Madeleine Farman assesses the impact of another round of pay rises on the City market
As US firms continue to hike associate pay for UK lawyers, members of the City’s legal elite are getting increasingly coy over what they are offering their junior ranks… but are such tactics sustainable in the long run?
Marco Cillario finds deal professionals heaving a sigh of relief after a nail-biting end to 2016
Economic and political shocks took their toll on the deal market in the first half of 2017 as activity levels dipped but M&A professionals are sizing up the crucial post-summer period in an unexpectedly upbeat mood thanks to a run of big-ticket bids.
Kathryn McCann assesses the impact of the cyber attack on DLA and the wider legal market
For years, the possibility of a major cyber attack on a leading law firm has been discussed. Inevitably, it finally materialised. On 27 June DLA Piper was crippled for days after the global giant’s systems were hit by what the firm terms a ‘particularly sophisticated strain of malware’. (In cyber jargon, malware is malicious software designed to disrupt, damage or gain access to computer systems.) Continue reading “‘Collateral damage’: Profession gets a stark wake-up call on tech security in wake of crippling DLA cyber assault”
Five New York-based partners left Ashurst in July for US finance firm Chapman and Cutler, with a sixth partner departing for Allen & Overy (A&O) last month.
Partners Patrick Quill, David Nirenberg, Steven Kopp, Doug Bird and Tom Glushko all left Ashurst, completing the full departure of the ten-partner team the firm hired from McKee Nelson in 2009 to launch a structured finance practice.
Eversheds Sutherland expanded in Germany in August, opening its fourth office in the country after acquiring Düsseldorf-based firm Grooterhorst & Partner.
The new office, which is focused on real estate and insurance, opened with three partners: Johannes Grooterhorst, Marc Christian Schwencke and Ralf-Thomas Wittmann. The trio were joined by a team of 11 lawyers.
Continue reading “Eversheds opens fourth German office in Düsseldorf”
Pinsent Masons is continuing its sustained international expansion drive with a new Australian arm in Perth and the hire of four infrastructure and energy partners from Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF).
The UK law firm’s new Perth branch, to open in the autumn, will be its third Australian office after Sydney and Melbourne and its fifth international launch in the last 18 months.
‘Compelling rationale’ sees UK and US legal teams advise as Vantiv moves in
A host of US and UK-based international firms have lined up on the £9.3bn sale of UK payment processor Worldpay to US-based peer Vantiv in a deal that will create a company with a combined value of £22.2bn.
Continue reading “Squad of Global 100 firms lines up on £9bn Worldpay disposal”
Pinsent Masons picked up the key advisory mandate as embattled British construction company Carillion was handed a lifeline this summer thanks to the award of two contracts worth £1.3bn on the High Speed Two (HS2) project.
Carillion is to build two sections of the UK’s second high-speed rail project from London to Birmingham along with its joint venture partners Kier Group and France’s Eiffage Génie Civil, which will take at least five years to complete.
Continue reading “Pinsents secures £1.3bn Carillion HS2 mandate”
Travers Smith, Slaughter and May and Hogan Lovells all advised as Tata Steel last month signed a long-awaited agreement to separate its business from the £15bn British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), in what is the largest pensions scheme restructuring ever in the UK.
As a result of the separation, achieved through a regulated apportionment arrangement, Tata will pay £550m to BSPS, which will also be given a 33% equity stake in the steel company. With the support of The Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), a new BSPS will be created after an assessment period.
I started at Paisner and then on qualification went off to Norton Rose. I joined Clifford Chance in 2000, which was the big global merger. They were a challenger in M&A. That’s why I chose them.
I started off at Midland Bank in Fleet Street opposite Freshfields. One of six trainees. Later I sent out 86 applications for articles. Four interviews and only one offer would pay my law school. That’s why I went to Paisner. Continue reading “Life during law: Patrick Sarch, White & Case”
