Summertime, and making a living is easy

Summer has arrived and, while we were all looking forward to long, boozy lunches with oh-so-important clients/friends, the unrelenting deal market has gone and thrown a spanner in the works. At a time when lawyers are supposed to be sunning themselves in the Bahamas, the deal flow just keeps coming.

The billion-pound UK deals are keeping the magic circle and friends busy. Yesterday (30 July) The Lawyer reported that Amstrad was bought by BSkyB, under advice from Herbert Smith and Allen & Overy respectively. Today we told how Lloyds TSB turned to Linklaters when Deutsche, under advice from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, decided to buy Abbey Life from the UK bank's subsidiary Scottish Widows.

The mid-market firms aren't getting a break either: Olswang brought a gaming company to market; the Co-op snapped up a northern grocer under advice from Clifford Chance; and LG closed its sixth M&A deal from India.

Oh yes, and over in the US the megadeals keep on rolling in. News Corporation finally managed to get its hands on Dow Jones. Every law firm on the planet is seemingly involved in that deal and, with closure not due until the final quarter of the year, those summer hols might have to be put on hold.