Rising star: Latham hires Clifford Chance private equity partner Tom Evans

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Latham & Watkins has secured another heavyweight hire in London with the announcement that Tom Evans, a newly made up partner in Clifford Chance’s (CC) private equity group, is joining the firm’s corporate department. Evans, who has been tipped as a rising star in the private equity field, follows David Walker, former global head of private …

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Regulatory upheaval: MoJ reshuffle leaves reforms uncertain as LSB drops Herbert Smith for judicial review

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The future of regulatory reform of the legal sector appears to be hanging in the balance as justice minister Helen Grant, who announced the review in June, is replaced by former solicitor Shailesh Vara and further announcements over changes to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) team are awaited. The review, which has seen regulators and …

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London launch: Boies Schiller hires Bingham heavyweight Harrison to spearhead City practice

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US litigation powerhouse Boies, Schiller & Flexner has hired Bingham McCutchen star partner Natasha Harrison to head the firm’s foray into the London market, its first office outside of the US. Harrison has been a partner at Bingham since 2004 and is described by the The Legal 500 as an ‘incredibly commercial for a litigator’. She …

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Sector switch: Vodafone’s corporate affairs director takes over as GC of British Gas

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Vodafone UK’s corporate and external affairs director Justine Campbell has switched from telecoms to energy, taking on the general counsel (GC) role at British Gas after a revamp of its senior legal team. She will join the company in December after having handed her notice in last month. The GC title was phased out at British Gas following Melanie Rowland’s …

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Going buy-side: Reed Smith’s global managing partner takes over from Hoyt at PNC

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It is still reasonably uncommon to see private practice partners step straight into a general counsel (GC) role but Reed Smith’s global managing partner (MP) Greg Jordan is to join one of the firm’s clients, Pittsburgh’s largest bank, the PNC Financial Services Group, taking over from Bob Hoyt as he prepares to join Barclays. Alexander Thomas, Reed …

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Revolving Doors: Key hires for Mayer Brown, Greenberg Traurig, Herbert Smith, K&L Gates and Pinsent Masons

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The lateral hiring spike of September is running into October, as Mayer Brown and US rival Greenberg Traurig Maher bulk up in London, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and K&L Gates recruit into their Australian practices, and Pinsent Masons boosts its Middle Eastern energy projects team. Mayer Brown has hired Patricia Jones, a real estate partner from SJ Berwin, to join …

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The legal elite dominates big-ticket mandates including Vodafone’s $130bn Verizon sell off

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The autumn deal-doing season kicked off in style in September as Vodafone announced the $130bn disposal of its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) sold off its drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena for £1.35bn. Slaughter and May, led by corporate partner Roland Turnill, took the lead for Vodafone on one …

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Financial results 2013: BLP reveals PEP slump of 39%

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Following an unusual waiting game that has ensured Berwin Leighton Paisner’s profit figure has remained a topic of growing interest since the financial reporting season ended, the top 50 firm has confirmed that its profits are down by nearly 40%. The 786-lawyer firm has revealed a 39% drop in profit per equity partner (PEP) from £660,000 …

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Deal round-up: Bakers, Bird & Bird and Simmons advise on multi-billion energy programme as BLP takes on PFI bond issue

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The UK government may be short of funds but it has generated high value deals for Baker & McKenzie, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) Bird & Bird and Simons & Simmons in the past few days as the recent initial public offering (IPO) wave also see CMS Cameron McKenna advise on an Alternative Investment Market (AIM) float. …

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Consolidation in the second 50 – Manches and Penningtons confirm talks

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From within the over-crowded space that is the lower of half of the LB100, beleaguered 139-lawyer Manches has emerged as being engaged in advanced merger talks with private client firm Penningtons to create a £60m firm with over 300 lawyers. Manches was earmarked as a firm in need of a merger in this year’s LB100 analysis, after turning out …

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