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  • July 7, 2010 |

    Nine out of 10 partners forecast growth

    Law firm business confidence bucks gloomy mood in Q2 to reach highest levels since January 2008 as an overwhelming majority of partners expect growth over next 12 months. Friederike Heine reports

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2010 |

    Bakers appoints new capital markets head

    Baker & McKenzie capital markets partner Edward Bibko has been appointed head of the six-partner London capital markets group. Bibko, who took over the role last week, replaces capital markets partner Tom Philipp in the role, who plans to retire next year but remains at the firm currently.

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2010 |

    Bakers boosts IP and disputes in London partner promotions round

    Baker & McKenzie has promoted seven lawyers to its London partnership in its annual promotions round. The promotions, which take effect today (1 July), come across a number of practice areas, with intellectual property (IP) and disputes getting the bulk of new partners. The promotions take the total of partners in the firm's London arm to 87.

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2010 |

    Osborne's first Budget provides mood music businesses want

    Who with a blank canvas would invent the Budget? This strange piece of political theatre basically involves the Chancellor of the day packaging up a series of micro-managing pieces of tax-fiddling into some form of narrative for the Government. Certainly, the format is at odds with the fact that the Government's tax and spending policies are supposed to be decided over the medium to long term. And with Pre-Budget reports, pre-election Budgets and last week's 'emergency' Budget, it seems some form of budget is becoming almost a seasonal occurrence. Yet even for the cynical, the first Budget of a new administration is one of the rare occasions in which the process carries real policy significance.

    1 minute read

  • June 16, 2010 |

    White & Case and Bakers take top roles on $12bn Kazakh bank restructuring

    White & Case and Baker & McKenzie have taken lead roles on the $12.2bn (£8.4bn) restructuring of Kazakhstan's BTA Bank in the wake of the lender's nationalisation last year. BTA was advised by White & Case, with the US law firm fielding a team headed up by banking partners Francis Fitzherbert-Brockholes and Stuart Matty.

    1 minute read

  • June 16, 2010 |

    International firms in London: Swoop to conquer

    June 2009, and it was just another not-so-hectic day in the finance department of Addleshaw Goddard's London office - which, after some busy years in the middle of the decade, had slowed dramatically following the onset of the credit crunch in 2007. The firm had recently posted its annual financial results, announcing a fall in revenue of 11.4% and a 30.9% decline in profits per equity partner (PEP), having earlier that year cut 10% of its partnership. Needless to say, acquisition finance partner Phil Slater was on hand to answer his phone when it rang that morning.

    1 minute read

  • June 15, 2010 |

    Dealmaker: Matthew Dening

    Sidley structured products partner and tragic Wolves reject Matthew Dening counts the 'colleague cost'...

    1 minute read

  • June 9, 2010 |

    Partners wary of expected US/UK mergers

    Senior lawyers are expecting more mergers between US and UK law firms in the wake of the creation of Hogan Lovells and SNR Denton, but many remain sceptical of the tangible benefits of such tie-ups, according to Legal Week's latest Big Question survey. Ninety-two percent of respondents to the survey felt that the two recent high-profile deals are likely to lead to an upturn in merger activity between large US and UK practices, including 13% who said such tie-ups are 'much more likely'.

    1 minute read

  • June 3, 2010 |

    Baker & McKenzie names Sao Paulo partner as new chairman

    Baker & McKenzie has elected Sao Paulo partner Eduardo Leite as the next chairman of the firm's eight-strong executive committee, reports The Am Law Daily. Leite, who has served as managing partner of the firm's four offices in Brazil since 2003, also heads the firm's global energy, mining, and infrastructure practice group. "Given our brand, our people and our clients expect our leadership to be global," said current chairman John Conroy. "There is some additional excitement because we have never had a chair out of Latin America," he says.

    1 minute read

  • May 26, 2010 |

    Bird & Bird bulks finance practice with Greenberg partner hire

    Bird & Bird has recruited a partner from Greenberg Traurig to boost its corporate and finance practice in The Hague. Gerard Moussault will bring with him Greenberg associate Steven Geers. They are joined by Sarah Gerritse, previously a legal counsel in the Royal Bank of Scotland's London equity derivatives team.

    1 minute read