Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has reprised its role for Pearson as, just weeks after selling the Financial Times, the publishing group agreed to sell its stake in The Economist group for £469m to Macfarlanes‘ client Exor and back to the group itself.
Guest post: Can litigation be project managed? The case for clarity
Litigators live uncertain lives. The current matter could settle or go to trial. Your previous clients may never litigate again. It’s feast or famine.
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White & Case follows project finance clients to launch in Seoul
South Korea is continuing to prove its attraction for Global 100 firms as White & Case launches an office in Seoul with plans to relocate three partners and build on relationships with project finance clients.
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Barclays exits continue as M&A legal chief departs for Simmons & Simmons
Barclays’ M&A chief, Khasruz Zaman, is set to exit the banking giant after a decade in its Canary Wharf HQ for City firm Simmons & Simmons.
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Clifford Chance advises Co-Op Bank as it avoids financial watchdog’s ‘substantial fine’
Clifford Chance (CC) has advised the Co-Operative (Co-Op) Bank as the high-street lender avoided a substantial fine following an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) for breaching listing rules.
Dealwatch: A&O wins place alongside Latham, Ropes and Sidley on Carlyle’s $8bn tech buyout
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.