19 August 2002
The Lawyer
24a and 28 St John Street merger creates Manchester's largest set
Manchester sets 24a and 28 St John Street will merge in October to create Manchester's largest chambers, with a combined turnover pushing £10m
A&O closes delayed Telenet purchase
Allen & Overy (A&O) has closed a politically complex financing deal worth e1.25bn (£799.5m) that was delayed by eight months because of a restructuring of the ownership of the buyer.The firm acted for 11 lead arrangers, including JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Scotland, in the acquisition by Belgian telecommunications company Telenet of cable television businesses run by Flemish local authorities in partnership with Electrabel, the Belgian energy producer ...
Alston & Bird hires Shaw Pittman partner
Alston & Bird has boosted its US securitisation and structured finance practice with the appointment of partner Lynn Soukup from Shaw Pittman. Her arrival follows that of a five-lawyer structured finance team, which joined from Shaw Pittman in April. Soukup has worked for issuers and credit enhancers in securitising assets such as consumer receivables, mortgages, loans, future cash flows and interests in other securitistions.
Arnold & Porter gets right chemistry with four hires
Washington DC firm Arnold & Porter has ramped up its patent litigation practice by hiring four partners from intellectual property (IP) specialists Pennie & Edmonds
Arthur Cox snr partner conflicted on Smurfit
Arthur Cox senior partner James O'Dwyer faced a potential conflict on the Jefferson Smurfit deal, but removed himself from any involvement in the transaction
At long last: Linklaters breaks into private equity
Linklaters has secured its first significant private equity deal after a yearlong campaign to become involved in the sector. The deal was for Clifford Chance client CVC Capital Partners
Bird & Bird litigation chief joins Morgan Lewis
Bird & Bird is losing highly-rated head of litigation Trevor Asserson to the London office of top 10 US firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Asserson is the second practice head Bird & Bird has lost in the past 12 months. Asserson is best known for successfully representing boxing promoter Don King in his £7.2m rights claim against fellow promoter Frank Warren in 1999. His departure follows that of e-commerce head Graham Defries, who left in 2001 for Weil Gotshal & Manges.
BLP beats City firms to 'Shard of Glass' work
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has scooped the role of adviser to the developer in London's next major planning inquiry, beating firms such as Nabarro Nathanson
Brobeck team brings CC wealth of clients
Clifford Chance has gained more than 90 per cent of the work carried out by the team it plundered from Brobeck Phleger & Harrison and plans to relocate two New York partners and an associate to its new West Coast office
Chambers post increased profits
Birmingham chambers 5 Fountain Court has in-creased its turnover by a third as sets across the board report a profitable year
Charles Russell to act for PM of Antigua
Charles Russell has been instructed by the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, representing him in a libel action against the BBC
Couderts gets embroiled in Russian paper mill war
Coudert Brothers Moscow has been retained by Russian pulp and paper producer Ilim Pulp Enterprise to defend it against an attack by corporate raiders
Davies Ward hires new head of antitrust
Canadian firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg has hired a new head of antitrust and trade practice from rival Osler Hoskin & Harcourt
DEAL OF THE WEEK - PANTHEON
Ex-Theodore partners wrap up Pantheon job
Deals summary
SJ Berwin (Sally Pinkerton) advised Hines on its £53.5m purchase of the Cannon Centre, City of London. Dechert (Barry Thorne) advised vendor Marylebone Warwick Balfour Group. Stephenson Harwood (Richard Light, Matthew East) advised ...
Deals summary
Ashurst Morris Crisp (Mark Vickers, Stephen Clark) is advising Barclays Bank Leveraged Finance in relation to an offer for Jersey company Principal Healthcare Finance and a US public offer for Omega Worldwide by Four Seasons Group, an existing Alchemy Partners investment. Barclays is to provide £59m of senior debt and Alchemy an additional £25m.
Deals summary
SJ Berwin (Jonathan Metliss, Delphine Currie) represented MegaloMedia in relation to the issue of warrants to existing shareholders on a one-for-three basis.Trowers & Hamlins (Amir Hashemi) advised MCL Group on the disposal of its Kia vehicles and parts distribution business to Kia Motors Co (UK), a subsidiary of Korean company Kia Motors Corporation. Kia was advised by Landwell.
Dechert expands empire with new San Fran office
Dechert is extending its US presence with the launch of a San Francisco office and has made a string of hires in both California and New York
Dechert partner quits to head Field Fisher team
Dechert is losing retail and development partner Edward Bannister to Field Fisher Waterhouse. The news comes just weeks after the departure of former head of property Chris Edwards to Charles Russell. Bannister will take ...
Dentons teams up with Ghanian firm
Denton Wilde Sapte has established an alliance with Ghana's largest firm Bentsi-Enchill & Letsa, taking its number of associated African offices to four
Dundas & Wilson reports turnover rise
Dundas & Wilson, the former Scottish member of the Andersen Legal network, has seen its turnover rise by 12 per cent from £34m to £38m this year. Profits per partner have also risen by 12 per cent to £211,000. Top of equity stayed static at £400,000. Bottom of equity rose from £100,000 in 2000/01 to £110,000 this year. Dundas began extricating itself from the Andersen network in March this year. The firm has always kept its own accounts as it is regulated ...
Finance
For firms that had their fingers burnt in the crash of 1998, Russia has been regarded with a good deal of caution over the past few years. But finally there are signs that Moscow is rising from the ashes and now is the time for law firms to get their Russian houses in order.None more so, perhaps, than Clifford Chance. The transfer of London banking partner Michael Cuthbert to the Moscow office ...
German efficiency shames Patent Court into rethink
Judges Jacob and Laddie to investigate shift to Continental-style patent litigation as clients opt for cheaper, quicker Europe
Herbert Smith client claims OFT should pay legal costs
Robert Wiseman Dairies has expressed anger over the £700,000 it had to spend defending an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation into price-rigging
Here's lookin' at you
The Irish Competition Authority's study of solicitors will be fascinating - but ultimately pointless, says Vincent Power
Hot Rod
Tulkinghorn has never been one to namedrop, but since starting this column, let's say he's found himself moving in some pretty glamorous circles. If the 3am Girls are there, you can bet Tulkinghorn won't be far away… even if it is in the old man's pub around the corner.So it was on the party circuit recently that he heard a funny tale about Slaughter and May senior ...
Howard Kennedy hits budget
Howard Kennedy has recorded a small drop in turnover in the last financial year, with the firm bringing in £18.5m, down 2.6 per cent on the previous year's figure
Ireland's first solicitor turned High Court judge speaks out
High Court judge seeks end of second-class citizenship for solicitors and speedier case management
Koch-Heintzeler Widmann & Partner splits
General commercial firm Koch-Heintzeler Widmann & Partner (KHWP) is splitting. The Stuttgart-based operation will divide into two - Esper Fritz & Partner and Becker Bohn. Meanwhile, a medical negligence team led by Helge Hermann Hölzer is joining medical negligence boutique Ratajczak Preissler Wellmann Ohlmann & Partner. Also, KHWP's Dresden and Tatarstand offices will function independently as a unit.
Lawyers remain unpaid after judgment against Tag's CFAs
County court rules The Accident Group's CFAs breach regulations; 700 firms face non-payment of fees
Legal Widow
The quickest way to destroy a friendship is to test it under the 40° heat of a Majorcan summer with the pool out of action
Leinemann initiates Frankfurt practice
Construction and public procurement boutique Leinemann & Partner has opened its fourth office in Germany. Marc Oliver Hilgers and Birgit Franz will launch its new Frankfurt operation this autumn. Leinemann, which spun off from Mütze & Partner after the latter merged with PwC Veltins last year, now has offices in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. Recent jobs in Frankfurt include the football stadium for Eintracht Frankfurt and a skyscraper project in the business district.
Malawi lacks judicial independence, says IBA
The International Bar Association has published a damning report on interference in the independence of the justice system and media in Malawi, after sending a delegation of legal experts to the country. Faced with evidence of corruption and abuse, some leading international donor agencies have been compelled to withhold development aid, aggravating an impending humanitarian crisis.
Mayer Brown, A&O set for UK LLP revolution
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw goes for UK option as US LLP ruled out; A&O to follow
Nabarros wins Quintain Estate's Wembley Complex acquisition
Nabarro Nathanson has consolidated its relationship with Quintain Estates and Development after advising the property company on its £48m acquisition of the Wembley Complex, tipped to be one of London's most lucrative development sites.Nabarros is now main adviser to Quintain, at a time when the company is making a big effort to raise its profile. Nabarros was first instructed by Quintain ...
Nice idea, but no cigar
In the public's eyes, most lawyers are defenceless against the accusation that they charge outrageous sums of money while contributing little to the social fabric of society. Ambulance chasers are money-grabbing urchins; corporate lawyers are social pariahs; and litigators, well… After reading this apparently true story, it seems litigators simply can't help what they do.A man - and obviously this is said to have taken place in the US - having purchased a box of ...
Norton Rose found to have charged 'disproportionately'
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, Norton Rose has been found to have billed disproportionately high on a case that never reached trial
Nothing to fear
I am a little surprised by the extent of debate provoked by the Irish Competi-tion Authority's ann-ouncement that it is to carry out a review of the solicitors profession
On the map
Ireland is no longer the poor cousin in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. Liam Flynn reports on the past year's performance
Opinion
Observers in Europe have been watching the US marketplace carefully as the initial deadline on 14 August for filing certifications by senior executives of the largest US companies has come and gone
Prague's law firms hit by floods
The local offices of a number of international law firms have been hit hard by the severe flooding in Prague. Among those forced to close or evacuate their offices are Allen & Overy, Dewey Ballantine, Lovells and White & Case.
QinetiQ takes on first general counsel
QinetiQ, the former Defence Evaluation Research Agency, has appointed Lynton Boardman (left) as its first general counsel. Boardman joins from agribusiness company Syngenta, where he was head of legal for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The appointment comes at a critical stage in QinetiQ's development as a flotation is planned in the next two to four years. Boardman will also act as company secretary at meetings of the QinetiQ board and its committees and will ensure implementation ...
Separated at birth
Now Tulkinghorn had always thought Sir Sydney Kentridge QC - that esteemed member of the Bar - had started out in life as a lawyer in South Africa, earning his fearless reputation after acting on behalf of Steve Biko, who died in police custody in 1977. Lord Alexander of Weedon wrote of Kentridge's performance: "Through remorseless and deadly cross-examination, sometimes with brilliant use of irony, Kentridge established to a watching world that the founder of the Black Consciousness ...
Smokin'
Addleshaws' Paul Lee is turning his attentions to the Big Smoke, where he has a new audience to test his comedy routine on. Kathryn Hobbs reports
Smurfit makes impact on M&A
Last year eircom dominated the Irish M&A market, but this year it was Madison Dearborn Partners' acquisition of the Jefferson Smurfit Group
Steptoe&Johnson reels from shock exit as Wollenberg quits
Tony Wollenberg, who co-founded Rakisons and was instrumental in its US merger with Steptoe & Johnson, has left and is using space in the offices of Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn, which are in the same building
STONES
With four mergers in as many years, it's onwards and upwards for West Country firm Stones
Taylor Walton wins two City lawyers
Top-10 South East firm Taylor Walton has expanded its practice with two hires from the City. Commercial litigator Robert Johnson joins as a partner from Simmons & Simmons, where he was an associate. His clients at Simmons included Barclays Bank, Cathay Pacific and the RAF. Former Macfarlanes lawyer Patrick McGrath ...
Taylor Wessing makes first post-merger hire
Taylor Wessing has made its first hire in Germany since its merger two months ago. Peter Hellich will join the firm's Düsseldorf office next month from Clifford Chance Pünder. Hellich, a corporate partner with a focus in the technology sector, had been at the magic circle firm since 1997. At ...
The Celtic Tiger
Ireland's economic resurgence during the 1990s was a coup for the country. Brian Clark and Simon Woodward ask: after the economic downturn, is the Celtic Tiger still roaring?
The green mile
Many commentators are gleefully rubbing their hands in anticipation of a complete drubbing of the legal profession in Ireland from the forthcoming Competition Authority report. But as Jon Robins finds out, most lawyers aren't really sweating it
The Leader Column
While most law firms have been desperately juggling figures and pleading with late-paying clients so they can scramble their way towards budget, on the other side of the fence the Bar is feeling rather flush after reporting an exceptionally buoyant financial year.Littleton, Erskine and Birmingham set 5 Fountain Court are all this week revealed by The Lawyer to have posted turnovers up 25, 26 and a full 33 per cent respectively; and they are by no means alone.Such hikes cannot ...
The look of the Irish
Despite the technology slump, Helen Power finds lawyers in Ireland optimistic for the future
Thomson direct
From sleaze-busting to dealing with local unrest over the proposed expansion of Stansted, Essex County Council's Philip Thomson takes it all in his stride. Naomi Rovnick reports
Tite & Lewis leads BNP Paribas on UK private bank restructuring
Ernst & Young-tied law firm Tite & Lewis has cemented its burgeoning relationship with European investment bank BNP Paribas by completing one of the first banking business transfers under new rules introduced late last year.A team led by finance partner Charles Proctor advised the bank on the restructuring of its private banking business in the UK.Proctor brought the BNP Paribas relationship to Tite & Lewis when he joined the firm from
Walkers boosts numbers with triple hire
Cayman Islands firm Walkers has hired three new associates, taking the firm's number of lawyers to 51 in the Cayman Islands and 62 worldwide. Nick Robinson joins the insolvency and corporate recovery group from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert. Barrister Ingrid Pierce joins the litigation group from Hardwicke Building and Philip Millward joins the corporate group as an investment fund specialist from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrsion. The three new lawyers will be based in the ...
West Coast's Lyon latest to fall prey to tech slump
The technology blues continue to hit the US West Coast, with Los Angeles-based intellectual property specialist Lyon & Lyon closing at the end of the month following numerous defections of both staff and clients. The closure follows the collapse of Lyon's merger talks with San Francisco firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew last month.
White & Case lures Baker & McKenzie Japanese partner
In a rare Japanese lateral hire, White & Case has poached a partner from US rival Baker & McKenzie
Wilson Sonsini drops 160 employees
West Coast technology giant Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has announced that it is to lay off a number of associates and around 100 support staff over the next two weeks
