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  • October 15, 2008 |

    Global 100: Man of the world

    They came in saris, cheongsams, and Muslim headscarves - plus the usual black tuxedos and glittering gowns. After cocktails and tapas in the marble halls of the National Art Museum of Catalonia, they streamed into a Roman amphitheatre for an intimate sit-down dinner for 400 colleagues and another 300 or so of their significant others.If Baker & McKenzie ever wanted a sideline, party planning could be just the ticket. That soiree in Barcelona last spring was just one of the frequent global shindigs that Bakers uses to unite its far-flung lawyers. This one brought together Bakers' European and Middle East partners, just a fraction of the firm's 700 partners and its approximately 3,000 associates and counsel, who hail from more than 60 countries and speak 70 languages.

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  • October 15, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 16/10/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and more

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  • October 15, 2008 |

    Hogan launches two new offices with Heller hires

    Hogan & Hartson is set to launch two offices in California with the hire of a nine-partner group from Heller Ehrman. The firm will open offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley with the new hires, while two of the nine partners will join Hogan in New York. Four of the partners will join the new Silicon Valley office, while three will join in San Francisco along with one of counsel.The partners are spread across the securities, white-collar crime, consumer class action, antitrust, M&A and employment litigation practices.

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  • October 13, 2008 |

    More than 100 staff laid off as Heller winds down

    At least 100 Heller Ehrman employees were laid off on Friday (10 October), without receiving the 60 days' wages required by federal law or accrued vacation due under California law, reports The Recorder. Heller staff arriving at work on Friday received one of two emails, either notifying them that they had been laid off, effective immediately, or that the firm would be retaining their services for the time being. The emails did not address whether employees would be paid for accrued vacation or other wages owed to them under federal law. The layoffs were directed at staff not involved in client-service positions and lawyers who were already known to be leaving. At least some legal assistants, library staff, marketing staff, recruiting staff and the firm's group of about 10 IT trainers were laid off.

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  • October 10, 2008 |

    Bakers chief urges calm in wake of slowdown

    Baker & McKenzie's London managing partner, Gary Senior, has moved to reassure the office's lawyers in the wake of the prolonged market turbulence and update staff about the firm's performance. In a memo seen by Legal Week, Senior confirmed that work levels had dropped with total recorded hours falling by around 5% since January. He said the office feels quieter because of increases in legal headcount over the last year, resulting in a thinner spread of work.

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  • October 9, 2008 |

    Law firms struggle to resolve status of own foreign workers

    A raft of top law firms have been drafted in to help the Government cope with new immigration standards as solicitors themselves struggle to resolve the status of their own foreign workers.CMS Cameron McKenna, Baker & McKenzie, Bird & Bird, Gherson, Hammonds, PwC Legal, Speechly Bircham and Wragge & Co are among the law firms appointed by the Border Agency in preparation for new immigration rules due to come into effect next month. The law firms will act as third-party auditors and advisers for companies seeking the sponsorship licence now needed to continue employing overseas workers. The unusual appointment of outside counsel comes as the agency struggles to cope with a flood of applications. The law firms will help carry out checks including onsite audits of employers' human resources systems from companies hoping to meet the new requirements. The deadline for applications was 1 October and those failing to obtain a licence by the end of November will find it hard to bring in overseas workers. The changes also affect law firms as while partners would fall into tier one of the five new tiers - meaning they do not need sponsorship - associates would normally fall into tier two and require a work permit sponsored by their employer. Most of the top 15 City law firms have applied for a licence in recent weeks but, so far, only magic circle firms Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance have been awarded licences. Law firms without a licence will be restricted from hiring non-European Union staff below partner level.Camerons is one of the only top City firms that has not yet applied for a sponsorship licence. The firm is intending to comply but said it is putting off the application as it intends to try and bring the bulk of its workers in under tier one. Bakers global migration associate Tony Haque said: "Many law firms have delayed applying until [the Government's] requirements became clearer. Firms could find themselves in a position, where they cannot get their [desired] people until the licence is approved." Speechly Bircham immigration solicitor Nick Hobson said: "Many law firms have questioned, in a downturn like this, why are they having to focus inward and invest valuable resources rather than focusing outward and getting work in?"

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  • October 9, 2008 |

    Siemens reviews external legal advisers

    Electronics and engineering giant Siemens has overhauled its internal legal function and is gearing up to review its external legal advisers.As part of the internal restructuring, the company has moved its commercial lawyers closer to the business, with the team integrated into Siemens' three major business lines: industry, healthcare and energy. The company's M&A, competition, litigation and securities lawyers will remain part of the company's centralised corporate legal division.The overhaul was led by Germany-based general counsel Peter Solmssen, who joined in October 2007 and has since overseen a raft of changes to his 600-strong legal function.Earlier this year he appointed a separate general counsel for each sector group, with Andreas Hoffman placed in charge of the industry sector, Robert Kirschbaum heading the healthcare team and Dr Ulrich Bauer leading the energy group. The corporate division is led by former M&A head Solms Wittig.In addition, each sector has been split into separate divisions with their own legal heads. Commenting on the restructuring, Hoffman told Legal Week: "The main thinking behind [the restructuring] was to get the lawyers closer to the business. We decided the lawyers should be business partners and become part of the management and closer to the chief executives."Siemens is now set to kick off its panel review later this month with the new panel expected to be finalised by the first quarter of 2009. In the past, the company has worked closely with Baker & McKenzie, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance (CC). Last month, Siemens appointed former CC partner Anke Sessler as its new general counsel of litigation. Sessler took up her position at the beginning of September after spending 10 years as a litigation and dispute resolution partner in CC's Frankfurt office.

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  • October 9, 2008 |

    Linklaters edges aside Freehills to top Asia-Pacific M&A rankings table

    Linklaters has topped Mergermarket's Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) M&A rankings by value for the first three quarters of this year. The firm is closely followed by Wall Street leaders Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in second and third place respectively, while Australian firm Freehills - which topped the ranking at year-end 2007 - has been knocked into eighth place. The rankings show Slaughter and May and Lovells making significant improvements to their positions over the first three quarters of 2008, with Slaughters jumping from number 53 at year-end 2007 to sixth place and Lovells leaping from 38th to 10th position. Australian leader Mallesons Stephen Jaques tops the Asia-Pacific M&A deal rankings by volume so far this year, followed by Freehills and Baker & McKenzie.Linklaters and Shearman & Sterling have advised on the region's largest deal over the period - the $30bn (£17bn) takeover of China Netcom Group Corporation by China Unicom which closed on 2 June. The deal saw Linklaters advise the target while Shearman advised the seller.Mergermarket's rankings also show Linklaters making a significant improvement in the US M&A tables by value. The firm ranked at number 50 at the end of 2007 but jumped to number 10 over Q1-Q3 2008. Only three UK law firms feature in the US M&A rankings, with Allen & Overy climbing from number 21 to 17 and Clifford Chance (CC) from 27 to 18. Skadden is in first place for 2008 swapping places with Sullivan & Cromwell. CC was the only UK firm to feature in the US M&A table by volume, with the firm coming in at number 16 - down from 12th place at the end of 2007.

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  • October 8, 2008 |

    DLA recruits banking partner to Madrid office

    DLA Piper has added to its presence in Spain, hiring Baker & McKenzie's Spanish banking and finance head, Louis de Valle, in Madrid. His practice includes bankruptcy and general banking law, buyout transactions, securities issues and foreign trade. De Valle will work closely with DLA Piper's Spanish head of finance and projects, Javier Santos.

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  • October 8, 2008 |

    Commentary: Tough M&A markets provide flight to Square Mile's finest

    If the M&A world is proving unsurprisingly turbulent right now, a very select band of law firms have become highly adept at riding the hurricanes of international deal markets. Bids may be collapsing on funding problems, and the UK's deal market plainly slumped over the summer, but banking turmoil and the global run of consolidation in energy and commodities have proved a boon to a small group of leading firms.And none more so than Linklaters, which was already riding high in the rankings on the back of its lead role on the E144bn BHP Billiton/Rio Tinto bid and Q2's largest deal: InBev's takeover of rival drinks firm Anheuser-Busch.

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