16 July 2001
The Lawyer
A court of our own
Commercial lawyers in Birmingham have had it with travelling up and down the M40. Fenella Quinn asks whether the UK's second city should have its own Commercial Court
A novel approach
Being part of Penguin Group's in-house team is a book lover's paradise, and with libel cases, acquisitions and relocations to deal with, it's probably a lawyer's dream too. Kathryn Hobbs reports
A view from the Isle of Man
The Isle of Man, together with the Channel Islands, is in the vanguard of developing legislation to regulate fiduciary business.
A&O gives leg up to NY M&A capability
Allen & Overy's (A&O) New York senior partner Dan Cunningham has ramped up the office with the hire of a top-rate M&A team.
Accountancy tied firms run up combined UK income of £110m
The four accountancy-tied law firms now account for £110m worth of fee income in the UK.
Addleshaws wraps up Paul Sykes' bid for Victoria Quarter
Copley's lock on property company confirmed with £46m acquisition
Alexander Harris
Alexander Harris - the ultimate in victim support
Aon external lawyer target unrealised
Insurance company Aon has met with only limited success in its bid to run a legal department staffed only by lawyers on secondment.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ANZ Investment Bank finance 165-megawatt combined-cycle power plant developed by AES Kelanitissa in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Banks advised by Allen & Overy (Jaspal Gillar, John Richards). AES advised by Slaughter and May (Simon Hall). ANZ advised by Norton Rose (Peter Haslam).
B&M sets up second office in Canada
Baker & McKenzie is opening its second office in Canada, targeting the oil and gas industry with a new Calgary practice.
CC New York partners take massive pay cuts
Eight volunteers to trim salaries by half as firm tries to build single lockstep after R&W merger
CIBC world markets
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised CIBC World Markets and CIBC World Markets Corp as lead arrangers on the first European collateralised debt obligation (CDO) to have assets denominated in different currencies. This means that special purpose vehicle (SPV) Duchess I CDO is able to acquire bank loans, mezzanine debt, high-yield securities and synthetic securities in sterling and ...
Conquering the Wireless World by Douglas Lamont,
published by Capstone (ISBN 184112138X)
Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank arrange $150m (£106.41m) convertible bond issue by YTL Power Finance.
Banks advised by Norton Rose (Bill Jamieson) and Davis Polk & Wardwell on the US side (James Phyfe). YTL Power advised by Slaughter and May (Simon Hall).
Deal of the week - Deutsche Bank/Selec
Deutsche Bank is one of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's biggest securitisation clients. It advised the bank on arranging this first whole-business securitisation to be carried out in Europe through a French special purpose vehicle (SPV) - similar deals have been done in Europe using offshore SPVs. The assets were a portfolio of property owned by Selec, but used to house Electricité ...
Doctor Spin
It is not often that the law features on Newsnight. Legal cases do make it on to the running order, and media-friendly legal experts (or rentaquotes) are wheeled in to pronounce on an Appeal Court decision, but it is rare that the profession gets on to the mainstream news and has to face Jeremy Paxman.But earlier this month it felt the full wrath and sarcasm of the BBC's favourite journalistic Rottweiler. The occasion, of course, was the latest scene in that long-running ...
Dutch technical surveying company Fugro buys the Robertson Research Group from Robertson's managers and Simon Group for £59m.
Fugro advised by Bryan Cave (Charles Attlee). Vendors advised by Marriott Harrison (Duncan Innes, Jon Sweet).
Eat my shorts
Tulkinghorn would be keen to hear from a certain female tax lawyer at Clifford Chance who has a penchant for eating underpants.Said lawyer was approached late one Friday night by the Channel 4 alternative chat show So Graham Norton and asked to tuck into the edible underpants, sported by some roped-in sucker. Keen to dispel the myth that tax lawyers are boring, she munched away until the ...
Flat profits at Mills & Reeve
Mills & Reeve has reported disappointing profit growth with a 1.2 per cent rise in profits per partner.
Freshfields follows A&O lead with new US assault
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is the second magic circle firm this month to announce US lateral hires as it takes on two finance partners in its New York and Washington DC offices.
Frontier Estates secures forward funding of 292,000sq ft development at Queen Elizabeth Distribution Park from the Chubb Common Investment Fund.
Frontier Estates advised by Forsters (Martin Halling). Chubb Common Investment Fund advised by Edwards Geldard (Michael Jones).
Garrigues focuses on state law with double takeover
Andersen Legal firm Garrigues & Andersen has taken over two public law firms in an attempt to boost its state law capability.
Gibson Dunn swoops for Sidley corporate partner
The London office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher is taking on one of the founders of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood's UK practice.
Hammonds corporate partner defects to Wragges M&A team
In a coup for the M&A department, Wragge & Co has wooed Baljit Chohan, corporate partner at Hammond Suddards Edge.
In-house legal teams choose The Lawyer
The Lawyer is the undisputed publication of choice for in-house lawyers.
In-housers poor relations to private practice
Salary disparities between private practice and in-house lawyers are the principal obstacle for companies looking to recruit additional legal capability.
Jan Middleton
The Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times" has a particular resonance for public-private partnership (PPP) and PFI lawyers at the moment. Hot on the tracks of the difficulties arising out of European Union (EU) procurement issues come the potential difficulties raised by Section 6(3) of the Human Rights Act 1998, which came into force last year.The definition of a public authority includes "any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature". We ...
Kingdom of Norway completes partial privatisation and initial public offering of Statoil worth $2.9bn.
Kingdom of Norway advised by Clifford Chance (John Connolly) and Thommessen Krefting Greve Lund. Statoil advised by Lovells, Sullivan & Cromwell and Wiersholm Mellbye & Bech. Underwriters advised by Davis Polk ...
Lathams sends DC star to Frankfurt
US firm Latham & Watkins is relocating one of its most senior Washington DC partners to its newly-acquired office in Frankfurt.
Law Soc self-regulation status hangs by a thread
The Law Society is embroiled in a top-level battle over the future of its Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS).
Lawyers are mad on 'er
Madonna's latest, and possibly last ever (one can hope), UK tour is certainly the hottest ticket in town. But guess which law firm is treating its clients to see the queen of pop. No, not one of the trendy media outfits like Olswang or Harbottle & Lewis. It's
Leader
As discussion topics go, preparing for the recession is right there with ante-natal classes; full of scary diagrams and useless advice, except without the beanbags. What's more, you know it's coming and you know it'll be vile, and you know you won't get any sleep for months.The most recent law firm business confidence survey from The Lawyer and Wheeler Associates shows that more firms are emerging from a state of denial. In our first survey, published last ...
Legal Widow
A while ago, the Lawyer erupted from his study and shouted: "Who's taken my LPs?" The culprit turned out to be Deminimus, who had also snaffled our only turntable and taken it up to his bedroom to examine the early career of Bob Dylan. The Lawyer was outraged to find his son arguing the relative merits of Blonde on Blonde as opposed to, say, Blood on the Tracks."But I knew that," he kept saying to me over a bottle of Chianti later that night. "In fact, I knew all that 25 years ...
Lovells does battle with Straw to maintain status quo in Bermuda
Lovells is advising four prominent Bermudians who have issued judicial review proceedings challenging a proposal by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to radically alter the Bermudian constitution.
Lovells sets up cross-border IP service
Lovells has launched an intellectual property (IP) initiative to ensure a seamless-service pan-Euro-Asian capability.
Managing partners predict squeeze
Confidence is dropping among managing partners, a survey by The Lawyer and Wheeler Associates has found.
Manhattan transference
In an effort to confuse UK lawyers, some US lawyers sabotaged last week's feature ('Manhattan Transfers') so it showed an inverted picture of New York, thus confusing anyone trying to find new clients there. That's one view - another would be that Tulkinghorn assumed responsibility for pictures (one likes to try one's hand at everything at least once), but - after a couple of sherries - became a little confused with all this new-fangled technology.
Maplin Electronics Holdings and Graphite Capital Management complete £42m management buyout of Maplin Electronics from Saltire.
Maplin advised by SJ Berwin (Raymond McKeeve). Vendors advised by Dickson Minto (Martin McNair, Peter Uri). Bank of Scotland advised by DLA (Peter Crichton). Management team advised by Addleshaw Booth & Co (Yunus Seedat).
Nasdaq listed OpenTV acquires Static 2358 Holdings for $51m (£36.18m).
OpenTV advised by Baker & McKenzie (Adam Levin) and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Static advised by Berwin Leighton Paisner.
News in brief
A round up of stories from the UK and around the world
Real estate
Think property practices in the South West and the top dogs, Burges Salmon and Osborne Clarke, are probably the first to spring to mind. Both firms cleaned up nicely out of Eversheds' Bristol U-turn earlier this year - Burges ...
Redstone Telecom
Osborne Clarke completed this deal for longstanding client Redstone Telecom using a team of lawyers from its corporate, banking and employment groups.Led by corporate partner Ray Berg in London, the deal had to be completed quickly because of press speculation about what was happening to the company. The share prices were falling and putting the lawyers under pressure.The deal was similar ...
Roadrunner
McDermotts senior partner William Charnley still intends to pursue his original full-service UK firm ideal, but that US work is just too tempting…
Royal bank private equity
Robert Sutton at Macfarlanes is strengthening his longstanding relationship with Royal Bank Private Equity with this deal. It comes on the back of his advice on the client's Queensborough caravan park acquisition earlier this year.On this deal, Royal Bank Private Equity, the private equity arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland, funded the £441m buyout of Britax after bid talks were declared back ...
Separated at birth
North East firm Watson Burton redefined its management strategy recently with the appointment of its first managing director (The Lawyer, 25 June). However, Tulkinghorn has discovered the true extent of the restructuring, which goes a lot deeper than many realised. It seems that senior partner Andrew Hoyle has been usurped by Curly Watts, formerly of Coronation Street. Apparently, Hoyle was reluctant ...
Shock Story
Most law firms have realised the benefits of advertising, but it is now time to get creative. David Benady discovers that the tactics can only get more shocking
SJ Berwin teams up for tax fight in Germany
SJ Berwin's German arm SJ Berwin Knopf Tulloch Steininger and Berlin firm P+P Pöllath + Partners have set up a lobbying group to put pressure on the German tax authorities.
Tax Break?
It was the key tax case of the year. Jon Robins reports on how a Chinese takeaway defied Customs & Excise
Terry returns to client work at Freshfields
Ian Terry is stepping down as managing partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer after over five years.
The corporate adventure
Midlands firms can't rest on their laurels following the glut of flotation work, with City firms still ruling the roost. Ronan Hughes reports on the drive for corporate venture work
The middle ground
The Midlands has become a centre for property powerhouses and the deals are rolling in. Ronan Hughes investigates which firms are leading the way in the regions
The UK sway
Do US firms treat their UK offices as little more than outposts, or are they an integral part of the firm? Claire Smith and Kelly Harrison report on the power of the London managing partner
Thomas Eggar raids Downs after merger talks collapse
South East-based firm Thomas Eggar Church Adams has lured four from Surrey-based Downs, following failed merger talks.
TJG creates flexi-space contract
Taylor Joynson Garrett has cemented its relationship with office space provider MWB and developed a new flexi-lease contract that grows with businesses.
UK securitisation under threat
Government insolvency proposals could wreak havoc on deal structuring
Universal Health Services acquires an 80 per cent stake in Sante Finance for euro100m (£60.66m).
Universal Health Services advised by Andersen Legal (Alain Decombe). Capital investors advised by Ashurst Morris Crisp. Management advised by Gatienne Brault & Associés. Bank of Scotland advised by Sokolow Dunaud Mercadier & Carreras.
Wachtell Lipton leapfrogs rivals to reach top of US M&A tables
New York firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz has jumped to the top of the US mergers and acquisitions table in the first half of this year.
White & Case targets high-yield work with New York partner hire
White & Case is launching a major push on high-yield work with the appointment of its first full-time New York partner in the practice.
