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  • March 1, 2007 |

    An unsentimental education

    Several years back, College of Law chief executive Nigel Savage must have been tempted to give up.The College was doing OK but pesky law school upstarts…

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    White & Case, Trowers face Saudi allies split

    White & Case is in crisis talks with Saudi alliance partner Mohammed Al-Sheikh while Trowers & Hamlins' Saudi tie-up has split, as pressure on international firms to secure local law capability in Saudi Arabia intensifies. White & Case is in 11th-hour talks to persuade Al-Sheikh to stay allied to the firm, with a decision expected in about a fortnight.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Scots govt review set to slash adviser roster

    Firms are vying to secure Government panel appointments as news emerges that the Scottish Executive is reviewing its advisers, while the UK Government's centralised legal review has been delayed due to unprecedented demand. The Scottish Executive, the executive arm of the Scottish Parliament, is midway through a review and is understood to be intent on stripping back the existing 12-strong roster to just six firms.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Energy giant unveils eight-strong UK adviser line-up

    French utility company Veolia Environnement has put the finishing touches to its review of UK advisers, appointing eight firms to the panel. Corporate adviser Lovells has been retained, while existing advisers Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons also secured places on the roster.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Top LBO trio tighten grip but primary market slows

    With the acquisition finance market slowing after a hectic 2006, leading finance partners are more eager than ever to position themselves with the select band of sponsors and arranging banks still getting deals to market. Recent months have seen established teams such as Clifford Chance (CC), Allen & Overy (A&O) and Ashurst tighten their grip on the market with the trio signing a string of a multibillion-pound deals (see table below), despite the recent struggle of sponsors to secure acquisitions in Europe.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Norton Rose beats Ashurst to head Hemscott corporate adviser league

    Norton Rose has topped rankings of corporate advisers, taking over from Ashurst as the firm with the most quoted UK clients. Hemscott's quarterly corporate adviser rankings show Norton Rose in pole position with 120 stock market clients, Slaughter and May in second with 113 quoted clients, Ashurst and Eversheds in equal third place with 110 clients and Pinsent Masons in fifth place with 97 clients.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Singapore to offer tax incentives in bid to take Asia arbitration lead

    Singapore has unveiled major tax breaks for law firms that act on international arbitrations as it vies with Hong Kong to become Asia's principal centre for dispute resolution. Singapore's finance ministry announced the move on 15 February to allow a 50% tax exemption on firms' income on international arbitration work.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Haarmann hires A&O and Fried Frank pair

    German independent Haarmann has beefed up its corporate capabilities with the hire of two new partners, as the fledgling operation continues to grow following its formation last year. The corporate duo - Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson senior associate Joern Hirschmann and former Allen & Overy (A&O) senior associate Holger Erwin - both joined as salaried partners in January.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    A&O bolsters GE links with French deal double

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has scooped its second deal in the space of a week for General Electric (GE) with the City firm advising the global conglomerate on its acquisition of a majority stake in French water treatment company Idex Aquaservices. The magic circle firm is acting for GE Financial Services on the deal, which makes it the first US company to invest in the French water market.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Deals: Finance 1/03/2007

    Addleshaw Goddard has advised commercial property company Bruntwood on its £440m mortgaged-backed securitisation of a £669m office portfolio arranged by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Finance partner Mark Thomas and corporate partner Michael Birchall advised. Allen & Overy securitisation partner Christian Lambie advised the RBS.

    1 minute read