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  • November 10, 2010 |

    Half-year financial results show UK leaders edging back to growth mode

    Many of the UK's leading law firms are on course to report increases in revenue over the first half of 2010-11, as the economic recovery continues to gather pace. Allen & Overy (A&O) kicked off the reporting season on Monday (8 November), posting a 3% growth in revenues for the six months ending 31 October.

    1 minute read

  • November 10, 2010 |

    Ex-Linklaters Asia chief goes in-house at energy company

    Linklaters' former Asia managing partner Andrew Roberts has been appointed as in-house counsel by energy company Fontenergy. Roberts, who began his career in 1981 as a solicitor at New Zealand firm Bell Gully, joined Linklaters in 1986 and became the magic circle firm's first Asia managing partner in 2000. During this time at the firm, Roberts also spearheaded the development of Linklaters' Middle Eastern practice.

    1 minute read

  • November 9, 2010 |

    Partners believe tuition fee hikes will damage law's diversity efforts

    Fewer than one in four partners are in favour of Government proposals to allow universities to charge students up to £9,000 in fees, with the clear majority of senior lawyers believing it will damage efforts to improve social diversity in commercial law. Legal Week's latest Big Question survey has found that 61% of partners believe plans to allow universities to increase fees to almost three times the current annual level will damage diversity, with a further 25% thinking it may have a minor impact.

    1 minute read

  • November 2, 2010 |

    Linklaters partner duo quit to launch competition boutique in Stockholm

    Two Linklaters competition partners have left the firm's Stockholm and Hong Kong offices to set up their own boutique in Sweden. The new boutique, launched by Stockholm partner Kent Karlsson and Hong Kong partner Erik Soederlind, went live yesterday (1 November) under the name Kastell. Both partners joined Linklaters' Swedish competition practice in 2001 through its merger with local firm Lagerloef & Leman. Soederlind later relocated to the firm's Hong Kong office in 2008 to become head of competition and antitrust in Asia - a position he held at the time of his departure.

    1 minute read

  • November 2, 2010 |

    UK law firms await Credit Agricole decision on new global legal panel

    Credit Agricole is close to finalising its new global legal panel after a competitive tender process that kicked off over the summer, as Societe Generale begins talking to its advisers with a view to launching its own review next year. Credit Agricole's review is being led by Paris-based head of legal and compliance Martine Leimbach, with the results due before the year's end. All of the firms sitting on the existing panel were invited to pitch, including Ashurst, Baker & McKenzie and Norton Rose.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2010 |

    Ashurst associate joins Barclays Corporate as debt finance legal head

    Barclays Corporate has appointed a new head of legal for its debt financing division with the hire of a senior associate from Ashurst. Catherine Dauger de Caulaincourt - a former lawyer at both Clifford Chance and France's Gide Loyrette Nouel - is set to join the bank after serving her notice period at Ashurst's City HQ.

    1 minute read

  • October 27, 2010 |

    City quartet advise as private equity houses complete $1.4bn Brit buyout

    Clifford Chance (CC), Macfarlanes, Ashurst and Linklaters are among a line-up of eight law firms advising on the $1.4bn (£883m) acquisition of Brit Insurance by private equity giants Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners, reports The Am Law Daily. CC, Sullivan & Cromwell and NautaDutilh are acting for the private equity consortium, with the CC team headed up by M&A partners Kem Ihenacho and Patrick Sarch.

    1 minute read

  • October 26, 2010 |

    Training and education: Join the queue

    As the latest band of students enters the milkround, they join increasing numbers of graduates struggling to make their way onto the career ladder, with rafts of companies cutting back or closing their doors altogether to graduates as they weather the downturn. For the City's largest law firms, which typically recruit for training contracts two years in advance of would-be lawyers walking through their doors, maintaining the right flow of trainees to match predicted future workflows has always been something of a juggling act.

    1 minute read

  • October 26, 2010 |

    Ashurst hires ex-Linklaters partner in capital markets practice boost

    Ashurst has boosted its debt capital markets practice with the appointment of former Linklaters partner Stephen Edlmann. Edlmann, who will join the top 10 City firm's London office next Monday (1 November) as a consultant, held several senior management roles at Linklaters, including head of international finance and co-head of equity capital markets.

    1 minute read

  • October 26, 2010 |

    Barclays brings in Nomura EMEA general counsel as retail legal head

    Barclays has hired Nomura's joint general counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to lead the legal team for its global retail banking division. Mark Chapman is set to join Barclays later this year as general counsel for the retail division, overseeing the business's global legal function across 21 countries. The former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer will report to Barclays' group GC Mark Harding and chief financial officer for global retail banking Peter Estlin.

    1 minute read