Advisers from Latham & Watkins and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have led on US conglomerate Danaher Corporation’s recent acquisition of Cambridge-based life science innovator Abcam in a $5.7bn transaction. Since Abcam’s AIM delisting in December 2022, Latham is understood to have been working closely with the company’s executive board as it faced calls […]
Bird & Bird is set to defend a life sciences patent dispute in September in what will be the first-ever oral hearing before the brand new Unified Patent Court (UPC). The UPC was created to unify patent litigation across the European Union, meaning cases can be heard in one court instead of individual jurisdictions. The […]
The sale of DWF to private equity house Inflexion has so far racked up a combined legal bill exceeding £3m. According to public documents, DWF estimates that its legal advice fees will total £1.3m. This is far lower than its expected expenses for financial and corporate broking advice of £5.1m. DWF is set to leave […]
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped its investigation into the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) after 10 years. The SFO announced today that following a “review of the investigation”, it has concluded there is “insufficient admissible evidence to prosecute”. The SFO opened opened a criminal investigation into ENRC, a Kazakh and Central African mining […]
Advisers from Latham & Watkins and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have led on US conglomerate Danaher Corporation’s recent acquisition of Cambridge-based life science innovator Abcam in a $5.7bn transaction. Since Abcam’s AIM delisting in December 2022, Latham is understood to have been working closely with the company’s executive board as it faced calls […]
Bird & Bird is set to defend a life sciences patent dispute in September in what will be the first-ever oral hearing before the brand new Unified Patent Court (UPC). The UPC was created to unify patent litigation across the European Union, meaning cases can be heard in one court instead of individual jurisdictions. The […]
The sale of DWF to private equity house Inflexion has so far racked up a combined legal bill exceeding £3m. According to public documents, DWF estimates that its legal advice fees will total £1.3m. This is far lower than its expected expenses for financial and corporate broking advice of £5.1m. DWF is set to leave […]
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped its investigation into the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) after 10 years. The SFO announced today that following a “review of the investigation”, it has concluded there is “insufficient admissible evidence to prosecute”. The SFO opened opened a criminal investigation into ENRC, a Kazakh and Central African mining […]
Jones Day is the latest firm to be instructed in relation to Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with the firm leading for video game publisher Ubisoft on its licence to stream Activision’s catalogue of games over the next 15 years. The cross-border Jones Day team led on the deal with US-based corporate partner Dave […]
This summer has seen two sizeable acquisitions in Paris by major international firms of smaller boutique practices. First, Paul Hastings bolstered its white collar team with the incorporation of Antonin Lévy & Associés. The move brought three partners and nine associates into the US firm’s fold, upgrading its offering as a key Paris practice. Then […]
Few UK start-up firms have experienced the same meteoric rise as Knights. Its position as a mid-tier disruptor and consolidator has been largely unchallenged, helping it to lift revenue by a market-topping 185 per cent over the last five years. With so many sub £50m firms contending with the twin issues of a cashflow crunch […]
How did your firm fare in salary review season? For associates at Freshfields, their firm can claim the early-mover advantage prize after announcing a bold NQ salary jump to £150,000. But its moment was short-lived. Within a week, Quinn had upped its junior lawyer pay from £152,000 to £180,000. If there was an award for […]
Mid-market firms have been forced to re-evaluate their hiring strategies in the face of greater competition for partners. With lawyers more likely than ever before to switch firms, these firms have to move fast to secure the right talent, and one handy way to achieve that is to recruit from outside the partnership. Where first-time […]
Does anyone need any confirmation of the gradual takeover of the City by rampaging US law firms? No, thought not. If, however, your answer is yes, then more evidence of the Americanisation of London can be found in the upcoming edition of the UK Corporate 50. Much of the focus in this year’s report is […]
British healthcare company PZ Cussons has lost its general counsel to tobacco business Imperial Brands. Kevin Massie is making the move to the owner of the Lambert & Butler, Rizla and Golden Virginia brands after four years of leading the legal, governance and compliance function. In a LinkedIn post, he wrote: “I will soon be […]
One year after GenAI tools have revolutionised the way we think about AI and how the legal sector operates, we delve into how legal AI tools are addressing client challenges and explore the industry’s response to AI-related concerns. Join this webinar to hear the panel discuss: • What impact has GenAI had on the legal […]
TLT’s transition into national firm territory has been solidified after the firm posted a 12 per cent revenue rise from £157m to £174m. It has been a year of expansion for TLT, with the firm moving into Birmingham for the first time after taking a team of 10 from Shoosmiths. That group hire has helped […]
Slaughter and May’s head of legal operations is set to depart the firm after 19 years. Jane Stewart has been with Slaughters her entire career, spanning numerous roles. She joined the firm in 2005 as a trainee solicitor, qualifying into the corporate finance team as an associate in 2007. After spending nearly 10 years as […]
Dentons has elected a successor to global boss Elliott Portnoy, hiring its next leader from Big Four giant EY. A former global vice chair of EY, Kate Barton joins Dentons as its next global CEO. She will replace Portnoy, who stands down in November after 11 years. Dentons kickstarted the CEO search last December, stressing […]