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  • September 16, 2009 |

    Take your chances

    After dominating the 1990s, Clifford Chance has weathered a turbulent decade and a brutal financial year. Georgina Stanley assesses if the firm can regain its former glory

    1 minute read

  • September 16, 2009 |

    Commentary: The gloom lifts but recovery seems to be the hardest word

    After all the talk about how much hinged on September, for M&A lawyers the post-summer kick-off couldn't have gone much better. Nine out of 10 economic indicators have been pointing north for the last month, the FTSE 100 last week broke back through 5,000 - marking a five-month revival - and this month has seen a string of notable bids. In particular, Kraft's £10.2bn unsolicited offer for Cadbury's, which threw up roles for Clifford Chance (CC) and Slaughter and May, was exactly the kind of deal needed to give the market a lift after nearly 15 months of strategic buyers sitting on their hands. Add in the joint venture talks between T-Mobile and Orange - CC again and Norton Rose - and it seems a growing number of trade buyers are calling the bottom of the market. This potentially clears the way for non-distressed M&A activity to revive after the enforced stasis since the collapse of Lehman Brothers a year ago.

    1 minute read

  • September 7, 2009 |

    CC and Slaughters lead on rejected £10.2bn Cadbury bid

    Clifford Chance (CC) and Slaughter and May are advising as US food giant Kraft Foods attempts to takeover Cadbury. Cadbury announced today (7 September) that it had rejected a £10.2bn offer made by Kraft at the end of August, however the US company is still committed to reaching a deal.

    1 minute read

  • September 4, 2009 |

    Linklaters matches Slaughters at top of FTSE 100 client rankings

    Linklaters has joined Slaughter and May at the top of the Hemscott rankings of legal advisers to FTSE 100 companies, with both firms listed as advising 25 of the UK's biggest companies. Hemscott's Q3 rankings put the firms neck-and-neck for the first time. Slaughters has dominated the list since the rankings were first released in 2005, at which point it had 10 more FTSE 100 clients than Freshfields.

    1 minute read

  • September 3, 2009 |

    City trio cut maintenance grant for students on new streamlined LPC

    Three of the five firms in the City Legal Practice Course (LPC) consortium have reduced their 2009-10 maintenance grants in the wake of the launch of BPP Law School's new fast-track course. The streamlined LPC, which was approved by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority in January and launched last month, runs over just seven-and-a-half months rather than the previous length of 10.

    1 minute read

  • September 1, 2009 |

    From herded cats to well-drilled troops

    Slaughters, Linklaters and BLP are praised for quality leadership as partners become late converts to the value of management in the legal profession. Claire Ruckin reports

    1 minute read

  • September 1, 2009 |

    Mills & Reeve agrees exclusive deal to send City trainees to Kaplan

    Mills & Reeve has agreed a deal to send its future trainees to Kaplan Law School. The tie-up will see all of Mills & Reeve's future trainees choosing to study in London take their Legal Practice Course (LPC) at Kaplan's centre in Borough from September 2010. Those who do not want to study in the capital can attend the regional LPC provider of their choice.

    1 minute read

  • August 25, 2009 |

    Weil Gotshal strengthens London base with hire of A&O tax partner

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has made its first lateral partner hire in the City this year, with the New York firm set to bring in Allen & Overy (A&O) tax partner Brenda Coleman. Coleman is expected to join Weil's London office on 21 September on a part-time basis after 11 years as a partner with the magic circle firm. Prior to her time with A&O she was a partner with Herbert Smith, having trained with Slaughter and May.

    1 minute read

  • August 21, 2009 |

    Arsenal complete signing of ex-MTV GC as first-ever in-house lawyer

    Arsenal Football Club has appointed a former MTV general counsel as its first-ever in-house lawyer. Former MTV Networks Europe lawyer Svenja Geissmar will begin her new role as general counsel at the Premier League club on 21 September.

    1 minute read

  • August 21, 2009 |

    Slaughter and May

    Is Slaughters still the firm all magic circle partners secretly want to join? Only if they want to get past the firm's 'good cop, bad cop' interview process.

    1 minute read