A London team at Covington & Burling led by corporate partner Lucinda Osborne advised AstraZeneca on a potential $2.1bn deal to purchase Spanish healthcare group Almirall’s respiratory unit in a move that sees the company add to its pipeline of asthma products.
Continue reading “Covington and CMS lead on AstraZeneca’s £1.2bn Spanish transaction”
Once a storied institution in the Scottish legal market, Dundas & Wilson has unveiled its last ever financials and has recorded mixed results, with unaudited figures for the 2013/14 financial year showing a revenue decrease of 4.5% to £47m from £49.2m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) increased 8% to £181,006 from £167,625. The fall in revenue constitutes a 29% drop over the last five years.
The UK Court of Appeal has ruled that investment fund Sebastian Holdings must pay Germany’s Deutsche Bank $243m after losing a case at the High Court last year, or risk its appeal being struck out.
Continue reading “Freshfields wins Deutsche Bank $243m pay out from Sebastian Holdings”
International firm Ashurst and Magic Circle trio Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Linklaters are advising the UK’s biggest banks over an inquiry into competition in the banking sector, following an investigation launched by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in mid-July.
Following a period of upheaval that has seen Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) exit a number of non-performing senior lawyers, the top 20 firm is considering changes to its partnership deed to make it easier to manage partners out.
Continue reading “BLP begins consultations to ease rules around managing out partners”
Reed Smith’s recently elected managing partner, Sandy Thomas, has had his recommendations for a senior management reshuffle, which rotates nearly half the team, approved by the firm’s partnership.
Continue reading “Senior management reshuffle approved at Reed Smith”
Global top-40 firm Ashurst is scaling back its Adelaide office headcount as its only Adelaide-based partner and office head Tanya Denning relocates to Melbourne to lead its energy practice.
Continue reading “Ashurst downsizes Adelaide office as head relocates”
Global 100 firm Baker & McKenzie has secured a heavyweight real estate mandate advising on the receivership of London’s iconic building, the Gherkin, valued at around £650m and which has been put up for sale after collapsing into receivership earlier this year.
Continue reading “Baker & McKenzie takes lead role on £650m Gherkin receivership”
A caricature may reveal a truth…
‘Why, if there is all the talk of change, is change so slow?’
One might be forgiven for thinking that there is rather too much talk of change in the legal profession and perhaps rather less evidence of it happening. It is not easy to see the wood from the trees sometimes, but I would like to offer a perspective on why this may seem to be the case from both a law firm and a client point of view. Continue reading “Guest post: ‘Stockholm syndrome’ in legal services – GCs are captured by their advisers”
US firm Edwards Wildman has seen the last of its quintet of disgruntled corporate partners resign as it has emerged that Niall McAlister has departed for Olswang. Continue reading “Edwards Wildman sees final corporate partner exit for Olswang as Arnold & Porter emerges as ‘in talks’ with disputes team”
Russia has been ordered to pay $50.08bn to the majority shareholders in Yukos Oil Company, once Russia’s largest oil producer, by an arbitral tribunal sitting in The Hague under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
Top 20 UK firm Simmons & Simmons is set to expand in Saudi Arabia through the opening of a new office in the country’s capital, Riyadh, by alliance firm Hammad & Al-Mehdar.
Continue reading “Simmons & Simmons expands in Saudi Arabia”
The high profile Tchenguiz brothers’ lawsuit against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for around £300m has finally settled after the SFO agreed to pay Vincent Tchenguiz £3m.
City firm RPC is the latest to reveal its trainee retention rates this summer, and has announced it will keep all 15 trainee solicitors who applied to qualify this year, constituting the second time the firm has achieved a 100% rate since 2010. Meanwhile, CMS Cameron McKenna posted more modest results and confirmed a retention rate of 67.2%, with the firm’s London office keeping the lion’s share of trainees.
A direct consequence of the government’s decision in May not to make any major changes to the regulatory framework for legal services is that it simultaneously fired the starting gun for the race to introduce major changes to the regulatory framework for legal services.
As part of the first major changes to its corporate governance structure in 14 years Clifford Chance yesterday (24 July) voted to dispense with regional and practice head elections in favour of appointment by managing partner Matthew Layton.
BP has selected nine firms to provide niche legal services as part of its wider panel. Firms appointed are Baker & McKenzie, Fieldfisher, Hill Dickinson, Holman Fenwick Willan, Reed Smith, Stevens & Bolton, Sullivan & Cromwell, Watson Farley & Williams and arbitration boutique Three Crowns.
Continue reading “BP announces specialist panel with Fieldfisher returning to the fold”
Mayer Brown will be cutting its September 2016 trainee intake by half, taking in just ten applicants compared to their usual intake of 20.
Construction group Carillion has instructed Slaughter and May’s corporate heavy hitter William Underhill and fellow corporate partner Kathy Hughes to advise on a proposed £3bn merger with UK rival Balfour Beatty, which has turned to Linklaters’ M&A veteran and longstanding adviser Iain Fenn.
The Bar Standards Board has selected Sir Andrew Burns as its next chair with Baroness Ruth Deech QC due to reach her term limit at the end of 2014. Continue reading “The Bar: BSB picks Sir Andrew Burns as new lay chair”
