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  • November 6, 2008 |

    Ashurst unveils Asia and Middle East expansion plans

    Ashurst has rolled out a new three-year plan with expansion in Asia and the Middle East among key targets for the City law firm.The firm is planning to increase revenue and headcount in its Asian and Middle East offices, including plans to build its Asian corporate and finance practices out of its new Hong Kong base.The firm is also planning to bulk up its Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices by relocating partners to the regions. It is understood that funds, projects and structured finance partners will be transferred to the region in the near future.The new objectives, which succeed Ashurst's original 2005 plan, see the firm move to take a more hands-on approach with its existing clients. The firm is aiming to cement its links with a number of key institutional clients by actively approaching them with advice in new areas.Senior partner Geoffrey Green said: "We want to build on the key relationships with clients that we have developed over the last few years by looking at and anticipating their needs and the issues that they face. We think that the best way to do this is to be more proactive in approaching them with solutions rather than waiting for them to come to us."Ashurst will continue to build on the targets of its previous three-year plan, which aimed at making the firm a better place to work, boost its position in Europe and increase profitability.

    1 minute read

  • November 6, 2008 |

    Clydes posts double-digit revenue growth for H1

    Clyde & Co has become the latest City firm to reveal its turnover figures for the first half of the financial year, posting double-digit revenue growth. The top City firm boosted revenues by 10% for the H1 period with the firm bringing in £83.6m, up from £76m last year.Clydes attributed the growth to an increase in commercial litigation and its international network of offices, in the particular the Middle East - where the firm is seeing an increase in corporate activity - and the Americas, which is heavily focused on litigation.

    1 minute read

  • November 6, 2008 |

    Perks of legal life

    The rewards offered to lawyers extend beyond the financial into all sorts of gratis goodies. Legal Week Student takes a look at some of the more bizarre perks on offer

    1 minute read

  • November 5, 2008 |

    Freshfields, Ashurst take flight on Lufthansa's €400m BMI bid

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Ashurst have landed lead roles in Lufthansa's bid to take a controlling stake in UK airline BMI, in a deal valued at a reported €400m (£314m).Freshfields won an instruction from the German national airline, which announced last week that it is to take a further 50% stake in BMI. London-based corporate partner Sundeep Kapila led the team for the magic circle firm.The firm has advised Lufthansa regularly in the past, including on the establishment of a freight airline with DHL Express in 2007.

    1 minute read

  • November 5, 2008 |

    Milbank Tweed and Slaughters pick up £2bn sale of Abbey train leasing arm

    Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy and Slaughter and May have taken lead roles on the estimated £2bn sale of Abbey's train leasing arm Porterbrook to a Deutsche Bank-led consortium, in one of the largest leveraged acquisitions of the year in the London market. Milbank scored the lead role for the acquiring consortium, including Deutsche bank, Lloyds TSB and Antin Infrastructure Partners - a BNP Paribas-sponsored infrastructure fund. The US firm fielded a team out of its London office under corporate partner Stuart Harray, along with finance partner Suhrud Mehta and tax partner Russell Jacobs.

    1 minute read

  • November 5, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 6/11/08...

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

    1 minute read

  • November 5, 2008 |

    Ashurst grows H1 turnover by 7.5% to £158m

    Ashurst has posted a 7.5% increase in turnover for the first six months of the financial year, with revenues rising to £158m from £147m in the same period last year. Despite the figures falling some way short of last year's equivalent increase of 25%, the results mark a strong performance for the firm in the tough economic climate. The firm's core practice areas of private equity, leveraged finance and structured finance have all felt the pinch in recent months.Managing partner Simon Bromwich (pictured) commented: "The economic situation remains challenging and it is clear that all firms will face a tough second six months. That said, Ashurst's performance remains good and we are continuing to build on the significant progress of recent years.

    1 minute read

  • October 31, 2008 |

    Bakers set for Abu Dhabi office launch

    Baker & McKenzie is set to open its third office in the Gulf with the launch of an Abu Dhabi arm later this year. The new office will mark the firm's 69th base worldwide, and will specialise in banking and finance, corporate and M&A, private equity, securities, capital markets, projects arbitration and real estate.Former Prague managing partner Boris Dackiw will head up the office, leading a team of 50 lawyers. He will also become managing partner of the Gulf region.

    1 minute read

  • October 31, 2008 |

    It's bonus time

    Since bonuses were introduced by law firms in the late 1990s as a way to limit the long-term effects of salary inflation, amounts paid out - and the hoops that lawyers have to jump through in order to get their hands on the cash - have varied wildly between firms. Some firms give tens of thousands of pounds to lawyers regardless of individual performance, while others require Olympian levels of all-round commitment in return for sums that could probably be more easily obtained through a few after hours' shifts at the local pub.We take a look behind the main bonus systems operating at the major City and regional firms and assess what the future of bonuses in the legal world is likely to be.

    1 minute read

  • October 30, 2008 |

    Top firms line up for 2008 British Legal Awards

    Ashurst, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have been named among the nominees for a number of top accolades at the 2008 British Legal Awards. The trio have been shortlisted for the coveted law firm of the year award alongside Baker & McKenzie, Eversheds and Latham & Watkins.Linklaters has been shortlisted for three further awards, including cross-border M&A team of the year, while Freshfields is among the nominees for M&A team of the year. Allen & Overy also secured nominations in both of these categories.

    1 minute read