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  • March 27, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 27/03/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; plus the pick of the day's posts; its Texas v Dubya in Legal Village; and more

    1 minute read

  • March 26, 2008 |

    SocGen turns to Skadden for class action battle

    Societe Generale has called in US giant Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom to battle a class action law suit brought by shareholders following recent heavy losses sustained by the French lender. The class action has been filed against SocGen, France's second-largest bank, by a shareholder in the US as a result of losses sustained following its exposure to sub-prime loans and alleged fraudulent dealing by employee Jerome Kerviel.

    1 minute read

  • March 20, 2008 |

    External funding booms as litigators plot upturn

    Eight out of 10 of the City's top law firms are already using or assessing external funding for litigation and arbitration cases, it has emerged, marking a dramatic move of third-party funding into mainstream practice. All of the top 10 City firms except Linklaters and Slaughter and May are now offering, or considering offering, clients external funding in some cases, Legal Week has established.

    1 minute read

  • March 20, 2008 |

    Advisers scramble as credit turmoil claims Carlyle fund and Bear Stearns

    Finance lawyers are scrambling to position themselves globally after renewed turmoil in credit markets led to the collapse of two hedge funds in Europe and the fire-sale of Wall Street giant Bear Stearns.First to secure lead roles were Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Linklaters as Carlyle Capital Corporation announced its liquidation after defaulting on debts of $16bn (£7.8bn).

    1 minute read

  • March 19, 2008 |

    Commentary: Darling's debut dampens lawyer anger (sort of)

    Having complained with ample justification of excessive fiddling during Gordon Brown's reign as chancellor, tax advisers confronted Alistair Darling's debut with little new to get steamed up about. Given the storm of protest that met Darling's wildly-reactive pre-Budget report last autumn, this was certainly not because there was nothing to moan about. But it was a long time since the contents of a Budget had been so comprehensively trailed ahead of the day itself, a move presumably intended to reinforce the steady-as-she-goes message in the face of continued turmoil in global financial markets. On that yardstick, advisers are pretty unanimous that Darling delivered, having unveiled a series of measures of little import. The thing that tax and private client lawyers were most concerned about, taxation of non-domiciled individuals, gained the most attention and a fair amount of grudging acceptance (you couldn't call it approval). Darling effectively announced U-turns on everything except the actual charge of £30,000 for non-doms wishing to maintain their tax status after seven years in the UK, going a long way towards damping down anger to the level of mere simmering resentment and distrust.

    1 minute read

  • March 19, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 19/03/08...

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

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2008 |

    JP Morgan sets aside $6bn to combat Bear Stearns claims as Wachtell secures trophy mandate

    JP Morgan Chase is setting aside $6bn (£2.9bn) to cover potential litigation as it agrees to buy stricken Wall Street giant Bear Stearns for just $240m (£119m). Following the announcement on 16 March that it is buying the bank for a fraction of its previous value, JP Morgan said it is estimating the cost of the transaction at around $6bn - taking into account the potential of litigation stemming from the drop in Bear Stearn's stock value and severance costs.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2008 |

    Expansive Skadden set for Sao Paulo launch

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is to open a new office in Sao Paulo, the US giant announced today (18 March). The new branch is expected to open in May or June and represents Skadden's first foray into South America, although the firm established its Latin America practice group almost 20 years ago.

    1 minute read

  • March 17, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 17/03/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; plus the pick of the day's posts; Alex Novarese on McDermott's City progress; and more

    1 minute read

  • March 14, 2008 |

    Skadden's Mallon in for Carlyle Capital collapse

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has landed a lead advisory role on the liquidation this week of Carlyle Capital Corporation. City-based restructuring partner Chris Mallon (pictured right) is leading the team for Skadden advising Carlyle Capital, which has defaulted on debts worth $16bn (£7.8bn). The company reported earlier this week that it had failed to reach an agreement with its lenders, which include Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan Chase.

    1 minute read