• January 31, 2013 |

    Dealmaker: Paul Chow

    The Davis Polk & Wardwell heavyweight reflects on Asia's 2013 prospects, Slaughter and May and sartorial panic

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2013 |

    Freshfields, BLP and Slaughters among line-up on €1.8bn renewables refinancing

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Clifford Chance (CC) and Slaughter and May have lined up on the €1.8bn (£1.4bn) refinancing of renewable energy company Vestas Wind Systems. The deal, one of the biggest European refinancing mandates of recent months, will allow Vestas to continue as the world's largest manufacturer, installer and servicer of wind turbines.

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2013 |

    Growing list of top UK law firms move to cut staff in 2013

    With three major law firms announcing sizeable job cuts before the end of January, 2013 already looks near certain to be marked by a fresh run of legal redundancies as the UK economy flirts with a triple-dip recession. As Legal Week went to press, Clyde & Co and Olswang had also indicated that they may make a small number of redundancies, potentially adding to the roll call of major law firms making cuts in the past three months. Ominously, news also emerged on Wednesday (30 January) that Manchester firm Cobbetts was set to enter administration.

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2013 |

    Down but not out – global firms still eye Japan success despite a tidal wave of economic strife

    When the Japanese Government allowed foreign law firms to open offices in the country in 1987 to provide international advice, UK and US advisers started piling onto the bustling streets of Tokyo, then lured by the presence of the world's biggest banks and insurance companies as well as its booming technology and automobile industries.

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2013 |

    Addleshaws and BLP confirm spring NQ retention rates

    Addleshaw Goddard and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) have become the latest firms to announce retention rates for their March qualifying trainees, with the latter seeing a significant drop on the equivalent round last year. BLP has offered 14 of its 22 newly-qualified trainees (NQs) a position at the firm. All have accepted, giving it a retention rate of 64%.

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2013 |

    Burges Salmon, FFW and magic circle trio named on 48-strong Govt panel

    Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May are among a raft of firms to have secured roles on the finalised 48-firm Government Procurement Service panel. The magic circle firms have all been named on the long-awaited roster after firms received final confirmation of their appointments following a ten-day stand still period.

    1 minute read

  • January 30, 2013 |

    Slaughters names new Hong Kong senior partner as 36-year veteran retires

    Slaughter and May has appointed a new senior partner for Hong Kong as long-serving incumbent Richard Thornhill retires after 36 years at the magic circle firm. Thornhill, who joined Slaughters in 1977 and made partner in 1986, has played a key role in developing the firm's Asia practice and has advised on some of the biggest deals in Hong Kong.

    1 minute read

  • January 29, 2013 |

    Monckton QC steers Iceland to Euro court victory in bank collapse dispute

    Monckton Chambers' Tim Ward QC has successfully steered the Icelandic Government to victory in the European courts, with a ruling yesterday (28 January) meaning that the country is not obliged to repay Britain and the Netherlands for rescuing savers in the collapsed Icesave bank. A European Free Trade Association (EFTA) court in Luxembourg yesterday (29 January) dismissed an application brought by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the European Commission (EC), with Ward defending the Icelandic Government from allegations that it failed to guarantee minimum levels of compensation to savers in the bank.

    1 minute read

  • January 24, 2013 |

    Freshfields and Linklaters emerge as top financial services advisers

    Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have emerged as the top legal advisers on European financial services deals over the past five years. Figures exclusively provided for Legal Week by data partner mergermarket show Freshfields topping the value rankings ahead of Linklaters, with these positions reversed in the volume rankings.

    1 minute read

  • January 24, 2013 |

    Magic circle duo post marginal dips in spring NQ intake

    Magic circle duo Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have posted marginal drops in trainee retention rates for their spring intakes, posting figures of 85% and 86% respectively.

    1 minute read