9 October 2000
The Lawyer
5D Solutions
5D Solutions £15m sale of digital publishing division to Global Graphics. Vendor advised by Lewis Silkin (Philip Lamb), Global Graphics advised by Walker Morris (Ian Gilbert).
A vew from Australia
With seven years of aggressive economic growth under their belts, the governments of Australia, at all levels, have been promoting the country - and in particular Sydney - as an opportunity for the establishment of regional and financial centres supported by a strong and transparent regulatory regime.
A year ago this week
A&O, Linklaters cut back in CIS
A&O takes Nauta Dutilh IP partner
Sven Klos concentrates largely on litigation in respect to patents, copyright law, trade mark law and advertising and media.
Addleshaws wins major property deal
Addleshaw Booth & Co has fought off City competition to advise the underwriters on one of the largest transfers of properties into the private sector.
allied leisure
Just as the Hyder controversy begins to die down, the Takeover Panel is hitting the headlines yet again, this time in connection with Allied Leisure's sale to Georgica.
Baker & McKenzie adds US tax partner to its London office
Baker & McKenzie (B&M) is adding a US tax partner to its London office from accountants Deloitte & Touche.
Barracuda
Barracuda and PPM Ventures buy Ambishus Pub Company for £38.2m. Barracuda and PPM Ventures advised by Clifford Chance (Simon Tinkler). Ambishus represented by CMS Cameron McKenna (Andrew Sheach). The Bank of Scotland provided senior debt, advised by DLA (Philip Butler).
Berrymans rocked by six-partner defection
Berrymans Lace Mawer has lost more than half of its Liverpool-based commercial department to a rival North West firm.
Berwin Leighton
Berwin Leighton advises on Belfast city centre redevelopment. Department of Social Development in Northern Ireland, advised by Berwin Leighton (Tim Hellier).
Bird & Bird in "first" Anglo-Swedish merger
Gedda, a nine partner firm with a strong commercial practice and growing communications, IT and media practice, will assume Bird & BIrd's name from the beginning of December. It is believed to be the first ever merger between a UK and Swedish law firm.
Bits Corp
Bits Corp admitted to Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Bits Corp advised by Gouldens (Michael Nouril). Nominated adviser and broker is Collins Stewart, advised by Nabarro Nathanson (Ian Newman).
Bits corp
Yet another string to Gouldens' corporate finance bow. The 36-partner firm made a reasonable appearance in The Lawyer IPO Survey 2000 of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) main list and techMARK, and also romped home in the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) Survey.
BP Group
BP Group Pension Scheme buys Del Monte HQ building from Mercury Property Fund for £8m. BG Group Pension Scheme advised by Rowe & More (James Black), Mercury Property Fund advised by Berwin Leighton (Michael Shebson).
Brief Encounter: Minter Ellesison
In a global legal profession, Australian firms are unique. While most have strong Asian practices, the argument for setting up in the Northern hemisphere is considerably harder to swallow.
Canada's Miller Thomson to merge with Swinton & Co
Toronto-based firm Miller Thomson is merging with a Vancouver practice to create one of Canada's top 10 law firms.
Capital markets issuers dictate underwriters' firms
Companies are increasingly calling the shots on which lawyers banks can use for capital markets transactions.
CC Amsterdam lands Telefonica
Clifford Chance's Amsterdam office has clinched its first deal advising Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica.
CC Singapore alliance with Wong Partnership rocked by resignation
The JOINT venture between Clifford Chance and the Singapore-based Wong Partnership is hanging in the balance after the resignation of a key senior corporate partner.
Chadbourne Insurance boosts team
New York firm Chadbourne & Parke is hiring a top in-house lawyer to boost its insurance and reinsurance practice.
Clifford Chance leads private equity
Clifford Chance is leading the way in the private equity stakes after completing two high-profile deals in as many weeks.
CORPORATE
National Power demerges UK business. National Power advised by Linklaters (Tim Clarke).
CORPORATE
Lincoln Electric Global acquires Charter in revised £386m cash bid. Lincoln Electric Holdings subsidiary Lincoln Electric Global advised by Allen & Overy (Mark Wippell) and Jones Day Reavis & Pogue on the US bank facilities provided by CSFB and JP Morgan. Charter advised by
CORPORATE
World Online merges with Tiscali in £5.9bn share offer. World Online advised by Linklaters & Alliance (Jeremy Parr), De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek (Jan Willem de Boer) and Gianni Origoni & Partners (Francesco Gianni). Tiscali advised by Allen & Overy (Alan Paul) and Brosio Casati e Associati (Roberto Casati).
Denton Wilde Sapte moves on Abu Dhabi
Denton Wilde Sapte is launching an attack on lucrative projects work after being awarded licences to practise in Abu Dhabi and Oman.
Digest
Davies Wallis Foyster has hired former Addleshaw Booth & Co corporate finance partner Andrew Needham. Needham quit Addleshaws in 1998 to set up his own company DataGroup, but has now decided to return to private practice. Needham will be based in Davies Wallis Foyster's Manchester office.
Failed merger nets Herbert Smith £1m
Herbert Smith could be taking home as much as £1m for its work on the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) failed merger with Deutsche Börse.
FINANCE
When Maurice Allen walked out of Weil Gotshal & Manges eight months ago, it was billed as the end of the finance practice. The City assumed that Weil Gotshal would be refocusing on corporate - after all, they said, it fits better with the practice in New York.
Financing
Issuer: Deutsche TelekomAdviser to issuer: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & HamiltonUnderwriters: Goldman Sachs
Financing
Issuer: TelefonicaAdviser to issuer: Clifford ChanceUnderwriters: JP Morgan...
Financing
Issuer: KPNAdviser to issuer: Allen & OveryUnderwriters: UBS Warburg and Morgan Stanley Dean WitterAdviser to underwriters: Clifford Chance in Amsterdam
Financing
Issuer: British TelecommunicationsAdviser to issuer: Linklaters & Alliance on UK law
Freshfields and Pollock hired to protect Lottery
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has beaten City competition to advise the National Lottery Commission after it dumped former Treasury solicitor advisers.
Freshfields and Slaughters clean up in Hong Kong as privatisation programme launches
UK FIRMS have cashed in on Hong Kong's first-ever privatisation, putting them at the front of the queue for more work.
Funding
Unlike undergraduate degrees, vocational courses such as the LPC, BVC and CPE/PgDL are exempt from government subsidy. The LPC can cost as much as £7,025 and the BVC a staggering £8,200. It's no surprise, then, that funding is one of the most pressing questions facing young lawyers.
Fusion Oil and Gas
Fusion Oil and Gas admitted to AIM. Fusion Oil and Gas, advised by Norton Rose (Simon FT Cox). Nominated broker is Old Mutual Securities, advised by Ashurst Morris Crisp (Jeffrey Sultoon).
Georgica
Georgica purchases Allied Leisure in a £50m reverse takeover. Georgica advised by Herbert Smith (Chris Parsons). Financial adviser Close Brothers. Allied Leisure represented by Denton Wilde Sapte (Philip Goodwin). Financial adviser West LB Panmure.
Getting in a state
First, the US firms in London targeted the rainmaker partners. Then came the salary war, and the battleground moved to the ranks of the assistants. Now it seems they are taking the fight to the universities, wooing trainees before the UK firms have so much as introduced themselves.
Hogan & Hartson hires UK lawyers
Washington DC's largest firm Hogan & Hartson is taking on the former head of employment at SJ Berwin as it offers UK law for the first time.
International Power reshuffles legal team
International Power, the recently demerged arm of National Power (NP), has undertaken a major restructuring of its in-house legal department while appointing Clifford Chance as its principal corporate adviser.
Keeping the faithful
A lack of promotion opportunities is driving lawyers into the arms of other employers, according to a survey by TMP QD Legal in association with The Lawyer, which studies motivation among private practice and in-house lawyers.
Matrix raids rival sets for commercial gain
Matrix is continuing its raid on magic circle sets as it shifts its focus from public law to the commercial arena.
Nabarros boosts property finance team
Nabarro Nathanson is attempting to compete on big-ticket property finance work by taking on an in-house investment banker.
National power
National Power's demerger has been a year in the making. The idea of splitting off the company's domestic concerns from its international operations was floated in September 1998.
Northern Birmingham
Northern Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust in £16m deal with Amey. Public body advised by Mills & Reeve (Raith Pickup, plus Bridget Archibald, Tom Cassidy and Philip Farrar). Amey subsidiary advised by CMS Cameron McKenna (Frank Dufficy). Funder is Barclays, advised by DLA.
Olswang takes on Biddle's head of media
Olswang has recruited a new partner to its IP practice. Kim Walker joins the firm from Biddle, where he was head of the media department. Andrew Inglis, head of Olswang's IP practice which currently employs 22 lawyers, including 4 partners, explains that the appointment is to meet current market demands. He says: "The commercial ...
Opinion
None of us had much idea what to expect when we arrived at court. The hearing had taken place in private and the court listing gave no clue as to what the case was about. Each of us had received some kind of tip - from sources we were unwilling to name -...
Paching up the problems
The Pupillage Applications Clearing House (Pach) was devised in 1996 in an attempt to bring some order into pupillage recruitment. Prior to its introduction, those seeking a pupillage were faced with the daunting task of making numerous applications to chambers, while chambers were faced with an endless stream of inquiries about pupillage. Pach introduced a fixed recruitment period, with applicants completing a single application form on disk. There is also a limit on the number of chambers ...
Precious mettle
Kevin Gold joined Mishcon de Reya via a merger, and now as managing partner he is ready for another one, where quality not quantity remains a priority. Chris Brock reports
REAL ESTATE
Unilever Pension Fund buys £12m freehold interest in Arkwright House, Manchester, from UBS Asset Management. Unilever advised by Hammond Suddards Edge (Gary Watson and Lesley Haworth), UBS Asset Management advised by Berwin Leighton (Mark Hurst).
REAL ESTATE
CGU buys £30m stake in Whitgift Centre Limited Partnership from Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund. CGU advised by Ashurst Morris Crisp (David Evans), Barclays Bank Retirement Fund advised by SJ Berwin.
REAL ESTATE
Morgan Stanley completes $462m (£317.3m) loan for six limited partnerships part-owned by MEPC and Westfield. Morgan Stanley advised by Denton Wilde Sapte (Mark Menhennet), MEPC advised by Linklaters, Westfield advised by Nabarro Nathanson.
Replacement silk found for Thyssen case
Norton Rose has finally replaced its counsel on the £1.2bn dispute involving Baron Von Thyssen-Bornemisza's family.
Reynolds wins joint venture deal
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain has snatched a lucrative deal from under the noses of leading media firm Wiggin & Co.
Slaughters and Freshfields land biggest ever flotation
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have been appointed to work on the Orange initial public offering (IPO).
Student timeline
Autumn
The Leader Column
It was a setback, sure enough. After a veritable spasm of acquisitions in the UK and Germany, White & Case has finally accepted defeat in its attempt to merge with Paris firm Jeantet & Associes. As we reported in April, talks were beginning to founder; they may have limped on for a few more months, but Jeantet had already made up its mind to stay single.
The path to enlightenment
The law is attracting increasing amounts of students. There are a huge number of potential recruits working their way through undergraduate degrees, vocational courses, traineeships and pupillages. At the same time, law firms have become increasingly aware of the value of young lawyers, and they now plan the nurturing of trainees with care.
The Personnelity
With employee benefits expenditure in the UK worth millions, it is incredible that organisations do not make more of a song and dance about their benefits, or even consult employees on which benefits they would most like.
The student starter pack
Law degree: University of Surrey
UK firms win telecoms work on both sides of the Atlantic
The magic circle is scooping up international bond work as European telecoms groups flood the market with jumbo debt issues.
US Howrey Simon launches attack on European market
Washington DC firm Howrey Simon Arnold & White is kick-starting its first foray into Europe by targeting the UK and Belgium.
White & Case shelves Euro move as French merger talks flounder
White & Case's European expansion plans have stalled after the collapse of merger talks with French firm Jeantet & Associes and the loss of a key partner in Brussels.
Wilson
Wilson Bowden sells Nottingham leisure scheme to BP Pension Fund for £50m. Wilson Bowden advised by Linklaters (Martin Elliot), BP Pension Fund advised by Maxwell Batley.
World Online
World Online may be doing battle with its investors, but that has not stopped it hooking up with Italian internet operator Tiscali. The £5.9bn deal comes only months after World Online's much-hyped IPO on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Investors are claiming that the company did not present all the evidence it should have in its prospectus.
