• January 16, 2008 |

    Online special: Global economic woes create sharp downturn in business confidence

    Business confidence among the UK's top lawyers has dropped from sky-high levels to its lowest rate in almost five years in the clearest indication yet that City partners expect shifts in the global economy to hit the legal sector. The quarterly Legal Week/EJ Legal business confidence poll shows 30% of partners are expecting double-digit revenue growth over the next 12 months, down from last year's high of 70% and significantly down from 66% last quarter.

    1 minute read

  • January 10, 2008 |

    After primary adviser victory, Freshfields tops overall M&A deal league

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has stormed to the top of the European M&A adviser rankings for 2007 after ousting Clifford Chance (CC) from top spot by deal value. After a strong fourth quarter Freshfields completed 282 deals worth €482.8bn (£360bn) in 2007, according to figures from Legal Week's data partner, Mergermarket. CC - which had topped the third-quarter rankings - slipped to second, advising on 292 deals worth a combined €464.7bn (£346bn).

    1 minute read

  • January 9, 2008 |

    Eversheds enjoys Swiss role as firm ties up alliance with Zurich's Schmid

    Eversheds has launched in Switzerland after forming an association with local outfit Schmid in a move that adds further scale to the UK giant's expanding foreign network.

    1 minute read

  • January 9, 2008 |

    Russian bear meets bull market

    Russia's oil-driven economic revival is generating a flood of corporate work and surging demand for City partners. Richard Lloyd reports on Moscow's white-hot legal market

    1 minute read

  • January 7, 2008 |

    BP bags GSK's Bondy to replace retiring GC Bevan

    Energy giant BP has bagged the high-profile general counsel of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Rupert Bondy, to replace veteran general counsel Peter Bevan when he retires later this year. Bevan joined BP's chemicals arm in 1970 and became group general counsel 22 years later, securing his position as one of the UK's best-known general counsel.

    1 minute read

  • January 4, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox 4/01/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and news from across the Pond with the latest US Briefing

    1 minute read

  • January 3, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox 3/01/08...

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

    1 minute read

  • December 16, 2007 |

    Black gold rush takes Norton Rose to Riyadh

    With one-fifth of the world's oil reserves under Saudi Arabia's desert sands, it might seem unnecessary to ask what exactly attracts international law…

    1 minute read

  • December 12, 2007 |

    Accenture names new panel firms

    Consultancy giant Accenture has put the finishing touches to its long-awaited panel line-up, with six firms thought to have won coveted mandates. It is understood that the company has retained four of its previous advisers - Allen & Overy, Field Fisher Waterhouse, Baker & McKenzie and its main corporate adviser, Clifford Chance.

    1 minute read

  • December 12, 2007 |

    The chosen few

    As general counsel respond to pressure to reduce and rationalise their choice of legal adviser, legal panels are shrinking. Philip Hoult reports on the findings of this year's Legal Week Intelligence Client Satisfaction Survey

    1 minute read