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  • September 24, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 24/09/08...

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

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2008 |

    Geffen wins Ashurst senior partner vote

    Charlie Geffen has been elected as Ashurst's new senior partner with effect from the end of the year. Voting closed at the top 10 City firm earlier today. Private equity head Geffen and litigation partner Ed Sparrow went head-to-head to succeed Geoffrey Green as the firm's new senior partner. Geffen has long been linked to the senior partner position. As previously reported by Legal Week, Sparrow only emerged as a serious contender earlier this year.

    1 minute read

  • September 19, 2008 |

    FSA short-selling block backed by lawyers

    Lawyers have come out in support of the Financial Services Authority's (FSA's) decision to put a temporary hold on short-selling in a bid to restore market confidence. The dramatic intervention by the regulatory authority comes in the face of market abuses which have seen investors making huge profits from ailing businesses.The ban on shorting is effective until 16 January, 2009, when the FSA will take a view on the market conditions and decide whether to extend the trading restrictions.FSA chief executive Hector Sants said: "While we still regard short-selling as a legitimate investment technique in normal market conditions, the current extreme circumstances have given rise to disorderly markets."

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2008 |

    Lehman advisers set to be hit in bank's collapse

    Regular advisers to Lehman Brothers could lose millions of pounds in legal fees following the shock demise of one of Wall Street's leading investment houses. City firms including Ashurst, Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Lovells all sit on Lehman's UK legal panel, with the bank estimated to spend some £40m in legal fees globally each year.Data from Mergermarket shows that Ashurst, Linklaters and Herbert Smith took the lion's share of Lehman's work on European M&A deals over the last year, with roles on deals including Carlsberg's takeover of Scottish & Newcastle and Alcoa's acquisition of a stake in Rio Tinto.Similarly, in the US, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and the already troubled Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft have close links to the 158-year old investment house.While several firms have since won lucrative roles relating to the bankruptcy, it leaves others exposed at a time of already decreased activity in both the finance and corporate markets. In addition to a lack of future mandates from the bank, the firms look set to lose fees for work they are already owed.

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2008 |

    Ashurst adds funds partner to Paris arm

    Ashurst has hired the first dedicated fund formation partner for its Paris office, taking on SJ Berwin partner Xavier Comaills, who joined the City firm's French arm earlier this week (15 September).Comaills helped launch SJ Berwin's Paris office in 2001. Prior to that he worked at Salans Hertzfield & Heilbronn. Comaills' practice focus ties in well with the Paris arm's private equity offering, but he will be the only partner in the office purely dedicated to funds work. Paris managing partner Frederic Pinet told Legal Week: "We have a team of six lawyers doing tax structuring and funds work but hiring someone of Xavier's calibre was an opportunity we could not miss. He is one of very few specialists in this area in France."We did not have any dedicated partners in Paris because this is a very narrow market. It is not as big a market as London but it has expanded in recent years." The hire takes Ashurst's Paris office to 18 partners and around 75 lawyers in total. The firm has made relatively few partner hires for the office in recent times but hired Orrick Rambaud Martell finance partner Sylvie Perrin in April 2007. Outside private equity, the office also handles litigation and competition work. Before joining Salans, Comaills worked at Richards Butler where he was part of the M&A team

    1 minute read

  • September 16, 2008 |

    Lehman lawyers look for work as CC acts on Barclays asset hunt

    More than 50 UK lawyers at Lehman Brothers are searching for work in the wake of the bank's shock bankruptcy filing at the weekend. Specialist in-house recruiters are now working in and around the bank's Canary Wharf offices amid widespread expectations that Lehman's 5,000 UK staff will be made redundant.Recruiters working with Lehman lawyers said that there had been no formal notice of redundancy for the group's UK lawyers but it is expected that a UK legal team estimated at between 50-60 lawyers will lose their jobs.

    1 minute read

  • September 15, 2008 |

    The cats fall in line

    For an avowedly conservative profession, attitudes can change at a fair old pace in law. Diversity, race, corporate social responsibility – these…

    1 minute read

  • September 15, 2008 |

    Editor's Blog: The cats fall in line

    For an avowedly conservative profession, attitudes can change at a fair old pace in law. Diversity, race, corporate social responsibility - these are all issues where there has been a palpable shift in sentiment over recent years. But on the less emotive issue of leadership there has been an even more radical change, according to a recent Big Question survey, which found the once widespread distrust and resentment of managing partners has all but disappeared.

    1 minute read

  • September 12, 2008 |

    Forget herding cats - leadership is key to success for law firms

    Leading City lawyers believe strong management has helped drive law firms' success in recent years, with new research showing partners are now ascribing far more value to effective leadership than in the past. The latest Legal Week/Big Question survey found that 96% of partners cited effective leadership as being either 'very important' or 'important' to the success of a sizeable commercial law firm. There was not a single respondent who believed management was not at all important in achieving success. Crucially, the survey, which is based on responses from 153 partners, revealed that partners believe those at the coalface are now much more appreciative of the importance of strong leadership at firms, with 55% saying partners attribute 'considerably more' value to leadership now than five years ago. A further 12% said attitudes have changed 'greatly' over the period. Linklaters private equity partner Ian Bagshaw said: "Strong leadership is fundamental to the success of a global firm. There are more and more opportunities open to firms now - sometimes more than they can handle. The quality of the managing partner is to maximise the potential of those opportunities - it is this strategic leadership that firms require."

    1 minute read

  • September 11, 2008 |

    Geffen and Sparrow fight for Ashurst SP role

    Ashurst private equity head Charlie Geffen and litigation partner Ed Sparrow are going head-to-head to take over from Geoffrey Green (pictured) as the firm's new senior partner. Voting has kicked off at the top 10 City firm after the pair officially confirmed their intention to stand for the role. Geffen has long been linked to the senior partner position but, as previously reported by Legal Week, Sparrow only emerged as a serious contender earlier this year. The partnership is expected to finish voting by 22 September with Green's successor to be confirmed shortly after.

    1 minute read