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  • March 29, 2011 |

    Tiers for jeers - the mid-tier gets an unfairly bad press

    What is it with the mid-tier, that much-maligned but ill-defined group of law firms that always gets it in the neck from consultants, pundits and journalists? Written off whatever the conditions of the day, observers of the legal industry will usually be told this breed will soon be history as an over-supplied and fragmented market is carved up between industry leaders and nimble boutiques. While there is a grain of truth here - which we'll get to later - it's usually stretched to the point of woolly nonsense delivered with shaky reference to the facts. For a start, who is this group supposed to be? Taken literally you could make a solid case that any firm south of Slaughter and May is mid-tier, though that isn't usually what is meant. Smaller than Ashurst, maybe? Consensus starts to break down. Outside the top 50? Take your pick. There are a bewilderingly large number of mid-tiers out there. In an industry obsessed by relative status, groups are defined as much by what you're not - so the mid-tier is, for many a firm, someone else.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Paying the piper - can law firms' love affair with banks survive a series of tough panel reviews?

    Can City law firms' love affair with leading banks survive a bruising round of adviser reviews? Sofia Lind and Friederike Heine report

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Deutsche expands adviser line-up and sets up Berlin 'near-shoring' arm

    Deutsche Bank has expanded the number of external law firms with which it has formal relationships, with the news coming as the bank's in-house legal team prepares to set up its own low-cost legal processing centre in Berlin. The German-based investment bank has added Hogan Lovells, Simmons & Simmons, CMS Cameron McKenna and Ashurst to its EMEA roster of preferred legal advisers, with Slaughter and May, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and White & Case all retaining spots. A fifth firm has also won a first-time appointment.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Olswang extends alternative billing menu to all clients

    Olswang has rolled out an alternative pricing menu across its entire client base, as the firm continues to move away from traditional hourly billing rates. The firm has issued all clients with a menu of eight alternative billing options, with the intention of moving away from hourly rates where possible. The move comes after the firm devised the pricing menu in May last year, initially targeting its top 150 clients.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Links and Freshfields act on high-profile float alongside US duo

    Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and US firms Kirkland & Ellis and Weil Gotshal & Manges have picked up roles on the planned initial public offering (IPO) of British vacuum technology producer Edwards Group, which is expected to value the company at £1.5bn. Magic circle firm Freshfields has been instructed by Edwards Group, fielding a team led by London corporate partners Simon Witty and Natasha Good, who are working alongside US-qualified corporate partner Don Guiney.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    CC plans South Korea launch as legal market opens to international firms

    Clifford Chance (CC) looks set to become the first leading City firm to open an office in South Korea, with the firm planning to launch after the country's legal market is opened up to foreign law firms this summer. The firm is one of a number of the UK top 10 looking at the region in the wake of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Europe and South Korea that was approved by the European Parliament last month (17 February).

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Freshfields recruits Paul Hastings trio for Paris public law practice

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has strengthened its Paris public law practice with the hire of a trio of lawyers from Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker led by partner Pascal Cuche. The team, which is due to join Freshfields on 4 April, also includes Marc Lordonnois, who was a partner at Paul Hastings but is joining Freshfields as counsel, and senior associate Karine Debaecker. The trio joined Paul Hastings in early 2008 from Ashurst, where they were associates.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Lawyers give budget guarded welcome as Osborne moves to drive UK business

    City lawyers have given the 2011 budget a "guarded welcome" with small tax relief measures included in Chancellor George Osborne's speech today aimed at encouraging businesses to operate in the UK.

    1 minute read

  • March 21, 2011 |

    Last remaining Howrey City partner exits defunct firm's London office

    Howrey's last remaining London partner has joined US firm Fulbright & Jaworski's City office, following the firm's decision to dissolve last week (15 March). Litigator John Evans, who joined Fulbright's disputes and investigations practice in London today (21 March), has more than three decades of experience in private practice, including 17 years as a partner at Ashurst and five years as a partner in Howrey's London office.

    1 minute read

  • March 21, 2011 |

    Weil adds partner to City capital markets team with Shearman hire

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has added to its London capital markets practice with the hire of a new partner from Shearman & Sterling. Rob Ferguson, who will join Weil's partnership from his of counsel role at Shearman, has a mainly issuer-focused equity practice, and advises on a range of capital markets transactions including high yield and investment grade debt and equity offerings. His investment banking clients have included Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Standard Chartered Bank.

    1 minute read