• November 1, 2007 |

    Simmons scores client double on back of new energy financing deal expertise

    Simmons & Simmons has won two new clients on the back of its experience of a new financing structure, as the firm continues to build on its energy credentials. The firm has advised Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital on its subsidiary's $850m (£415m) purchase of oil and gas exploration company Rally Energy Group.

    1 minute read

  • October 31, 2007 |

    Companies under backdating spotlight shell out massive legal fees for independent investigations

    Perhaps no corporate scandal of recent years has created such wide-ranging troubles as the stock option backdating mess. Companies have spent untold millions on legal fees for independent investigations, government negotiations and shareholder and derivative suits. And even if the companies clean house, the disgraced executives can - and do - insist that their former employers keep paying their high-priced lawyers, thanks to indemnification contracts that are a standard perk in executive suites. In the case of Brocade Communications Systems, which cut ties with its convicted former chief executive, Gregory Reyes, legal fees could eventually reach $100m (£48.7m).

    1 minute read

  • October 24, 2007 |

    Credit squeeze set to prompt private equity IPO exit flurry

    Equity capital markets (ECM) lawyers are hoping for an increase in initial public offering (IPO) activity as the effects of the credit crunch spill over into the public markets, where IPOs could be seen as an increasingly attractive exit route.

    1 minute read

  • October 17, 2007 |

    Steady mid-market in Q3 helps firms ride out credit squeeze

    A resilient third-quarter showing from the UK mid-market helped firms such as Clifford Chance (CC), DLA Piper, Linklaters and Eversheds ride out the current turbulence in global deal markets.

    1 minute read

  • October 11, 2007 |

    Freshfields and Sidley get closure but age timebomb ticks on

    Two recent cases on either side of the Atlantic point to one of the most crucial issues currently facing commercial law firms. Namely, how to cope with…

    1 minute read

  • October 10, 2007 |

    CC holds lead in key European M&A league as deal market slows in Q3

    Clifford Chance (CC) has retained its place at the top of the adviser rankings for European M&A for the third consecutive quarter.

    1 minute read

  • October 10, 2007 |

    US legal chiefs blast (and laud) some of the world's top firms

    A raft of top international firms have been held up by a corporate counsel as practices to be actively avoided by clients, according to new research by a US consultancy.

    1 minute read

  • October 10, 2007 |

    Where Angel didn't fear to tread

    For a generation, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom stood alone globally among law firms in combining mammoth size with regal wealth. Well, move over, Joe Flom. With revenue of £1.121bn and profits per equity partner of £1.294m, Linklaters has surpassed Skadden on both measures. As managing partner Tony Angel's nine-year tenure draws to a close, Linklaters is both big and rich.

    1 minute read

  • October 8, 2007 | International Edition

    Skadden, Jones Day connect for $1.4bn energy deal

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Jones Day have advised on the $1.4bn (£685m) acquisition of Airtricity North America by E.ON. Skadden advised regular client Airtricity on the sale of its US wind farm operations after being instructed in the first half of the year. The firm's dual-qualified European energy and project finance head Douglas Nordlinger led the team assisted by London finance partner James Healy.

    1 minute read

  • October 8, 2007 |

    Skadden, Jones Day connect for $1.4bn energy deal

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Jones Day have advised on the $1.4bn (£685m) acquisition of Airtricity North America by E.ON. Skadden advised regular client Airtricity on the sale of its US wind farm operations after being instructed in the first half of the year. The firm's dual-qualified European energy and project finance head Douglas Nordlinger led the team assisted by London finance partner James Healy.

    1 minute read