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  • October 10, 2011 |

    Bakers instructed by Australian coal miner for potential $5bn sale

    Baker & McKenzie has been handed a lead role on the potential multibillion-dollar sale of Australian coal mine operator New Hope, reports The Am Law Daily. New Hope announced last week that it would consider takeover offers and has hired Bakers to advise it on the bidding and appraisal process.

    1 minute read

  • October 5, 2011 |

    King of the hill – will Chinese law firms monopolise local competition work?

    In July, Nestle announced it had agreed to pay $1.7bn (£1.08bn) to acquire a controlling interest in Chinese candy company Hsu Fu Chi International. The proposed deal would be the largest-ever acquisition in China by a foreign multinational and would help the Vevey, a Switzerland-based food giant, cement its position in the world's most important growth market. If Nestle is able to pull the deal off, it may just have Susan Ning to thank, above all. Head of the antitrust group and a senior partner at King & Wood, Ning is aiming to guide Nestle around what is likely the biggest obstacle to its deal: China's three-year-old anti-monopoly law. The last time a large multinational attempted a similar acquisition – Coca-Cola's $2bn (£1.28bn) bid for China Huiyuan Juice Group in 2008 – the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) shot it down on antitrust review.

    1 minute read

  • September 28, 2011 |

    Cracking China – has Mandarin become de rigueur for modern Asian counsel?

    For would-be new hires at several international law firms in China and Hong Kong, speaking Mandarin has come to be a strict and unyielding prerequisite. "Certainly from our point of view, hiring someone in Hong Kong without Chinese language speaking skills is a waste of time," says Antony Dapiran, a fluent Mandarin speaker and capital markets partner with Davis Polk & Wardwell in Hong Kong. "I honestly do not see how they can function, especially if they are dealing with capital markets work."

    1 minute read

  • September 28, 2011 |

    The expert temps - will contract lawyers prove a mainstream tool for in-house legal teams?

    As in-house legal teams look for innovative ways to meet demand with frozen or reduced headcount budgets, providers of flexible and cost-effective interim lawyers are moving to fill the lacuna left by law firms as they struggle with their own resourcing and cost issues. Where once interim appointments were a necessary evil in between permanent jobs, the advent of hybrids including virtual law firm Axiom and Berwin Leighton Paisner's (BLP's) client resourcing solution Lawyers on Demand (LoD) is changing the game for corporates, tapping into a growing pool of talented lawyers looking to take more control of their own destiny and affording them a respectable and supported way to take on high-level, well-paid, flexible roles.

    1 minute read

  • September 21, 2011 |

    US firms in London to join diversity initiative; more UK firms get on board

    PRIME, the ground-breaking social mobility initiative launched by 23 major law firms earlier this month, looks set to be expanded to include the London offices of several leading US firms, with White & Case and Shearman & Sterling among those lining up to get involved.

    1 minute read

  • September 14, 2011 |

    BBC Trust names Bakers as sole legal adviser after competitive tender

    Baker & McKenzie has been appointed as the sole legal adviser to the BBC Trust on regulatory matters following a competitive tender exercise. The Trust, which acts as the broadcasting company's governing body, has instructed Bakers in this capacity since its inception in 2007, but re-tendered earlier this year after the appointment of Lord Patten – a former Cabinet minister and chairman of the Conservative Party – as its chairman. The competitive tender process involved half a dozen UK law firms including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Simmons & Simmons and Field Fisher Waterhouse.

    1 minute read

  • September 13, 2011 |

    DLA Piper and Olswang win roles as Vodafone confirms new legal panel

    Vodafone has completed a review of its group and UK legal advisers, with Olswang and DLA Piper winning first-time appointments. The panel is divided into two - a group panel which will handle the legal services for Vodafone's corporate centre and a dedicated UK panel.

    1 minute read

  • September 7, 2011 |

    Outgoing SJB partner leads alongside Bakers on Nordbank fund disposal

    SJ Berwin and Baker & McKenzie have taken lead roles on HSH Nordbank's sale of a stake in a portfolio of private equity fund investments, a deal that values the bank's total 47-fund portfolio at €620m (£549m). SJ Berwin was instructed by Germany's Nordbank, a longstanding client of the firm, and fielded a team led by funds partner Nigel van Zyl, who is set to leave the firm with a team of associates to join Proskauer Rose. SJ Berwin's City team worked with Munich funds partner Sonya Pauls on the deal.

    1 minute read

  • September 7, 2011 |

    K&L Gates opens second Middle East branch with Qatar launch

    K&L Gates has launched an office in Qatar, with Dewey & LeBoeuf's former Doha chief, Kenneth Freeling, charged with heading the base. The firm received its licence from the Qatar Financial Centre late last month (23 August) after applying to open in March, with patent and antitrust litigation partner Freeling leading the venture.

    1 minute read

  • September 7, 2011 |

    A waste of money - is the bonus round at top US firms just money down the drain?

    US law firms are conditioned to doling out tightly banded 'follow-the-leader' bonus awards to associates. But, argues Amy Kolz, there is little evidence this practice reflects market reality or even buys them any staff loyalty

    1 minute read