26 April 2004

White & Case gains ex-Brobeck partner from Morgan Lewis

Morgan Lewis & Bockius is losing one of its haul of ex-Brobeck Phleger & Harrison partners after little more than a year to White & Case’s West Coast operation. Larry Engel, a highly rated bankruptcy and restructuring partner, joined Morgan Lewis in February 2003 when the firm rescued around 150 lawyers from unemployment after Brobeck […]

Latham suffers rare partner departure as Sidley Austin swoops

Latham & Watkins has been hit by a rare partner departure with the loss of a New York-based real estate finance lawyer to Sidley Austin Brown & Wood. Sidley Austin’s 30-plus strong executive committee last week approved the hire of Brian Krisberg who has been with Latham since 1996 following a stint at Milbank Tweed […]

SJ Berwin wins battle to keep partners destined for Olswang

In a kick in the teeth to Olswang, SJ Berwin has managed to win back private equity partners Jonathan Pittal and Perry Yam, who had resigned to go to Olswang.Their final decision comes following a partnership vote on Monday night, which saw the pair promoted into SJ Berwin’s equity. This is believed to be one […]

Wilson Sonsini and Simpson Thacher scoop $2.7bn Google float

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati have emerged as the main lawyers on the long-awaited flotation of US search engine Google. Wilson Sonsini’s chairman and chief executive Larry Sonsini and corporate partner David Segre are acting for established client Google on the $2.7bn IPO. While Palo Alto-based corporate partner William Hinman […]

Deloitte’s French legal arm finalises split from audit business

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in France has completed the separation of its audit practice and its tax and legal division, Deloitte & Touche Jouridque & Fiscal. The law firm, which comprises about 10 per cent of Deloitte’s business in France, has been rebranded as TAJ. The relaunched TAJ will have 370 lawyers and offices in Paris […]

Untouchable lands at Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis has added a mafia busting crime fighter fresh from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York to its commercial litigation group. White-collar crime specialist Andrew Genser is joining the firm as a partner after firstly practising in the organised crime and racketeering section of the US Attorney’s Office […]

Chadbourne gains senior Bank of New York lawyer

New York-based Chadbourne & Parke has boosted its banking practice with the appointment of the Bank of New York’s head of legal for global securities and capital markets. Dennis Dumas is joining Chadbourne as counsel, bringing nearly 20 years of securities, industry and corporate experience. During his time with the Bank of New York he […]

Grapevine

So Allen & Overy (A&O) has become the latest magic circle firm to feel the wrath of local Italian lawyers. The firm’s biggest Italian corporate rainmaker Roberto Casati this week announced his move, along with four assistants, to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s Milan office. While it is a huge move, the news itself is […]

Bond Pearce ups the ante on South West with new premises

Bond Pearce has signed a deal to take 50,000 sq ft of space in a new Bristol development as the firm continues its attack on the South West market. The deal, announced yesterday (Tuesday 27 April), was signed with Exeter-based developer Rokeagle and will see the firm move its entire Bristol office into a building […]

Seven Bedford Row alliance gains US Senate heavyweight

The US Senate’s former special counsel on foreign relations has joined the recently formed alliance between London chambers Seven Bedford Row and Jersey-based law outfit, BakerPlatt. During his time at the Senate. Jack Blum played a key role in the US Government’s investigations into BCCI and General Manuel Noriega, Panama’s former military leader. Blum joins […]

Celador wins Warner Brothers head of legal for commercial role

Celador International, the company behind TV quiz show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” has recruited Warner Music International’s director of business and legal affairs. It is understood that Steve Lazarus’ move from Warner Music to join Celador as commercial director was because his position was made redundant after a management shake-up at the music […]

Canada’s Blakes Cassels makes Chicago debut

Blakes Cassels & Graydon has become the first Canadian firm to set up shop in Chicago. The office will initially be staffed by partner Geoff Belsher and one associate though there are hopes that Chicago will house five lawyers within five years. According to reports the firm applied for a foreign legal consultant’s license form […]