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  • July 14, 2010 |

    Basel III - ill-advised sequel or sound banking rules?

    Amid the swathe of proposed rules and regulations that are likely to apply to banks, financial institutions, rating agencies and others in the wake of the financial crisis, there are a significant number of new rules relating to capital adequacy treatment for securitisation transactions. Although widely dubbed Basel III, the proposed rules do not really constitute a new regime so much as a series of amendments to the existing Basel II framework. Like a bad Hollywood sequel, the danger is that Basel III will be longer, more involved and less thought through than the original (and probably worse received by its target audience).

    1 minute read

  • July 12, 2010 |

    Hogan Lovells pharmaceuticals team quits to join Bakers in Warsaw

    A five-strong Hogan Lovells pharma team has quit the firm's Warsaw office to join Baker & McKenzie in the Polish capital. Ewa Rutkowska, the head of Lovells' life sciences and product liability practice in Warsaw, will now jointly lead Bakers' pharmaceuticals, healthcare and product liability group in the city alongside pharma partner Paulina Kieszkowska-Knapik. Rutkowska is joined at Bakers by a team of four associates. The new hires increase headcount in Bakers' pharma, healthcare and product liability group to eight.

    1 minute read

  • July 7, 2010 |

    Bakers targets City banking work with new key client strategy

    Baker & McKenzie has overhauled its London banking strategy to focus on 15 key clients as the firm looks to raise its profile in the sector. The international firm has identified approximately 15 UK and international banking clients with which it wants to strengthen relationships and cross-sell into other departments at the firm.

    1 minute read

  • July 7, 2010 |

    Stewarts Law seals merger deal with Bakers spin-off firm

    Specialist litigation firm Stewarts Law has sealed a merger deal with Baker & McKenzie spin-off Masseys. The tie-up is set to go live next month (2 August) and will see Masseys' four-partner, seven-lawyer firm integrate financially with Stewarts.

    1 minute read

  • 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