bristol insurance merger

    Welsh heavyweight Morgan Cole has bolstered its Bristol presence after merging with insurance specialists CIP Solicitors, it was announced today (6 January). The tie-up, which goes live on 1 February, will see CIP Solicitors' four partners - Deborah Bradley, Richard Ottley, Ian Poole and Zoe Morgan - plus 40 lawyers and 31 support staff all come under the banner of Morgan Cole in Bristol, creating a 100-strong team.Morgan Cole's Bristol-based lawyers will move into CIP's offices in South Plaza.

    1 minute read

  • December 19, 2008 |

    2008: A year in review

    Legalweek.com covered all of the big stories of 2008. Here's a selection of some of the website's most-read stories of the year.

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  • December 16, 2008 |

    CC unveils new head of Washington DC office

    Clifford Chance has named litigator David DiBari as its new Washington DC managing partner. DiBari will take charge of the 11-partner and 50 fee earner office, working closely with regional managing partner Craig Medwick.He replaces former head Leiv Blad, who left the firm in November with two other lawyers for Bingham McCutchen. Since Blad's departure, Medwick has managed both the Washington and New York offices.

    1 minute read

  • December 11, 2008 |

    Europe, Middle East and Africa firm of the year

    This is a new category for 2008 and the judges were delighted to see the shortlist contain firms from outside Europe. Two practices from the Middle East - Galadari & Associates and Al Tamimi & Company - recorded excellent financial results, despite the influx of some of the world's largest firms into the region. Based in the United Arab Emirates, Galadari saw turnover rise by 30% on the back of high-quality work for clients such as the Government of Dubai, the royal family and Fortune 500 companies. The the firm's commitment to education through its recently launched students programme and other community initiatives made them worthy finalists.

    1 minute read

  • December 11, 2008 |

    Litigation and regulatory team of the year

    The economic downturn has turned the spotlight away from transactional departments and towards litigation and regulatory teams. The judges chose White & Case to receive this year's award on the back of its extraordinary caseload. Arguably the most important case was the successful House of Lords appeal by former Morgan Crucible chief executive Ian Norris over the US Department of Justice's attempts to extradite him by re-characterising price-fixing as conspiracy to defraud.

    1 minute read

  • December 10, 2008 |

    Life is sweet

    If longevity is anything to go by, working as the top lawyer at confectionery giant Cadbury seems to be one of the, ahem, sweeter in-house roles going.After all, the company - one of the world's largest confectionery businesses - has a knack of being able to retain its staff. Chief legal officer and group secretary Hank Udow has been at the company for more than 20 years and is still fascinated by his work.He says: "It still amazes me how many interesting and complex transactions I have had the opportunity to do at Cadbury. It is never dull. The scope of activities from a legal perspective is enormous."

    1 minute read