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  • November 22, 2012 | International Edition

    Rage against the machine – can Linklaters still do the vision thing?

    Lauded as a world-beater during the boom, Linklaters found itself in 2012 dogged by controversy and discord after its latest restructuring. Georgina Stanley asks if the City icon can still do the vision thing

    1 minute read

  • November 22, 2012 |

    Norton Rose chief gears up for post-merger expansion in New York and LatAm

    Norton Rose chief executive Peter Martyr is gearing up to expand in locations including New York and Latin America as the firm prepares to go live with its $2bn (£1.26bn) merger with Houston's Fulbright & Jaworski in June 2013. The Norton Rose Fulbright tie-up will give the firm 800 lawyers across 11 offices in the US, with 110 of these in New York, including 50 partners.

    1 minute read

  • November 22, 2012 |

    Changing games – Norton Rose's rise heralds a changing profession

    It looked significant at the time but in retrospect the 2010 tie-up between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson genuinely marked – and itself influenced – the changing shape of the legal industry. Not only because it constituted a transatlantic union between two major firms, but because the pair chose to deploy a multi-profit centre structure that has since been widely used over the last two years. Some deals haven't dazzled but none looks more significant than last week's news that Norton Rose has secured a tie-up with Fulbright & Jaworski. But then arguably it was Norton Rose that created the model for Hogan Lovells with its takeover of Deacons. Rivals scoffed but it kicked off a run of deals in Australia by firms that see themselves as well above Norton Rose's station. The underlying point? The Fulbright deal highlights the extent to which the last five years have seen industry-defining activity occurring outside the magic circle. Of course, claims that London's legal elite would wither in the face of recession were nonsense but, as a group, neither have they displayed quite the dominance we've come to expect, as we address in this week's analysis on Linklaters.

    1 minute read

  • November 22, 2012 |

    Norton Rose's US merger wins plaudits as doubts surround ambitious Dentons deal

    Norton Rose's transatlantic tie-up with Fulbright & Jaworski has received broad approval from law firm partners, against a more sceptical reponse to the other major merger deal of recent weeks – the proposed three-way union of SNR Denton, Salans and Canada's Fraser Milner Casgrain (FMC). Legal Week's latest Big Question survey found that 61% of partners believe Norton Rose's merger with US firm Fulbright – which is set to go live in June 2013 – is a good deal, with 19% unsure and the remaining 20% having a negative view of the tie-up.

    1 minute read

  • November 22, 2012 |

    Travers takes top law firm prize at British Legal Awards 2012

    Travers Smith, Norton Rose and LV= were among the prize winners at last night's (22 November) British Legal Awards, which took place at London's Old Billingsgate Market. Travers saw off competition from Berwin Leighton Paisner, Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins, Mishcon de Reya and Olswang to scoop the coveted Law Firm of the Year award.

    1 minute read

  • November 22, 2012 |

    Rage against the machine – can Linklaters still do the vision thing?

    Lauded as a world-beater during the boom, Linklaters found itself in 2012 dogged by controversy and discord after its latest restructuring. Georgina Stanley asks if the City icon can still do the vision thing

    1 minute read

  • November 19, 2012 |

    Norton Rose follows up Fulbright merger with hire of A&O IP partner

    Norton Rose has hired high-profile intellectual property (IP) partner Huw Evans from Allen & Overy (A&O). Evans, who joined A&O from Wragge & Co in 2009, focuses on patent litigation and cross-border disputes, and works across a range of sectors, including technology, telecoms and pharmaceuticals.

    1 minute read

  • November 15, 2012 |

    Norton Rose ends hunt for US merger partner with $2bn Fulbright tie-up

    Norton Rose has sealed one of the largest-ever transatlantic mergers, with the firm agreeing to tie up with Houston's Fulbright & Jaworski in June 2013. The deal, approved by more than 75% of Fulbright partners at the weekend and by Norton Rose partners at the firm's Toronto conference earlier this month, will create a firm just outside the global top five, with combined revenues of nearly $2bn (£1.26bn) – just behind Clifford Chance.

    1 minute read

  • November 15, 2012 | International Edition

    Branded, for good or ill – for Dentons, bigger may not be better

    "Dentons' management shouldn't expect much of a honeymoon as bigger does not always equal better and, in this case, the firm will have a lot to prove after Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and Denton Wilde Sapte badly underperformed on initial hopes following their 2010 tie-up..."

    1 minute read

  • November 15, 2012 |

    Branded, for good or ill – for Dentons, bigger may not be better

    "Dentons' management shouldn't expect much of a honeymoon as bigger does not always equal better and, in this case, the firm will have a lot to prove after Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and Denton Wilde Sapte badly underperformed on initial hopes following their 2010 tie-up..."

    1 minute read