23 September 2002
The Lawyer
Ashursts canters through Electra's disposal of Invicta to Duke Street
Ashurst Morris Crisp is acting for Electra Partners on its £140m disposal of Invicta Leisure to Duke Street Capital. Invicta is the latest in a rash of health and fitness businesses to be snapped up by successful private equity groups as the sector shies away from the capital markets.The deal comes hot on the heels of Cannons' proposed private equity-backed merger with Holmes Place and ...
B&M hires projects specialist for Milan office
Baker & McKenzie has appointed a leading projects specialist as partner and coordinator of the Major Projects Practice Group in the firm's Milan office. Domenico Mino Palumbo joins from Albion, where he was co-managing director for seven years.
Blake Dawson gains A$1m from HIH final day payouts
Deutsche Bank takes home A$6m; HIH chief executive questioned by commission
BLP chosen over rivals for major PFI deals
Berwin Leighton Paisner's projects team has beaten off competition from a number of its rivals to take on two PFI deals in the health sector
BP Collins
With hard work and rebranding BP Collins has updated its practice
Cains gets movie nod for Isle
Isle of Man firm Cains has been hired by the island's government to provide movie investment advice
Carillion panel takes a hit from 40 to 11
Carillion has slashed its panel from 40 firms to just 11, following a beauty parade by the construction giant. Slaughter and May has, for the first time, been appointed to the panel as primary adviser on corporate, competition and IP matters. It replaces Linklaters, which has been retained for projects work. ...
CC partner vote drags on as two knocked out
The race to become Clifford Chance's next senior partner is set to enter a second round after both Michael Bray and John East were knocked out of the race
Citibank counsel joins White & Case
White & Case has appointed Citibank's regional general counsel for Budapest as its co-head of banking in the Hungarian capital. Károly Fóti will co-head the firm's Budapest banking practice with English and French qualified lawyer Victoria Westcott. At Citibank, Fóti was part of the management team which led the business through two major bank acquisitions and expansion into areas such as consumer finance swaps and derivatives.First revealed on www.thelawyer.com/lawy
Corporate group 'turf wars' spark Simmons departmental rejig
Simmons & Simmons has restructured its corporate department to stop its transactions and finance departments competing for work
DEAL OF THE WEEK - AIT
SJ Berwin rides to the £20.5m rescue of AIT
Deals summary
DLA advised Barclays Leveraged Finance on its provision of e30m (£19m) of senior and working capital debt funding to finance the management buyout of the European business of Paper-Pak. Private equity funding was provided by 3i, which was advised by Macfarlanes.
Deals summary
Steptoe & Johnson (Farzana Rao) has acted for ITW on the purchase of Envopak Holdings Limited from Black & Williams Management. Black & Williams' sale and reorganisation was handled by Ashurst Morris Crisp.Osborne Clarke (Hassan Sohbi, Bernd Mayer) advised Sykora on the sale of 51 per cent ...
Deals summary
Clifford Chance (Iain Morpeth) advised UBS principal finance group on its acquisition of Kingsway Property Investments, owner of CAA House, Kingsway, London WC2, for £88.2m from the Blackmoor Partnership, advised by DLA (Richard Crossfield). Acquisition financing was provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland, advised by
E&Y Mauritius links with Jersey
Jersey private client specialist firm Bailhache Labesse has completed a tie-up with accountancy firm Ernst & Young in Mauritius
Economic cancer
Asbestos cases are costing US industry dearly.But are all of the victims worthy of compensation? Jon Robins looks at the figures
Finance
Philip Green's bid for Arcadia is probably the most high-profile deal to close this year. And, as you would expect, the magic circle was not far from the action. Allen & Overy and Dechert advised Green, while Clifford Chance acted ...
Fried Frank faces loss of Deutsche as Kandel leaves
Cadwalader scoops Fried Frank's only UK-qualified banking partner in London in new finance push
German recruitment tough for Dewey
Dewey Ballantine is gearing up for a "difficult" expansion in Germany as it prepares to open a permanent Frankfurt office by the first quarter of next year
Goldsmith slates City's lack of charity
The Attorney General Peter Goldsmith has called on more City firms to plough funding back into legal education at grass roots level
Good lovin'
Romantic liaisons between barristers and their clerks have traditionally been a major no no in chambers. Bad for reputation, bad for morale, bad for ethical standards, and certainly bad when it comes to perceptions of favouritism. In the past such a tryst has commonly led to expulsion.So how refreshing it is to see that Taunton's ADR Chambers, far from frowning on the marriage of its senior clerk Martin Davies to tenant Penny Ireland, has positively embraced it as one would ...
Home from home
Robert Shepherd reports that Guernsey's litigation scene is like a who's who of English law
IT partner joins Simmons & Simmons from Klegal
Simmons & Simmons has picked up KLegal IT partner Michael Sinclair for its technology group
Jersey bows
As one of the most famous offshore financial centres, Jersey is subject to much scrutiny by the regulators. Matthew Thompson reports on how it is coping with all the new laws
Judge held by Mugabe police
Former Zimbabwe judge Mr Justice Fergie Blackie has been detained by police and held without legal representation, in yet another controversial arrest under the Mugabe regime
KLegal and Osborne Clarke slash partners
Recession begins to bite as redundancies mount; corporate in the firing line
Law firms held 'captive' over high insurance cover
As 11 September pushes premiums up, Naomi Rovnick reports law firms' plans to go it alone
Lawyers find safe haven in Bahamas
Offshore centre set to allow limited liability partnerships; US model could win out
Legal hub urged for Singapore
Singapore's Economic Review Committee (ERC) has published a report aimed at transforming Singapore into Asia's 'premier legal services hub', thereby attracting foreign lawyers to the region
Lehman Bros shakes up panel
Lehman Brothers is to review its legal panel in a bid to change the way it is charged by firms
Lovells can't get enough
A postscript to the Lovells condom machine: The firm's management may well have sought the hasty removal of the condom machine from the men's toilets just days after it had been installed, but it seems they acted too slowly. Those horny Lovells' lawyers were too quick off the mark. Demand outstripped supply so much that the fated machines were emptied of any useful merchandise just three days after being installed.
MBR&M gells over Omega deal
Newly merged transatlantic firm Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw has cemented its tie-up by advising on a $500m (£318m) private equity deal from its London and Chicago offices. The two offices advised US healthcare company Omega Worldwide, which was sold to Alchemy Partners backed by Four Seasons. This was the first time the UK side of the merged firm had acted for Omega.As part of the same deal, ...
McDermott beats Shearman to AV Holdings instruction
McDermott Will & Emery has won out over Shearman & Sterling to advise AV Holdings on the competition aspects of its sale of plastic container business Schmalbach-Lubeca to US packaging company Ball Corporation
McDermott boosts London with double hire
McDermott Will & Emery's London office is bolstering its corporate department by taking on two new partners as part of the firm's worldwide expansion plan
Nelsons loses out in landmark court case
Lawyers face being seriously out of pocket as a result of a landmark judgment against law firm Nelsons, which received around 300 per cent less fees than it believed it was owed
New chairman for Hunton & Williams
Hunton & Williams has recruited Naotaka Matsukata to become its chair of the Strategic International Business Practice. Matsukata was formerly the director of policy planning to the US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
New management at Wilberforce Chambers
Wilberforce Chambers has announced new senior management following the departure of its chambers director in May. Current senior clerk Declan Redmond will take on a combined role of chief executive and senior clerk. A new post of finance and administration manager has also been created, which will be filled by Malcolm Thompson who joins from Lloyd's of London.
Non-lawyer judges planned for European patents court
Mix of legal and technical judges proposed as patent litigation expected to rise
Non-solicitors dominate Bevan chiefs
Two new senior appointments at Bevan Ashford means that non-solicitors now outweigh solicitors on the firm's management board
Norton Rose sets up restructuring team
Norton Rose is setting up a dedicated restructuring department as the wave of companies facing financial difficulties continues to grow
Opinion
It has become fashionable to say that private client work has no place in a City firm. Nothing could be further from the truth
Pannone & Partners gets high-tech partner
Pannone & Partners has recruited Wacks Caller corporate partner Simon Wallwork. He joins Pannones as an equity partner. Wallwork specialises in advising IT, biotech and other high-tech companies. Pannones has also recruited four new fee-earners for the corporate department, including Manchester United in-house intellectual property lawyer Caroline Wright.
Paradise lost?
Milton Grundy reports on what offshore jurisdictions have to offer now that tighter regulations have come into force
Perkins Coie to open Chicago office
Seattle-based firm Perkins Coie is to open an office in Chicago. Initially with 12 partners, the new office will focus on complex litigation. The firm hopes to add a corporate team to the office, and predicts it will reach about 50 lawyers by the end of next year.
Plop art
On his rounds of the City last week, Tulkinghorn noticed that Slaughter and May is the latest firm to install an incredibly large sculpture in its swanky new offices. While Lovells opted for a tall metal construction, Slaughters has gone au naturel and plumped for something that looks rather like a giant tree. But Tulkinghorn was relieved to discover that Slaughters lawyers haven't got too ...
Property partner joins Addleshaws
Addleshaw Booth & Co has appointed a property partner as the firm's new national head of commercial property. Michael Reevey takes over from John Pike, who has held the position for 11 years. Pike is now returning to a full-time client partner role.
Rise in tax shun of foreign sports stars
Some 90 per cent of foreign players from leading footballing nations have registered their image rights offshore to avoid paying tax
SEC questions Mourant du Feu in Enron investigation
Jersey firm Mourant du Feu & Jeune has been forced to disclose documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of its ongoing investigation into the collapse of Enron
Securing the rules
The Securities Investment Business Law will introduce tough sanctions on white collar fraudsters in the Cayman Islands. Aoife O'Sullivan discusses who's exempt and who's not
Separated at birth
Simmons & Simmons must be doing really well at the moment as managing partner David Dickinson has enough spare time to moonlight as a TV antiques dealer. Star of the hit BBC programme Bargain Hunt, David Dickinson trips his way around the country hunting, well, bargains. Alright, alright we know that the TV chap isn't the David Dickinson as they look nothing like each other. However, the two Davids do have other things in common. On 'TV David's' website ...
Silicon implant
After a year of being planted in Silicon Valley, Osborne Clarke's Simon Beswick has turned the firm around. Julia Cahill talks to the Brit abroad
Slaughter and May caves in to Dresdner on hourly billing
In a surprising U-turn in strategy, Slaughter and May has succumbed to pressure from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and agreed to hourly rates for the bank's own account work
Solid as a rock
Despite its political instability, Gibraltar still attracts a host of international clients. Alex Wade asks the locals why it's a good place
South America wants its rich back onshore
Lawrence Graham is involved in a widespread restructuring of offshore trusts owned by wealthy Central and South American individuals, following a crackdown on offshore tax evasion by their governments
Stephen Ball quits Gibson Dunn
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher's UK head of finance Stephen Ball has left the firm after just two years to return to his former career as an in-house lawyer
Steptoe loses top people to Salans
Tony Wollenberg (left), the founder and former managing partner of Rakisons, now merged with Steptoe & Johnson, and former head of corporate Jonathan Polin, are to join the London office of Salans (previously Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn). Wollenberg and Polin masterminded the merger with Steptoes but decided their practices could be best developed elsewhere. "I have decided to bring my gaming expertise to a practice which is in growth mode," said Wollenberg. The pair will be ...
Sticky fingers
Slaughter and May's predilection for decorating its reception full of sweeties can melt even the hardest of hearts. Apparently, a certain gentleman from Cazenove, the most up-market stockbroker in the whole of Christendom, used to sneak into Slaughters' reception and sample as many sweets as he could. Obviously, as Cazenove is one of Slaughters' oldest clients and is staffed by ...
Sweet and sour
Tulkinghorn doesn't want those nice people at Lovells to think he is picking on them and their shiny new building. In fact, Tulkinghorn was most impressed to hear that the firm does not skimp on provisions during meetings. In addition to a large plate of fresh cookies - custard creams would simply not go with the new décor - a wide selection of chocolate bars, such as Mars Bars - are also laid on for hungry punters.But is has come to Tulkinghorn's attention that ...
Swindlers list
Money laundering regulation has forced offshore jurisdictions to clean up their acts. Robert Hunter and Liz Sinclair provide the lowdown on the good and the bad
Table service
Word has obviously got round the Docklands community that Clifford Chance is on its way. With the first strip club already open for business, Tulkinghorn hears that another one is, err, coming. Rumour has it that Tabla, a small Indian restaurant in West India Quay, is the latest to apply for a strip licence. But on further investigation Tulkinghorn has discovered that Clifford Chance lawyers may ...
Taking stock
Ambling through Grays Inn last Monday, Tulkinghorn was horrified to see a half-naked junior barrister from Matrix Chambers kneeling barefooted on the grass wrapped in a dustbin liner while being pelted with wet sponges by a group of 150 primary school children. Around the corner he spied another gang of young imps jumping up and down and screaming on a bouncy castle that had been erected on the grass behind Matrix's building. Meanwhile, adults stood around feeding the children ...
The Asda way
Although Asda is a tough cookie to crumble, with its laid back family-like attitudes it is a valuable and faithful client to have. Kathryn Hobbs meets head of legal Denise Jagger
The Leader Column
Yet more bad news for the UK's highly rated but increasingly beleaguered court system comes with the announcement that a new Community Patents Court looks set to be established in the High Court's backyard.The move comes just one month after The Lawyer revealed that the UK Patent Court's principal judges, Justice's Jacob and Laddie, were seeking to shake up the court's procedures to stop the flow of patents work to their cheaper and more efficient rivals ...
Transatlantic cartel team formed by Howrey
Howrey Simon Arnold & White has formed a transatlantic cartel team (TACT) led by Brussels-based partner Julian Joshua and Washington-based partner Margaret Zwisler. John Briggs, co-chair of Howrey's competition practice, said: "Over the past decade, anti-cartel enforcement has exploded. Howrey's TACT offering could not be more timely."
Two new UK firms to join ius laboris employment alliance
Employment specialist Lewis Silkin and niche pensions practice Sacker & Partners are two of four new firms invited to join international employment alliance ius laboris
Verner Liipfert and Piper Rudnick to merge
US firm Piper Rudnick is set to merge with Washington's Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand. Verner Liipfert, which specialises in public policy work, had formerly been in talks with McDermott Will & Emery. However, Piper Rudnick and Liipfert are now hoping to announce a merger within a matter of weeks.
Virgin Islands get tough
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is reforming its insolvency laws to bring them closer to the English Insolvency Act 1986
Watson Farley & Williams set to release Paris office to Orrick
Watson Farley & Williams' Paris office is expected to be free to join US firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe as early as November
West drops CC on buyout as Macfarlanes takes the prize
Macfarlanes has sealed its first deal for West Private Equity, a mid-market house that generally uses Clifford Chance for its larger European deals. Macfarlanes acted for West on its equity investment in Southern Cross Healthcare Limited. The £80m buyout also saw
White & Case star quits for Herbert Smith
Herbert Smith has moved to build up its debt finance capability by hiring White & Case partner Jake Jackaman
White & Case expands in Warsaw
White & Case has hired Hogan & Hartson private equity partner Zdzislaw Wieckowski for its Warsaw office. He advises venture capital clients on investments in Poland, the Balkans, the Baltics, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.First revealed on www.thelawyer.com/lawyernews on 18 September.
White & Case takes on Japanese adviser
White & Case is taking on Japanese bengoshi Jiro Tamura as special adviser to Kandabashi Law Offices in association with its Tokyo office. His arrival will give the firm competition capability in Japan for the first time. Tamura will work closely with corporate partners Robert Grondine, Chris Wells and Hendrik Gordenker to provide Japanese-based clients with local competition law advice.
Wragges to advise on Zambian rail network
Wragge & Co has been appointed as legal adviser to the preferred bidder on the Zambian rail public private partnership (PPP), a deal which is estimated to be worth about $300m (£193m) in revenues for the Zambian government
Yo!Sushi panel victory for Shaw Pittman London team
The recently launched London corporate department of US firm Shaw Pittman has won the top spot on a newly formed panel for Japanese restaurant operator Yo!Sushi.Of the six firms on the panel, Shaw Pittman, advising on corporate matters, and Memery Crystal, advising on property, are the two firms that have not previously been used by the company. Others to make the grade were
