• November 7, 2007 |

    Slaughters boosts salary bands for its associates halfway through year

    Slaughter and May has raised its salary bands for associates, bringing the elite City law firm into line with its magic circle rivals Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers at the firm will now earn £65,000, an increase of £1,500 on the previous rate, which will rise to £67,000 six months after qualification.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2007 |

    Sidley edges in to advise on $80bn 'superfund' creation

    Top US securitisation practice Sidley Austin has secured a high-profile instruction to advise alongside rival Mayer Brown on the cutting-edge $80bn (£38bn) 'superfund' designed to restore confidence in the credit markets, as firms look to secure roles on the process. The fund, created by Citi, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, was announced at the end of last month and aims to halt a further drop in market prices by offering to buy assets from structured investment vehicles (SIVs), helping them to avoid dumping securities.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2007 |

    Freshfields Italy co-head in Jones Day move

    Bruno Castellini, the joint managing partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Italian arm, will be the latest senior departure from the magic circle firm as he gets set to join the local office of US firm Jones Day. Castellini will join the Milan office of Jones Day within the next few weeks, where he will take up a role as local head of M&A.

    1 minute read

  • November 2, 2007 |

    City giants shake off credit crunch for strong H1 results

    A clutch of leading City firms have shaken off the impact of the credit crunch to announce strong first halves for the latest financial year. A&O became the first firm to announce its half-year figures earlier today (2 November), charting a 16% increase in revenues for the most recent six-month period, while Ashurst saw turnover surge by 25% compared to the equivalent period last year.

    1 minute read

  • November 2, 2007 |

    Slaughters pay-hikes match top City rates

    Slaughter and May has raised unveiled its new pay bands for associates, bringing the elite City firm into line with magic circle rivals Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers at the firm will now earn £65,000, an increase of £1,500 on the previous rate, climbing to £67,000 six months after qualification. Lawyers with one year post-qualification experience (PQE) will take home £71,500, progressing to £76,000 at 18 months' PQE and £84,000 after two years with the firm.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2007 | International Edition

    Simmons scores client double on back of new energy financing deal expertise

    Simmons & Simmons has won two new clients on the back of its experience of a new financing structure, as the firm continues to build on its energy credentials. The firm has advised Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital on its subsidiary's $850m (£415m) purchase of oil and gas exploration company Rally Energy Group.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2007 |

    Bingham leads push for post-crunch bank-on-bank litigation

    Bingham McCutchen is positioning itself to take on financial institutions in court as growing ranks of firms on both sides of the Atlantic prepare for increasing amounts of bank-on-bank litigation in the wake of the credit crunch. The US firm, a specialist in bondholder litigation, has loosened its procedures for acting against financial institutions to make it easier to take on such cases, while leading UK finance firm Allen & Overy (A&O) has said it would litigate against a bank in limited circumstances.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2007 | International Edition

    UK elite to post budget-busting H1 results

    The UK's leading firms have enjoyed a strong first half of the year, despite turmoil in the credit markets, with the majority of the top 10 City firms ahead of budget for the last six months. Early indications show firms including Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O) are expecting to be well ahead of budget going into the third quarter. CC is currently reforecasting the second half of the year after revealing that it is significantly up on the same period last year.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2007 |

    UK elite to post budget-busting H1 results

    The UK's leading firms have enjoyed a strong first half of the year, despite turmoil in the credit markets, with the majority of the top 10 City firms ahead of budget for the last six months. Early indications show firms including Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O) are expecting to be well ahead of budget going into the third quarter. CC is currently reforecasting the second half of the year after revealing that it is significantly up on the same period last year.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2007 |

    Legal networking site triples users as top firms sign up to share advice

    Legal networking website Legal OnRamp has trebled its users since the summer, with its membership jumping from around 500 to more than 1,600 in three months - 100 of which are summer placement students at US firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

    1 minute read