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  • September 9, 2008 |

    NY and DC elite line up for US mortgage bail-out

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton are among a long list of leading US law firms to have advised on the US Government's dramatic rescue of failing mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.Wachtell advised the US Treasury on the rescue deal, which at the weekend saw the US Government take effective ownership of the ailing mortgage giants, which guarantee huge amounts of US mortgage-based securities.Wachtell's 17-lawyer team worked "flat-out" for more than two weeks ahead of the rescue deal, which was concluded at the weekend. The firm's team was led by partners Harold Novikoff and Edward Herlihy. The Treasury Department's team was led by general counsel Robert Hoyt.

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  • September 5, 2008 |

    Herbert Smith bolsters Moscow capital markets

    Herbert Smith has hired a senior lawyer from Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital as a partner in its Moscow office. Evgeny Zelensky was executive director and co-head of legal and compliance at the bank, which specialises in emerging markets, until June this year.Zelensky has joined the City firm's capital markets practice in Moscow, which he will help develop alongside office head Allen Hanen and corporate partners Alexei Roudiak and Nick Moore.Zelensky's practice focuses on Russian capital markets transactions and equity capital markets (ECM) deals.

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  • September 4, 2008 |

    McDermott makes lucky seventh City hire with former Taylor Wessing head

    McDermott Will & Emery has made its seventh partner hire of the year, bringing in the former managing partner of Taylor Wessing UK, Gary Moss. Moss, who is set to join the US firm towards the end of September, will head up the London intellectual property (IP) practice.

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  • September 3, 2008 |

    Reed Smith recruits shipping team in Paris

    Reed Smith has strengthened its Paris shipping practice with the hire of a team of lawyers. Luc Grellet joined the firm on Monday (1 September) as a partner from local outfit Bouloy Grellet & Godin, where he was a partner. He brings with him two associates.Grellet's practice focuses on international arbitration and product liability matters within the shipping industry.The hire is follows a number of moves within the US-based firm's shipping group since its merger with Richards Butler last year, with a raft of partners relocating to firm's Middle East and Asian offices.

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  • August 28, 2008 |

    Herbert Smith hires Citi banker to strengthen securitisation practice

    Herbert Smith has bolstered its securitisation practice with the hire of Citi investment banker Michael Poulton. Poulton is set to join the top 10 City firm as a partner on 15 September after a three-year stint at Citi, where he was a banker within the Europe, Middle East and Africa securitisation team.

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  • August 27, 2008 |

    Time to get ethical

    "The UK's legal profession is one of the finest in the world. The expertise, the professionalism, the dedication to delivering justice is unrivalled. But as venerable and well-respected as the legal profession is, we have to accept that the profession cannot be immune to change. The way solicitors and barristers do their job, the manner, the style, the environment has changed significantly over the last decade. And so we have to consider how best we can still give effect to the values which underpin the profession, but in a way which enables it to meet the demands of the markets in which the profession operates."This bold call to arms came from the Right Honourable Jack Straw MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice speaking on legal services reform, diversity and legal aid at the launch of the Law Society's campaign on 'markets, justice and legal ethics' in March this year.

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  • August 18, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 18/08/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and more

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  • August 15, 2008 |

    JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley settle securities probes

    JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley will spend more than $7bn (£3.8bn) buying buy back auction-rate securities in a settlement announced on Thursday by New York state attorney general Andrew Cuomo and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement division director Linda Thomsen, writes The American Lawyer. The deal ends investigations by the SEC and several states' attorney generals into false claims made by the two banks in marketing auction-rate securities. At issue was the banks' continuing effort to bill the securities as a safe investment even after the unravelling credit markets made them risky, less easily liquidated bets.

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  • August 7, 2008 |

    Gartmore hires Bear vet to head legal team

    Bear Stearns' former European legal chief Bill McGowan has joined independent fund manager Gartmore as its general counsel. McGowan, who joined Bear Stearns in 2005 from Lehman Brothers, where he was head of transactional management for Europe, started working at Gartmore earlier this summer

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  • August 7, 2008 |

    Virgin Media looks within for deputy GC

    Virgin Media has announced the internal appointment of Scott Dresser as deputy general counsel. Dresser joined the company as associate general counsel in May 2006 and, as part of his new role, will oversee Virgin Media's M&A activity

    1 minute read