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  • October 29, 2008 |

    Scandinavia: A piece of the action

    Change is in the air in Scandinavia. The region's legal centre, Stockholm, has long been dominated by a combination of the major Swedish players and a number of international outfits. However, ambitious Finnish firms are increasingly looking to muscle in on the action. At the same time, there are signs that the Norwegian and Danish legal markets - long considered rather local-minded - may be beginning to open up.

    1 minute read

  • October 23, 2008 |

    Bank heads stand firm after Lehman rocks market

    Finance heads at City law firms are aiming to avoid heavy restructuring of their practices despite the credit squeeze promising to put several key product lines under sustained pressure. Speaking in the wake of a series of state interventions and bank rescues that could usher in radical change to the banking industry, most City finance partners told Legal Week they could manage their teams by moving lawyers within the groups.Finance heads are aiming to transfer lawyers from hard-hit practices in leveraged finance and securitisation to handle predicted rises in bankruptcy work as the economy slows.

    1 minute read

  • October 23, 2008 |

    High-flying insurer and fund manager kick off reviews of UK legal advisers

    Insurance and investment group Liverpool Victoria (LV) and fund manager Aviva Investors Global Services have kicked off reviews of their UK legal advisers.Both panel reviews started earlier this month, with LV's being led by the company's head of legal, Alison Vickers, and Aviva Investors' by head of legal Michelle Sorrell.

    1 minute read

  • October 23, 2008 |

    Analysis: Banking on change

    "The leveraged finance market reality is that there is no new business. The banks will not lend."So says Clifford Chance's (CC's) James Johnson, a man who has built a good chunk of his career in leveraged finance, a market that, more than a year after the credit crunch first struck, is still in a state of dysfunction.Such comments also reflect the attempts by finance advisers to come to terms with a sector that, in the month since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, is facing its biggest shake-up for a generation.Lehman's collapse on 15 September triggered a global run on bank assets as investors feared for banks' solvency. In the weeks since, finance partners have witnessed escalating turmoil and repeated government attempts to head off the crisis. This process culminated last Monday (13 October) with the injection of £37bn of taxpayers' money into Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

    1 minute read

  • October 22, 2008 |

    Ashurst scoops major role on €1.9bn French energy buyout

    Ashurst has sealed a major role in one of the largest leveraged buy-outs (LBOs) in France this year, acting for the banks on a €1.9bn (£1.4bn) deal to buy a stake in power conversion company Converteam Group. The City law firm has advised HSBC, Natixis, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale on their roles providing finance to private equity group LBO France to fund its acquisition of a one-third stake in Converteam. The Ashurst team was led by Paris-based finance partner Laurent Mabilat, assisted by corporate partner Bertrand Delaunay and tax partner Nadine Gelli. Frankfurt-based finance partner Stephan Kock and senior associate Miriam Petri also advised on the deal.

    1 minute read

  • October 22, 2008 | International Edition

    Macfarlanes advises PE bidder circling beleagured Baugur as asset sale looms

    Macfarlanes is among a group of firms in line to benefit as potential bidders emerge for the assets of troubled Icelandic investor Baugur. The firm is advising regular private equity client Alchemy Partners, which is understood to have held talks with Mosaic Fashions, one of Baugur's major British investments. Corporate partners Ian Martin and Simon Perry are leading the Macfarlanes' team advising Alchemy. Mosaic - the company behind High Street names including Oasis, Coast and Karen Millen - has turned to Manchester-based Heatons for advice on any potential bid.

    1 minute read

  • October 22, 2008 |

    Macfarlanes advises PE bidder circling beleagured Baugur as asset sale looms

    Macfarlanes is among a group of firms in line to benefit as potential bidders emerge for the assets of troubled Icelandic investor Baugur. The firm is advising regular private equity client Alchemy Partners, which is understood to have held talks with Mosaic Fashions, one of Baugur's major British investments. Corporate partners Ian Martin and Simon Perry are leading the Macfarlanes' team advising Alchemy. Mosaic - the company behind High Street names including Oasis, Coast and Karen Millen - has turned to Manchester-based Heatons for advice on any potential bid.

    1 minute read

  • October 16, 2008 |

    Global 100 league shows City closing gap on US

    UK law firms have moved sharply up the league of the world's 100 largest law firms as evidence mounts that the City's top firms are poised to outperform key US rivals in a prolonged slowdown.The Global 100, a joint project by Legal Week and The American Lawyer, this year ranks 17 UK-based law firms in the league of the world's largest law firms, including 10 in the top 50.The combination of robust growth at UK practices and the relative strength of sterling against the dollar during the last financial year saw many London-based firms rise up the revenue rankings.

    1 minute read

  • October 16, 2008 |

    Shearman's Munich arm hit by further departure

    Shearman & Sterling has lost another partner from its Munich office, with Thomas Fox set to join US rival Latham & Watkins. Fox's departure comes one month after the firm lost four partners to A&O, which effectively halved the size of the office. Office head Gottfried Breuninger - German tax head and global co-head of the tax practice group - then left to launch A&O's Munich base along with M&A partner Astrid Krueger. Duesseldorf M&A partners Birgit Reese and Hans Rolf Koerfer also quit Shearman for A&O in March and January respectively.

    1 minute read

  • October 15, 2008 |

    Ashurst to Ashurst

    What with the financial world staring into an abyss, a critical US presidential election and The X Factor back on telly, you wouldn't have thought it was a particularly good time to get away for your average City lawyer.Not so at The Diary's favourite firm Ashurst. Owing to concerns that a lavish partner weekend in say, Cannes, would not set an appropriate example, the firm appears to have branched out into the leafy Hampshire market with the launch of Ashurst camping ground (pictured). The Diary imagines incumbent senior partner Geoffrey Green leading the campfire sing-songs, while Simon Bromwich plays practical jokes on the tax partners and Charlie Geffen burns the bangers on the BBQ.All in all, a perfect way for Ashurst staff to stay on message and live the brand all year round.

    1 minute read