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  • July 30, 2009 |

    Trio of firms hit rich seam on $488m bid for goldmining company

    A raft of firms including Norton Rose, Shearman & Sterling and Ashurst have lined up to advise on AngloGold Ashanti and Randgold Resources' joint $488m (£295m) bid for Moto Goldmines. The counterbid, which sees the two mining companies trying to beat Canada's Red Back Mining $466.8m ($282m) bid for Moto, would give AngloGold a 50% indirect interest in the company if Randgold's bid goes ahead.

    1 minute read

  • July 9, 2009 | International Edition

    Offshore: Under scrutiny

    Lend an offshore lawyer your ear for five minutes and they will give you a list of reasons why you should do your business through their jurisdiction. Give them 10 minutes and you have opened the floodgates for a tirade about how offshore communities are consistently targeted and attacked by their onshore counterparts, who are worried about loss of business and tax leakage.

    1 minute read

  • April 8, 2009 | International Edition

    Generation why?

    When it comes to law firm prestige there is no denying that the magic circle tag still works its, well, magic. And there are few other groups that buy into the brand power of these five firms more so than the student population.Given free choice to name five law firms they would rate highly, students consistently turned to the magic circle group, viewing them as offering the best career options, work-life balance, partnership prospects and training - not to mention prestige - of all law firms.

    1 minute read

  • April 2, 2009 | International Edition

    Norton Rose flexi-working gets 96% City backing

    Norton Rose has won almost 100% support for its flexible working scheme in London. The firm announced today that 96% of its London office have given their support to the plans, which will allow the firm to introduce a four-day working week or sabbatical programme for staff and lawyers. Voting closed earlier this week (31 March), with the firm agreeing to introduce the contingency plan only if it got the buy-in of at least 75% of staff. Partners had already given the plans - which can be used for partners, lawyers and support staff - their approval. The decision means the firm's management will spend April reviewing individual practice areas before making any decisions about when and where it will implement the scheme.

    1 minute read

  • April 2, 2009 |

    Norton Rose flexi-working gets 96% City backing

    Norton Rose has won almost 100% support for its flexible working scheme in London. The firm announced today that 96% of its London office have given their support to the plans, which will allow the firm to introduce a four-day working week or sabbatical programme for staff and lawyers. Voting closed earlier this week (31 March), with the firm agreeing to introduce the contingency plan only if it got the buy-in of at least 75% of staff. Partners had already given the plans - which can be used for partners, lawyers and support staff - their approval. The decision means the firm's management will spend April reviewing individual practice areas before making any decisions about when and where it will implement the scheme.

    1 minute read

  • March 25, 2009 | International Edition

    Commentary: Norton Rose radicalism is too much for most City partners

    Hearing some partners react to Norton Rose's plans to slice working hours before axing jobs, anyone would think the firm had proposed something radical rather than applying a tested route to surviving a recession without ruining your skills base. After all, four-day weeks have proved to be workable solutions to the recession for factories and even professional services firms like KPMG, but many City lawyers seem to believe it's a completely different story for law firms.

    1 minute read

  • March 25, 2009 |

    Commentary: Norton Rose radicalism is too much for most City partners

    Hearing some partners react to Norton Rose's plans to slice working hours before axing jobs, anyone would think the firm had proposed something radical rather than applying a tested route to surviving a recession without ruining your skills base. After all, four-day weeks have proved to be workable solutions to the recession for factories and even professional services firms like KPMG, but many City lawyers seem to believe it's a completely different story for law firms.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2009 | International Edition

    Commentary: The leveraged finance team with a shortage of leverage

    When Legal Week revealed in February that Allen & Overy (A&O) had asked five partners in its London leveraged finance team to depart as part of its sweeping restructuring, it is fair to say the move generated some surprise.Yes, the sector has been devastated by the financial turmoil over the last year, leaving A&O and its 69-partner City banking practice heavily exposed. But even so, the level of departures from the firm's 12-partner leveraged finance team - historically one of A&O's most influential and highly-rated practices - was still unexpected.

    1 minute read

  • December 10, 2008 | International Edition

    Video: Companies warned on tough competition laws

    Companies need to increase their awareness of competition issues as the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the European Commission (EC) toughen their stance on unfair trading, Norton Rose competition partner Mark Jones (pictured) has warned. Speaking in the seventh episode of Legal Week Crisis Management Q&A in association with Norton Rose, Jones says companies need to ensure they have sufficient training and compliance procedures in place to avoid cartel activity and price-fixing. Jones warns that despite talk that competition laws have become less important since they were overlooked by the Government to pass the Lloyds TSB/HBOS merger, laws relating to price-fixing and cartel activity are still being heavily enforced.

    1 minute read

  • November 12, 2008 | International Edition

    Leading City firms continue to post double-digit H1 financials

    A host of major City firms including Allen & Overy (A&O) have withstood the economic turmoil to report double-digit growth in revenues for the first half of 2008. A&O last week (7 November) became the first magic circle firm to post its results for the six months - revealing an 11% increase in revenue on the same period last year. The hike saw the firm's revenues grow to £548m from last year's equivalent figure of £493m.More than half of the firm's billings came from outside the UK, with A&O opening in both Munich and Sao Paolo during the six-month period.

    1 minute read