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  • November 30, 2007 |

    Former ABN legal chief steps in to Northern Rock

    Beleaguered UK bank Northern Rock has hired the former legal head of ABN Amro, Laurie Adams, as a non-executive director as it attempts to steer itself through its current troubles. The bank announced earlier this week (26 November) that it has named Adams on the board.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2007 |

    Bold ambition

    Europe's independent firms have ambitious growth plans for the year ahead. This year's survey of more than 80 law firms reveals an overwhelming 98% of respondents plan to add more lawyers to their ranks in the next 12 months. This ambition is mirrored in law firms' predictions for their home legal markets - 60% of respondents expect the market share of independent firms in their home jurisdiction to grow over the next 18 months.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2007 |

    Circle of Friends

    What is striking about an M&A-focused deal table of independent law firms in Europe is the dominance of the Slaughter and May best friends network. Sitting at the top of the table of deals announced in the 12 months to 30 September, 2007, based on value, is Slaughters' Italy ally Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, edging Slaughters' Dutch friend De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek into a close-run second place. Spain's Uria Menendez came an equally close third, making it a Slaughters sweep for the medal positions. Another member of the Slaughters' network, Germany's Hengeler Mueller, appears in fifth place, behind the Netherlands' NautaDutilh.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2007 |

    The legal entrepreneurs

    Setting up a new law firm takes guts. If the cliches are to be believed, lawyers are typically risk averse - lacking in the entrepreneurial chutzpah associated with business success. What's more, managing lawyers is - so the saying goes - like herding cats. Combine the two and you might wonder why any lawyer would decide to break away and start up on their own.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2007 |

    Deal feast

    The Netherlands' M&A market has been booming in recent months, but one deal in particular has captivated the corporate market: the fight for banking giant ABN Amro.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2007 |

    The long return

    There is a growing split between the domestic commercial work and finance-driven specialist services that the Republic of Ireland's elite band of commercial firms are offering to an international client base, drawn by the country's low corporate taxes.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2007 |

    The age of independence

    Poland has long been a popular location for UK and US firms eager to capitalise on the flow of work driven by widespread post-Communist privatisation. The global players that have come to dominate the legal landscape in the country include international powerhouses such as Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters as well as top US firms such as Weil Gotshal & Manges and Dewey Ballantine.

    1 minute read

  • November 28, 2007 |

    City firms scramble as Grid and Lehman review advisers

    Top UK law firms stand poised for a flurry of panel activity as two of Europe's most coveted clients launch reviews of their advisers. FTSE 100 energy company National Grid is set to overhaul its roster of external advisers for the first time in three years, while US investment banking giant Lehman Brothers is holding a review of its fee arrangements with outside counsel.

    1 minute read

  • November 28, 2007 |

    Weil's City arm captures role on billion-pound Olympus bid

    Weil Gotshal & Manges' City office has bagged a first-time instruction for Japanese camera and medical devices company Olympus, advising opposite magic circle giant Allen & Overy (A&O) on the camera-maker's £1.03bn bid for Gyrus Group.

    1 minute read

  • November 28, 2007 |

    Private Client: Business and pleasure

    It would appear that the perks associated with advising the world's super-rich do not extend to regular trips on private jets. That, at least, was the impression gleaned from an informal survey of the delegates who gathered in Venice on 15-17 November to attend the fifth annual Legal Week Private Client Forum, which was chaired by Macfarlanes' John Rhodes and Jeremy Arnold of Barclays Wealth.

    1 minute read