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  • April 22, 2009 |

    Full steam ahead for Pinsents and Ashurst on €188m trains purchase

    Pinsent Masons and Ashurst have advised on the purchase of a new fleet of trains for the Stansted Express worth around €188m (£166.2m). The deal sees London Eastern Railway, a subsidiary of National Express, procure 30 four-carriage trains for the rail link. The trains will be owned by Lloyds TSB General Leasing and then leased to London Eastern Railway

    1 minute read

  • April 16, 2009 |

    Ashurst installs corporate chief as Germany head

    Ashurst has re-jigged its German management, with Frankfurt-based Reinhard Eyring taking up a new role as head of Germany. Eyring, who is currently managing partner of the firm's German corporate practice, will take up the new post in June. German real estate head Peter Junghaenel, who is also based in Frankfurt, will take over the role of Germany managing partner from the same date, replacing Simon Beddow, who will relocate to London on 29 May after four years in Germany.

    1 minute read

  • April 8, 2009 |

    Partners hint at better times ahead

    Business confidence at City law firms appears to have bottomed out, despite a record number of partners predicting falls in revenue over the next 12 months.The latest Legal Week Business Confidence survey found 7% of respondents expect increases of revenue of 10% or more over the next 12 months, marking a slight increase on the 5% making the same prediction in January - a record low for the quarterly survey since Legal Week started recording figures in 2001.

    1 minute read

  • April 8, 2009 | International Edition

    Generation why?

    When it comes to law firm prestige there is no denying that the magic circle tag still works its, well, magic. And there are few other groups that buy into the brand power of these five firms more so than the student population.Given free choice to name five law firms they would rate highly, students consistently turned to the magic circle group, viewing them as offering the best career options, work-life balance, partnership prospects and training - not to mention prestige - of all law firms.

    1 minute read

  • April 8, 2009 |

    Generation why?

    When it comes to law firm prestige there is no denying that the magic circle tag still works its, well, magic. And there are few other groups that buy into the brand power of these five firms more so than the student population.Given free choice to name five law firms they would rate highly, students consistently turned to the magic circle group, viewing them as offering the best career options, work-life balance, partnership prospects and training - not to mention prestige - of all law firms.

    1 minute read

  • April 2, 2009 |

    Ashurst selects duo for US liaison office

    Ashurst has selected two new leaders for its US liaison office, with City litigation partner Ed Sparrow set to co-head the practice alongside Madrid corporate head Jesus Almoguera. The pair will replace London corporate partner Duncan Stiles in the role - taking over responsibilities for US referral firms.

    1 minute read

  • April 1, 2009 |

    Ashurst and Hogan instructed on steel giant's $2.8bn restructuring

    Ashurst and Hogan & Hartson have secured major roles on a $2.8bn (£1.9bn) Russian debt restructuring for embattled steel giant Rusal.The high-stakes deal saw Rusal offer an enlarged stake in its business to Onexim Group in exchange for $2bn (£1.37bn) of debt owed to the latter company. The restructuring, which raises Onexim's stake in Rusal by 4.5% to 18.5%, leaves a remaining $800m (£549m) in debt to be restructured later on.

    1 minute read

  • April 1, 2009 |

    Ashurst, Links duo join Competition Commission

    Ashurst's former corporate managing partner Roger Finbow and Linklaters competition partner Tony Morris have been appointed to the Competition Commission. The pair are among 11 new appointments to the Commission made by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, with the appointments due to last for eight years.

    1 minute read

  • March 31, 2009 |

    Fried Frank lays off 41 associates and 58 staff

    Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson has become the latest major US firm to announce heavy cuts to its associate ranks. Firm chair Valerie Ford Jacob and managing partner Justin Spendlove sent out a firmwide memo on Monday (30 March) announcing that the New York law firm was laying off off 41 associates and 58 staff members.A firm spokeswoman did not immediately return a message from the Am Law Daily, but sources at Fried Frank confirmed the authenticity of the memo.

    1 minute read

  • March 26, 2009 |

    Smedley: City watchdog would cost £3m a year

    Proposals to create a specialist division to police City law firms would cost the profession an estimated £3m in additional expenses to run. Commenting on the publication of his report on the regulation of corporate law firms, Nicholas Smedley put the £3m estimate on his key proposal - the creation of a new City division of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).Smedley, a former senior civil servant who was commissioned by the Law Society to review legal regulation, has called for the creation of a new Corporate Regulation Group at the SRA, which would be staffed by experienced City professionals.

    1 minute read