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  • February 6, 2008 |

    Hiring trends at US firms in London fail to match 2005 five-year high

    US firms hired 67 partners across the City in 2007 - a slight dip on the recruitment peak of 2005, despite last year's booming markets. Legal Week research into hiring trends at 24 of the US' biggest players in the UK found that while recruitment activity was up on 2006 - when 60 partners joined US practices - it failed to match 2005's five-year high of 72.Much of the activity came in the mid-market. Mayer Brown was the biggest lateral recruiter of 2007, with the firm bringing in nine partners, including two high-profile names - McDermott Will & Emery corporate partner William Charnley and Ashurst real estate partner Gary Watson.

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  • February 6, 2008 |

    Commentary: Russian IPOs - hoping East keeps on meeting West

    As a cautious breed, lawyers are often the last to get excited about what they read in the press. So when claims emerged last week that Russian aluminium giant RUSAL was planning to turn its back on London in favour of a float in Hong Kong, many senior capital markets lawyers were yet to press the panic button. But whether or not there are any legs to the story, one firm that should view such talk as a warning shot is Ashurst. The City firm is advising on the listing alongside Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, but would risk losing its role if the offer moves away from London, as it has no office in Hong Kong.The stakes are considerable - Ashurst has advised RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer, on most of its biggest corporate deals to date, a track record that has made the company one of its most lucrative clients. The firm is currently advising on its acquisition of a stake in Norilsk Nickel and took a lead role on its $30bn (£15.2bn) merger with Sual in 2006.

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  • February 6, 2008 | International Edition

    Norton Rose and DLA Piper outstrip competition in AIM client rankings

    Norton Rose and DLA Piper continue to boast the broadest base of clients listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), with the duo topping new quarterly client rankings released this week.Norton Rose maintained its position of advising more AIM-listed clients than its UK rivals, with the top 10 City firm holding a client base of 65 businesses, according to Hemscott statistics.The figures - which are taken from deals during the period from the beginning of October to the beginning of January - rank DLA Piper in second place, closing the gap on Norton Rose by gaining four clients over the quarter to bring the firm to 59 in total.

    1 minute read

  • February 6, 2008 |

    Norton Rose and DLA Piper outstrip competition in AIM client rankings

    Norton Rose and DLA Piper continue to boast the broadest base of clients listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), with the duo topping new quarterly client rankings released this week.Norton Rose maintained its position of advising more AIM-listed clients than its UK rivals, with the top 10 City firm holding a client base of 65 businesses, according to Hemscott statistics.The figures - which are taken from deals during the period from the beginning of October to the beginning of January - rank DLA Piper in second place, closing the gap on Norton Rose by gaining four clients over the quarter to bring the firm to 59 in total.

    1 minute read

  • February 5, 2008 |

    Ashurst adds to Tokyo project finance team

    Ashurst has hired a new project finance partner in Japan after the addition of White & Case partner Matthias Schemuth, who joined the City giant on Monday (4 February). Schemuth becomes the third partner in Ashurst's Tokyo finance group. He spent seven years at White & Case, where he was a partner in the Hong Kong energy, infrastructure, project finance and asset finance group.

    1 minute read

  • February 5, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox 6/02/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and College of Law chief exec Nigel Savage discusses the QLTT with Legal Village's Mike Semple Piggot

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  • January 30, 2008 |

    Hengeler counsel joins Ashurst as new partner

    Ashurst's German arm has hired Hengeler Mueller counsel Claudia Junker as a partner in its corporate practice. Junker, who has been at Hengeler since she qualified and has worked on transactions including the merger of T-Online and Deutsche Telekom, joins the City firm's Frankfurt office.

    1 minute read

  • January 24, 2008 |

    CC, A&O win Abbey panel spots in review

    High street bank Abbey has finished a review of its UK panel, dividing up its legal roster into seven divisions. The new line-up, which is now listed by corporate, commercial, capital markets, financial services, property, employment and litigation, includes most of its previous advisers.Magic circle duo Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance have won places alongside firms Ashurst, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Lovells, Norton Rose, Dundas & Wilson, Travers Smith and long-term corporate adviser Slaughter and May. Former panel member Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer declined to tender for the work.

    1 minute read

  • January 23, 2008 |

    Editor's Comment: Trying harder

    Slaughter and May's incoming senior partner, Chris Saul, is to take the helm at interesting times. Facing a globalising legal services market, for seven years under Tim Clark the firm's response has been basically to buff up its best friends network and hope for the best. Given the quality of firms involved and the efforts made, this has had some success. But for all protestations to the contrary, this model, which Saul is set to continue, is only now facing up to the reality of competing against the maturing global law firms. A related trend is the growing emergence of the big four as a replacement for the magic circle. The latter term has been a brand that has served its members very well but, despite valiant efforts from Ashurst and Herbert Smith, a successor grouping looks more likely to shrink than admit new members.

    1 minute read

  • January 23, 2008 |

    A&O and Ashurst among firms under scrutiny for Pakistan government ties

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst and Arnold & Porter have found themselves under the spotlight for their links with the Government of Pakistan, in the wake of growing unease among the UK legal profession over the regime's clashes with local lawyers. The three firms have previously advised the Pakistani Government, which was recently criticised by the UK's Law Society and Bar Council for the escalating political crisis in the region which has affected the country's under-fire legal community.

    1 minute read