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  • October 2, 2008 |

    Withers invests in corporate after hiring department head from Bevan

    Withers has hired a new European head of corporate after targeting national outfit Bevan Brittan for the law firm's practice head Adam Duthie.Duthie joined Withers this week (1 October) as a partner after two years at Bevan Brittan, where he was national head of corporate. He replaces Tim Taylor, who is stepping down to return to full-time fee earning after 10 years as head of the European corporate group.Duthie's practice covers general corporate, including mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity, debt finance and Alternative Investment Market transactions. He has particular in emerging markets as well as in the UK leisure and retail sectors.Prior to joining Bevan Brittan in 2006, Duthie also held roles with law firms including Baker & McKenzie and Ashurst, as well as serving as a senior counsel at Guinness/Diageo. Anthony Indaimo, Withers' chairman and international corporate head, said: "Adam is a first-rate corporate practitioner and we look forward to him joining the London team. We act for ambitious entrepreneurs who value commercial acumen and understanding as highly as technical ability."Duthie's departure from Bevan Brittan follows a difficult period at the southwest law firm. Last year profits per equity partner fell to £184,000 from the previous year's figure of £234,000. Meanwhile in May, the firm announced a redundancy consultation which affected six fee earners and 24 support staff. The number was less than the original 40 that were expected to be hit. Commenting on his departure the firm's chief executive, Andrew Manning, said: "Adam is keen to focus on international corporate work, particularly in emerging markets and acting for highly entrepreneurial clients, while we are concentrating on further growing our blue-chip corporate client base. "With this in mind, we have now agreed with Adam that his ambitions will be better met at another firm."Bevan Brittan has yet to decide on a replacement for Duthie as corporate head.

    1 minute read

  • October 2, 2008 | International Edition

    Field Fisher scores second Reed Smith hire in a month

    Field Fisher Waterhouse has hired its second partner from Reed Smith in a month to secure a new partner for its London pensions practice. Michael Calvert, who is the latest in a string of hires for the City law firm, will join Field Fisher's employment and pensions practice as a partner. Calvert joined Reed Smith in 2003 and, prior to that, worked at Ashurst. His practice includes acting for both employers and trustees on transactional and non-transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, outsourcings, scheme mergers and wind-ups and pensions regulator issues.He becomes the third lateral partner to join Field Fisher in recent weeks, following the hires of property litigator Lesley Webber, who also joined from Reed Smith, and technology and telecoms litigator Andrew Dodd from DLA Piper. The firm has already made nine lateral hires during the current financial year, taking its total partnership to 126.Calvert becomes the second partner in Field Fisher's London pensions group alongside practice head David Gallagher. The group's clients include Electricity Pensions, Arriva and the Government Actuary's Department. Gallagher said: "Calvert has an excellent reputation in the industry and his expertise in private sector pensions will be a good complement to our practice's leading public sector pension capability."

    1 minute read

  • October 2, 2008 |

    Field Fisher scores second Reed Smith hire in a month

    Field Fisher Waterhouse has hired its second partner from Reed Smith in a month to secure a new partner for its London pensions practice. Michael Calvert, who is the latest in a string of hires for the City law firm, will join Field Fisher's employment and pensions practice as a partner. Calvert joined Reed Smith in 2003 and, prior to that, worked at Ashurst. His practice includes acting for both employers and trustees on transactional and non-transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, outsourcings, scheme mergers and wind-ups and pensions regulator issues.He becomes the third lateral partner to join Field Fisher in recent weeks, following the hires of property litigator Lesley Webber, who also joined from Reed Smith, and technology and telecoms litigator Andrew Dodd from DLA Piper. The firm has already made nine lateral hires during the current financial year, taking its total partnership to 126.Calvert becomes the second partner in Field Fisher's London pensions group alongside practice head David Gallagher. The group's clients include Electricity Pensions, Arriva and the Government Actuary's Department. Gallagher said: "Calvert has an excellent reputation in the industry and his expertise in private sector pensions will be a good complement to our practice's leading public sector pension capability."

    1 minute read

  • October 1, 2008 |

    BLP, CC cash in on record E1.9bn lease of Santander's Madrid base

    Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O) have won roles on Europe's biggest-ever single property sale - the E1.9bn (£1.5bn) acquisition of Banco Santander's headquarters in Madrid.The deal, which completed last month, saw the building, in Boadilla del Monte in Madrid, sold to Propinvest under a sale and leaseback agreement. The UK property company turned to Spanish leader Garrigues for local and property law advice, with real estate partner Felipe Yannone taking the lead role.

    1 minute read

  • October 1, 2008 |

    Commentary: Geffen takes over as the house that Green built faces stress-test

    The election of Charlie Geffen as Ashurst's new senior partner comes at a key moment for the firm. As one of the poster boys for the firm's recent success, he now is now charged with steering the firm through its most difficult period since the aftermath of its unhappy merger talks with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson which ended in 2003. The headline figures are undeniably impressive - for a firm renowned for conservative expansion, revenues have grown by 50% in two years and in 2008 the firm (just about) passed the magic £1m figure for profits per equity partner.This is in part seen to be due to the pairing of a frontline management team made up of senior partner Geoffrey Green and managing partner Simon Bromwich. This partnership was viewed as providing the balance between vision and detail that was so elusive under the Green/Spendlove team. The last four years have also seen the firm revive Ashurst's once-struggling international network.

    1 minute read

  • October 1, 2008 |

    SJ Berwin takes lead on MFI management rescue

    SJ Berwin has taken the lead role in the management rescue of furniture retailer MFI.The struggling retailer's management team, led by chief executive Gary Favell, has agreed to a buyout, however only 92 of MFI's 194 stores are thought likely to be saved.SJ Berwin is advising MFI retail and MFI properties on the transaction, with restructuring and insolvency partner Mike Woolard and corporate finance partner Nicholas Plant leading the team.

    1 minute read

  • September 30, 2008 |

    Ashurst helps Virgin to BSkyB court case victory

    Ashurst has advised Virgin on its successful claim that BSkyB flouted competition laws by claiming a 17.9% stake in ITV in 2006. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled in Virgin's favour, agreeing with the decision made by the Competition Commission and business secretary John Hutton that it must reduce its holding in the UK broadcaster to less than 7.5%.The team from Ashurst was led by London's head of EU and competition, Nigel Parr, partner Duncan Liddell and associate Ross McKenzie.Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised ITV with competition partner Simon Priddis at the helm.

    1 minute read

  • September 29, 2008 |

    Top UK quartet line up on £40bn B&B nationalisation

    Herbert Smith, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Slaughter and May and Ashurst have all landed top roles on the £40bn nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley (B&B). Herbert Smith advised longstanding client B&B, fielding a team under London corporate chief Michael Walter, with corporate partners Will Pearce and Adam Lovitz assisting. Restructuring advice was provided by London restructuring partners Kevin Pullen and Laurence Elliott.

    1 minute read

  • September 25, 2008 | International Edition

    Freshfields gets in on Nomura's Lehman buy-out

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has emerged as the latest firm to score a role on Japanese investment bank Nomura's acquisition of Lehman Brothers' Asian operations and its European and Middle East investment banking and equities divisions. The firm is acting for Nomura on the implementation of the acquisitions and on the legal aspects of the integration of the two businesses. London corporate partners Stephen Revell, Mark Kalderon and Stephen Hewes are all advising on the deals alongside Hong Kong corporate partner Rob Ashworth and London IP/IT partner Richard Lister.

    1 minute read

  • September 25, 2008 |

    Freshfields gets in on Nomura's Lehman buy-out

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has emerged as the latest firm to score a role on Japanese investment bank Nomura's acquisition of Lehman Brothers' Asian operations and its European and Middle East investment banking and equities divisions. The firm is acting for Nomura on the implementation of the acquisitions and on the legal aspects of the integration of the two businesses. London corporate partners Stephen Revell, Mark Kalderon and Stephen Hewes are all advising on the deals alongside Hong Kong corporate partner Rob Ashworth and London IP/IT partner Richard Lister.

    1 minute read