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  • October 8, 2009 |

    Lovells and Hogan – something transatlantic this way comes?

    It's not Legal Week's style to make a fuss when we break stories. As far as we are concerned it's our job to break quality news on a daily basis, so readers will very rarely see references in our stories to Legal Week "revealing" things. But once in a while a story is worth the self-regarding tip, and the merger discussions between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson, revealed exclusively today on legalweek.com, is in that select camp.

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  • October 7, 2009 |

    Ashurst recruits new head of Spanish litigation

    Ashurst has hired a new head of its Spanish litigation and arbitration practice, with an appointment from a local firm. Daniel Jimenez will join the top 10 City firm as a director later this month from Spanish law firm Diaz-Bastien & Truan, where he was the partner in charge of the civil litigation department.

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  • October 7, 2009 |

    Freshfields counsel makes partner at Stephenson Harwood

    Stephenson Harwood has added to its London finance practice with the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer Richard Parsons as a partner. Parsons, who was a counsel at Freshfields, joined Stephenson Harwood's City headquarters earlier this week (5 October), taking the total partner count in the London finance practice to 15.

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  • October 7, 2009 |

    Care home operator debt restructure hands roles to Macfarlanes and A&O

    Macfarlanes and Allen & Overy (A&O) have scored roles as care home operator Four Seasons Healthcare restructured its £1.5bn debt pile after more than a year of negotiations with lenders. The deal, which signed last week (28 October), saw some 30 lenders agreeing a debt-for-equity swap that effectively halves Four Seasons' debt to around £780m and leaves primary lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with a 40% stake in the company.

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  • October 7, 2009 |

    Ashurst grows Abu Dhabi presence with corporate partner transfer

    Ashurst has added a partner to its Abu Dhabi base with the relocation of City corporate specialist Nick Williamson. Williamson joined the top 10 UK firm's Middle East practice last month, becoming the third partner in Abu Dhabi alongside projects partner and office head David Wadham and real estate partner Matthew Hooton.

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  • October 6, 2009 |

    Global 100: Emerging markets

    From Russia's grey gloom to Brazil's red-hot ambitions, a look at the state of five emerging legal markets

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  • October 5, 2009 |

    Law Society report backs role for self-regulation

    Major law firms should take a major step towards regulating themselves, according to Lord Hunt of Wirral's report on the regulation of the profession. The report, published by the Law Society today (5 October), sees Hunt advocating a system of Authorised Internal Regulation (AIR), which would usher in substantial elements of self-regulation for firms able to demonstrate they have robust internal governance structures.

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  • September 30, 2009 |

    Raft of top City firms call for partners to tighten up billing

    A raft of top 15 firms have been tightening up billing procedures and piling pressure on partners to improve collections in response to the recession. City firms including Herbert Smith, Lovells, CMS Cameron McKenna and Bird & Bird are among those trying to bill more efficiently, both to improve cash flow and to limit risk from clients who may be unable to pay.

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  • September 30, 2009 |

    Deutsche relations in spotlight after White & Case departures

    White & Case is working to renew its relationship in London with key client Deutsche Bank, after six partners with links to the client left the firm's banking and capital markets practice in 18 months. Since key relationship partner Mike Goetz quit for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in March 2008, a further five partners linked with Deutsche have left in London - putting the connection under strain. At its height the relationship was thought to be worth around $25m (£16m) a year to the firm's London office.

    1 minute read

  • September 30, 2009 |

    College of Law comes top of the class to seal Ashurst training tie-up

    Ashurst has become one of the last firms in the UK top 20 to sign an exclusive deal to send all its future trainees to a specific course provider. From 2010, all Ashurst trainees will study at the College of Law, with the law school beating competition from rivals including BPP, Kaplan Law School and the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice to secure the agreement.

    1 minute read