Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has this time found an in-house replacement legal director Peter Rees QC, today (10 February) announcing former Singapore legal head Donny Ching as its new legal director with immediate effect. UK-qualified Ching, whose most recent role was general counsel for Shell’s project and technology business replaces litigator Rees, who surprised …
The third partner to leave Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) for Jones Day in under six months, former head of restructuring and insolvency Ben Larkin has joined the top 10 Global100 law firm’s 100 lawyer-strong global restructuring practice. Described as ‘an excellent operator’ by the Legal 500, during his time at BLP Larkin advised on stand out mandates …
Continue reading “Three’s company: BLP’s former head of restructuring Ben Larkin joins Jones Day”
Following last year’s announcement from Field Fisher Waterhouse that it was looking to move a number of its London support functions to Manchester in a bid to cut costs, the top 40 LB100 has merged with local boutique Heatons. Field Fisher’s partnership voted last week to merge with Heatons, which specialises in real estate, corporate and …
With transactional activity on the rise international firms including Bird & Bird, K&L Gates, Trowers & Hamlins and Reed Smith have bolstered their European corporate and banking capability, while Baker & McKenzie and Mayer Brown have made appointments in the buoyant pharmaceutical and antitrust sectors respectively. In London, Bakers on Monday (3 February) announced the …
Mayer Brown has released its LLP results for the year ending 2012/13 for the UK business, reporting a 9.5% loss in revenues while profits are down by 5.5%. The top 30 Global100 firm’s UK results filed with Companies House on 3 February show its turnover dropped from £105.9m in 2012 to £95.8m last year. Profits …
In the third largest M&A deal in the UK this year after Liberty Global’s $10bn takeover of Ziggo and Amec’s $2.7bn acquisition of Foster Wheeler, Davis Polk & Wardwell is advising Smith & Nephew on its $1.7bn acquisition of Texas-based medical device company ArthroCare opposite Latham & Watkins. The Davis Polk team includes corporate partners George …
Morgan Lewis has boosted its London white collar crime capability with the hire of Irwin Mitchell’s head of regulatory and criminal investigations practice Kevin Robinson, in a move said to be part of the ‘ongoing transformation’ of its London office. Robinson, who has over 40 years of experience in advising clients on investigations by regulators …
New Year surge in high-value deals after subdued year While deal activity was down again in 2013, last year’s growth in confidence in the corporate sector, together with fundraising activity among a number of large private equity houses, has seen some of the UK’s elite firms advise on high-value deals announced in January, including Amec’s …
Continue reading “UK elite firms defy the transactional gloom of 2013”
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is advising one of its oldest clients, Edinburgh-based UK and European asset manager F&C Asset Management on its $1.2bn acquisition by Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group) led by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The NRF team is being led by London corporate partners Chris Randall and Paul Whitelock, with BMO’s former senior vice …
As the banking crisis and collapse of Dewey fade from memory, a band of emerging giants continue their long-term push into the once impenetrable New York market. Legal Business asks if the Wall Street elite can hold out January 2014 marked the 100th ‘birthday’ of ‘Mother Merrill’, the affectionate nickname given to New York finance …
