Embattled pharma giant Valeant picks new general counsel
Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals has appointed Christina Ackermann as its new general counsel as it comes under scrutiny for its business and accounting practices.
Real estate practice worst-hit as Simmons makes redundancies across its London office
Simmons & Simmons has laid off lawyers in London following the Brexit vote. While the firm has refused to comment on the number of redundancies, banking and real estate are two practices known to be affected.
Quinn makes City white-collar crime play with hire of former SFO prosecutor Amaee
Disputes powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has launched a long-anticipated corporate crime practice in London through the hire of Covington & Burling partner and former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) prosecutor Robert Amaee.
Baker & McKenzie lifer Chadwick to take City reins as Rawlinson steps up to chair
With Paul Rawlinson vacating the London managing partner post at Baker & McKenzie in October after winning the race to become the next global chairman, partner Alex Chadwick is set to take charge of the firm’s largest office.
In-house energy switch: senior BG Group lawyer Thomas Smith moves to Centrica
With BG Group having been taken over by Shell for £35bn in February, BG’s deputy general counsel Thomas Smith has departed to become North America energy supply and services general counsel at Centrica.
Latham strikes again: US firm takes Slaughters finance partner Warna-kula-suriya
In what is arguably the most high-profile partner exit from Slaughter and May in recent history, Latham & Watkins has hired the Magic Circle firm’s former head of structured finance Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya in the City.
Woodward’s deal streak continues as Linklaters takes first instruction for BC Partners in $1.6bn acquisition
Linklaters has landed its first private equity mandate for BC Partners, with private equity star Alex Woodward leading alongside Vincent Ponsonnaille on a $1.6bn deal for a majority stake in Israeli furniture maker Keter Plastic.
Weightmans performance disappoints as PEP slips 19% and revenue misses £100m target
Weightmans managing partner John Schorah has slapped a £100m revenue target on the firm for 2016/17 after a year of underachievement, with revenue up just 7% in 2015/16 to £95m despite a major merger and a 19% tumble in profit per equity partner (PEP).
Paying up: KWM partners vote to inject £14m of extra capital
An overwhelming majority of King & Wood Mallesons‘ (KWM) European and Middle East partnership has voted in favour of recapitalising the firm, committing £14m in a cash call to put it on a firmer footing.
Upping the ante: Latham appoints former A&O leadership contender Kensell
Latham & Watkins‘ unrelenting assault on the City market has seen the US firm land one of London’s most high-profile banking lawyers, Allen & Overy’s Stephen Kensell.