• February 7, 2013 |

    MoFo and Sidley act for Chinese developer on HK$4.35bn share placing

    Morrison & Foerster and Sidley Austin have advised Chinese property developer Evergrande Real Estate on a HK$4.35bn (£368m) share placing. The placement saw the company sell one billion Evergrande shares – equivalent to around 6.7% of the company – at HK$4.35 each in a bid to raise funds. Sidley served as US and Hong Kong counsel to Evergrande, fielding a team led by the firm's head of corporate finance Huanting Timothy Li and corporate partner Constance Choy.

    1 minute read

  • February 7, 2013 |

    Clydes set for Indonesia association as global players eye emerging market

    Clyde & Co is looking to launch an association with an Indonesian law firm, as opportunities in the Southeast Asian country continue to attract the attention of international players. The UK outfit is currently in the process of finalising an agreement with a local firm it has worked with for some time in Indonesia, and is hoping to announce a partnership in March. The firm's Indonesia practice head Michael Horn would be expected to oversee the venture, and would take space in the local firm's Indonesian offices along with two other colleagues.

    1 minute read

  • February 7, 2013 |

    Ashurst and Taylor Wessing lead as Cattles sues PwC over audits

    Ashurst and Taylor Wessing are advising on a high-profile legal battle which sees PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) face a billion-pound negligence claim from Cattles. Troubled Yorkshire financial services group Cattles has accused its former auditor of negligent audits in 2006 and 2007, resulting in liabilities of £1.6bn.

    1 minute read

  • February 4, 2013 |

    Travers sees H1 revenues rise 1.5% to £40.5m

    Travers Smith saw revenues climb by 1.5% during the first half of the 2012-13 financial year, with turnover hitting £40.5m. The growth in fee income in the six month period leading to the end of December took turnover up from an equivalent figure of £39.9m for the same period in 2011.

    1 minute read

  • February 1, 2013 |

    LG in the picture on sale of Jessops brand to Dragons' Den star Jones

    Lawrence Graham (LG) has taken a lead role on the sale of the Jessops brand to a number of buyers including Dragons' Den star Peter Jones. The sale comes after the camera retailer went into administration last month, with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) appointed as administrator.

    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 27, 2013 |

    The Transfer Window: recent moves including Addleshaws, Links and DLA

    Addleshaw Goddard has turned to Linklaters for the hire of a new private equity partner in London. The firm is taking on Ben Rodham, who is a managing associate at the magic circle firm, where he has worked with clients including Bridgepoint, Carlyle, Hg Capital, Montagu and Terra Firma. He has also spent time Linklaters' Dubai and Hong Kong offices.

    1 minute read

  • January 24, 2013 |

    Herbert Smith and Eversheds carve up £70m in TfL billings over five years

    Herbert Smith Freehills and Eversheds have earned a combined total of more than £70m from work for Transport for London (TfL) since 2008, a freedom of information request submitted by Legal Week has revealed. The two firms are the biggest earners from contracts awarded by the transport body over the five-year period to the end of 2012, with Herbert Smith billing £42.2m and Eversheds £31.5m. Key TfL work Herbert Smith has handled in recent years includes advising on the upgrade and extension of the East London Line, and the administration of transport group Metronet, the UK's first-ever public-private partnership (PPP) insolvency

    1 minute read