Following much touted speculation of the potential merger between US firms Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Bingham McCutchen, Morgan Lewis has decided to cherry pick 227 partners.
Partner exits pile up: Edwards Wildman loses leading Hong Kong insurance partner to Simmons & Simmons
Having been plagued with a series of partner departures from London, Edwards Wildman Palmer has now taken a hit to its Hong Kong offering with the departure of insurance partner Martin Lister, who established the office in 2006, to Simmons & Simmons. Simmons, meanwhile, has also expanded its Africa group with the appointment of Paul Bugingo from Dentons, where he served as co-chairman of the firm’s Africa committee.
Media attention: Latham & Watkins hires six-partner team from O’Melveny & Myers
US firm Latham & Watkins continues its aggressive hiring strategy with the recruitment of a six-partner team from O’Melveny & Myers, including the firm’s entertainment, sports and media group head Joseph Calabrese and high profile London-based partner Libby Savill.
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Partner promotions: 20% of Ropes & Gray new partners in London while McDermott adds three
Ropes & Gray and McDermott Will & Emery are the most recent US firms to announce their partner promotions, with Ropes making up four in the City out of 20 worldwide, while McDermott is promoting three in London out of a total of 33.
Quinn Emanuel targets City competition practice with Hausfeld partner hire
Disputes specialist Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan will offer an antitrust practice in London following the hire of competition litigation partner Boris Bronfentrinker from the City of office claimant firm Hausfeld & Co. Continue reading “Quinn Emanuel targets City competition practice with Hausfeld partner hire”
Latest accounts do not reflect performance, says White & Case as filings show City revenue edging down
White & Case‘s most recent limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts filed at Companies House show turnover in its UK and Africa offices dropped 2% in the financial year ending December 2013.
US law firms cash in on Alibaba and Citizens flotations
King & Wood Mallesons and US firms were the main beneficiaries of the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, Alibaba’s $25bn listing, which generated $15.8m in legal fees while The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)’s Citizens flotation also saw US firms take leading roles.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Alibaba on US federal securities and New York state law with China head Leiming Chen and partners Daniel Fertig and William Hinman advising, while Sullivan & Cromwell partners William Chua, Jay Clayton and Sarah Payne advised the underwriters, including Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Maples and Calder advised on Cayman Islands law, while Chinese law was covered by Fangda Partners for Alibaba and King & Wood Mallesons for the underwriters.
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Edwards Wildman and Locke Lord set to combine
Fellow US firm Cooley plans London office takeover
Dallas-bred Locke Lord and Boston’s Edwards Wildman Palmer became the latest US duo to announce plans to merge last month, as consolidation continues in the US national market. The news emerges as California firm Cooley prepares to launch in London, potentially taking on a major proportion of Edwards Wildman’s City team in the process.
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82 join the club – eight new partners in City as Kirkland makes up more than Macfarlanes’ entire partnership
In one of the largest global partnership promotion rounds, Kirkland & Ellis has made up eight of its London associates to partner in a round that saw 82 lawyers join the global partnership, including one promotion from of counsel to partner.
Bingham’s Hong Kong office looks set to close as Akin Gump pounces again
Bingham McCutchen’s Hong Kong office has been put in a precarious position with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld making a two partner hire to take the number of partners joining the firm from Bingham to 28, while remaining capital markets partner Vincent Sum’s future is unclear.
Continue reading “Bingham’s Hong Kong office looks set to close as Akin Gump pounces again”