‘A true win’ – Baker McKenzie on record Ecuador $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and winning Finance Team of the Year

‘A true win’ – Baker McKenzie on record Ecuador $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and winning Finance Team of the Year

Baker McKenzie won Finance Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards for representing project manager Oceans Finance Company in structuring and implementing the government of Ecuador’s $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and providing $300m for the Galápagos Islands – the largest marine conservation debt conversion to date. LB spoke with partners Matthew Cox and James Tanner (pictured, …

Late bloomer: how Paul Weiss made up for lost time on the global stage

Late bloomer: how Paul Weiss made up for lost time on the global stage

For years, while rivals like Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden and Latham & Watkins disrupted the London legal market, Paul Weiss had bucked the global trend, practising only US law from small offices outside of its domestic heartlands. Its much-lauded English law launch last year marked a dramatic u-turn, with the firm following up with a …

Latham rewards more than 20 star performers with new ‘super points’ rank

Latham rewards more than 20 star performers with new ‘super points’ rank

More than 20 of Latham & Watkins’ equity partners have made it into the elite firm’s ‘super points’ band, which is intended to better reward star performers by allowing them to earn nearly double the profit share of those at the top of the firm’s core lockstep.   Legal Business has learned that 22 Latham partners …

‘We have a remit to build’ – ex-Latham team open up on Sidley’s bold City lev-fin play

‘We have a remit to build’ – ex-Latham team open up on Sidley’s bold City lev-fin play

In their first interview since leaving Latham & Watkins, Jayanthi Sadanandan and Sam Hamilton discuss their new roles as global co-heads of Sidley Austin’s leveraged finance practice ‘Sidley wants to provide a best-in-class financial sponsor legal service – Sam and I have built out a practice before and we know how to do this,’ says Sadanandan …

McDermott sets sights on big-hitters in London as private client team moves on

McDermott sets sights on big-hitters in London as private client team moves on

McDermott Will & Emery is pushing forward with ambitious plans to prioritise its ‘power alley’ transactional practices in London, following the departure of its last remaining private client partners in London. The firm has been one of the last major US players in London with a private client practice, but following the recent departures of …