• May 11, 2010 |

    Spanish firm makes CC litigation partner hire

    Spanish law firm Araoz & Rueda has bulked up its litigation and insolvency practices with the hire of ex-Clifford Chance (CC) litigation partner Inigo Rodriguez-Sastre. Rodriguez-Sastre joins Araoz in Madrid from CC's local office to head up the litigation and insolvency practices.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2010 |

    McDermott sees London structured finance chief depart firm

    McDermott Will & Emery has lost its London head of securitisation and structured finance Paul-Michael Rebus. Rebus' next move is currently unclear but it is understood that McDermott's City structured finance practice is set to see further losses in the coming weeks.

    1 minute read

  • May 5, 2010 |

    Tax and pensions: Pensions in peril

    A recent ruling on the IMG case underlines the perils for employers trying to counteract their growing pension burden. Arron Slocombe reports on the issues when moving away from defined benefit schemes

    1 minute read

  • April 29, 2010 |

    Simmons joins Standard Chartered UK roster after adviser review

    Simmons & Simmons has won a place on Standard Chartered's UK panel as the bank completes a review of its advisers. The UK top 15 law firm is the only new addition to the panel after the bank decided to reappoint all six of its current UK advisers.

    1 minute read

  • April 27, 2010 |

    Bakers appoints former M&A chief as head of City corporate team

    Baker & McKenzie has appointed Tim Gee as its London head of corporate, replacing long-serving partner Michael Caro. Gee, who previously headed the firm's global M&A group, will take up the new role on 1 May. He has been a partner at Bakers for 16 years, having joined the firm in 1984.

    1 minute read

  • April 21, 2010 |

    Bakers hires Bird & Bird team to bolster Dutch tax practice

    Baker & McKenzie has streng-thened its Amsterdam tax practice with the hire of partner Jasper Helder and a three-lawyer team from Bird & Bird. Helder is set to join the international firm in the coming months, alongside senior associate Brian Mulier, associate Chiara Klaui and junior associate Goran Danilovic.

    1 minute read

  • April 15, 2010 |

    Editor's comment: What the kids know

    A few weeks back, when writing about the storm in the teacup that accompanied the Superbrands rankings, I argued law firms have wider brands that reflect the general awareness of their business, which can be very different to the views of those with direct dealings with the firm. To follow up on that point, probably one of the best benchmarks any law firm can get of that wider brand is how students see them. After all, it is widely acknowledged that students, while being considerably more clued up than earlier generations about the bruising realities of commercial practice, still find it very hard to distinguish between individual law firms. (You can't hold that against them, since many clients have the same problem.)

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    Tories reject takeover reform but anger City with immigration cap plan

    The Conservative Party has rejected calls to restrict foreign takeovers but will push ahead with moves to curb the level of foreign workers in the UK, as the party unveils its election agenda. In one of the measures most closely watched by City advisers, shadow business secretary Ken Clarke rejected Labour proposals to raise the threshold to secure shareholder approval for corporate takeovers and moves to cut voting rights of short-term shareholders such as hedge funds.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    Sweden: It all goes around again

    Sweden's lawyers are experiencing a sense of deja vu, with the financial crisis and the general anxiety it brought about in the Swedish market causing lawyers to reminisce about the country's trouble in the early 90s. The current financial crisis saw the end of Scandinavia's M&A boom; initial public offerings (IPO) and large transactions - in particular private equity deals - were extremely rare.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    What the kids know - some brands reach students, some don't

    A few weeks back, when writing about the storm in the teacup that accompanied the Superbrands rankings, I argued law firms have wider brands that reflect the general awareness of their business, which can be very different to the views of those with direct dealings with the firm. To follow up on that point, probably one of the best benchmarks any law firm can get of that wider brand is how students see them. After all, it is widely acknowledged that students, while being considerably more clued up than earlier generations about the bruising realities of commercial practice, still find it very hard to distinguish between individual law firms. (You can't hold that against them, since many clients have the same problem.)

    1 minute read