A raft of firms, including Allen & Overy (A&O), have landed roles on Carlyle Group’s $8bn purchase of software-storage company Veritas in what is the largest US technology leveraged buyout this year.
Under fire Walker to step down as Deutsche Bank’s general counsel by year-end
After a management reshuffle earlier this summer that saw legal affairs chief Christian Sewing reassigned, Deutsche Bank has confirmed that general counsel (GC) Richard Walker will leave the bank at the year-end.
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Mintz Levin scales back London office as managing partner leaves to set up pharma boutique
Having lost the bulk of its City patent practice to fellow US firm Cooley earlier this month, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo has made the decision to scale back its London offering with managing partner Julian Crump exiting to establish his own pharmaceuticals boutique.
Standard Chartered rejigs in-house with new deputy GC and financial crime trio
Standard Chartered has made several senior appointments to its in-house legal team, bolstering its financial crime compliance (FCC) unit and recruiting ICAP’s group general counsel (GC) Duncan Wales as deputy GC to help ‘manage legal affairs’.
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KPMG boosts German offering with double Taylor Wessing hire
Accountancy firms continue to build their presence in the legal sector with KPMG Law the latest to boost its legal team by hiring two Berlin-based Taylor Wessing partners.
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Revolving doors: OC, DLA and DWF make key hires as CMA promotes new cartels head
Last week saw a trio of LB100 firms, Osborne Clarke (OC), DWF, and DLA Piper, make key national and international appointments while the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) bolstered its cartels and criminal group with the internal promotion of a director to its leadership team.
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‘We can’t get carried away’: City dealmakers cautious as M&A in July swells 49% to eight-year high
Corporate partners are forecasting a robust transactional market this year as the value of M&A deals has reached its highest level in eight years with greater use of debt finance and more benevolent market conditions, but dealmakers remain cautious about bumps in the road.
The importance of tech: Foot Anstey promotes IT director to partner
Highlighting the growing importance of technology for law firms, south west firm Foot Anstey has used its alternative business structure (ABS) licence to bring IT director Duncan Eadie into the partnership, promoting him to equity partner.
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Olswang’s new German focus, Munich, sees team of five exit for US IP firm
Olswang’s German offering has been served a further blow after losing its entire Berlin office, with intellectual property (IP) partner and head of the filing and prosecution team, Herbert Kunz, leaving the firm’s Munich outpost along with one other lawyer and three staff.
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DLA Piper ends South African alliance as it eyes Jo’burg launch for first foray into Africa
DLA Piper and its South African affiliate, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, are ending their formal alliance as the international firm looks to strengthen its presence in the country.
Bringing AI to a law firm near you: Dentons’ NextLaw venture invests in IBM Watson app to answer lawyers’ questions
Dentons’ NextLaw Labs, having launched in May to focus on developing and investing in new technologies for the legal profession, has signed a deal with its first portfolio company, ROSS Intelligence, a start-up developing a legal adviser app powered by IBM Watson.
Addleshaw Goddard’s top of equity nears £1m goal as it rises 67% to £936k
Addleshaw Goddard’s top of equity figure has edged closer to the £1m goal unveiled in John Joyce’s (pictured) revamped strategy last year, soaring 67% from £560,000 to £936,000.
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Financials 2014/15: PEP dives 16% at DWF as revenue growth stalls
DWF, suffering a second year of lacklustre performance, is the latest law firm to report evidence of difficulties for those with large insurance practices as it posts financial results showing a 1% rise in revenue and a 16% drop in profit per equity partner (PEP).
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1.8 a year: Solicitors take less than half the national average of sick days
A report by the Law Society published today (6 August) into the health and well-being of solicitors has found that solicitors took an average of 1.8 days a year due to illness or injury in 2014, less than half the national average recorded in 2013 of 4.4 days.
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Cleary, Cahill, Slaughters and A&O share a Coke on bottler’s €28bn three-way merger
A raft of Global 100 firms, including Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May, have won work as three of Europe’s bottlers combine to form the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler.
PEP plunges 15% to fall below £500k at Holman Fenwick as revenue drops
Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) has seen a 15% slide in its profits per equity partner (PEP) for the 2014/15 financial year as the firm increased its partnership ranks but saw turnover and profit fall.
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Insurance sector woes hit Hill Dickinson as revenue falls by £8m and PEP slides 4%
After having carried out two redundancy rounds over the year, Hill Dickinson has seen its revenues for 2014/15 fall 6% from £112m to £104m while profit per equity partner (PEP) is down 4% from £271,000 last financial year to £261,000.
University of Law brings in Lord Grabiner as president following chief exec’s departure
In its reshuffle of senior management, The University of Law (ULaw) has appointed Lord Grabiner QC (pictured) as president after the departure of the incumbent-holder and chief executive, John Latham, by ‘mutual consent’.
Kirkland picked to defend Baxalta as Slaughters and Ropes take the lead on Shire’s $34bn hostile takeover
Shire has turned to longstanding adviser Slaughter and May in the UK while Ropes & Gray won the mandate in the US as it looks to takeover rival drug company and Kirkland & Ellis-client Baxalta in a hostile $33.9bn deal.
SFO opens investigation into Quindell as company revises 2014 legal profits down by £312m
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it is investigating Quindell’s ‘business and accounting practices’ as the company published revised annual accounts for 2014 showing a £312m swing from profit to loss in its Professional Services Division (PSD).