Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has scored a first instruction from private equity house TDR Capital thanks to the connections of Ashurst old boy Stephen Short. The US firm was contacted by TDR on its bid for pizza chain Ask Central and subsequently gifted Herbert Smith yet another choice referral, instructing the City firm on the […]
Simmons & Simmons has completed the latest in a long run of outsourcing deals for Indian clients, consolidating its position as the leading firm in this niche market. Led by IT partner David Barrett, the firm has just acted for Indian company Tata Consultancy Services in an £896m deal to provide the NHS with customised […]
Emma Vere-Jones finds that Lawrence Graham is quietly going from strength to strength
Trinitybrook’s offer for teen fashion retailer New Look has won Allen & Overy (A&O), DLA and Simmons & Simmons instructions from new clients. A&O has scooped a mandate to advise Tom Singh, the founder of New Look, and his family as backers of Trinitybrook on the company’s £699m bid for New Look. Singh is investing […]
SJ Berwin (Jon Vivian) advised Brixton in its £51.5m acquisition of the Northfields Industrial Estate from Burford. The deal included the freehold reversion of long-leasehold property from the British Waterways Board. Clifford Chance (Mike Edwards) acted for Burford. Linklaters (Bruce White) acted for Ambac Assurance, Royal Bank of Canada Europe, Morgan Stanley and Prudential as monoline […]
With internet piracy on the increase, Roz Groome’s role as legal adviser to the British Phonographic Industry has had to change radically. By Steve Hoare
Tim Sadka, managing partner of West Sussex practice Rawlison Butler, uses a boxing metaphor to sum up his sense of the firm. “We punch well above our weight,” he claims. Proudly, he quotes testimonials from clients praising the way in which he and his colleagues deliver a City service. Indeed, with its expansionist drive, Rawlison […]
Coudert Brothers’ London office has won its first ever pro bono client following the introduction of a formal pro bono programme last year. The initiative coincides with the firm’s 150th anniversary, and is driven by its central management. Coudert partner Alistair Gorrie says: “Rather than just having parties, we wanted to do something longer-term for […]
Acquisition financing flexibility comes under threat; Panel set to clamp down on preconditional bids
Apax Partners has restarted a stalled plan to form a legal panel for £100m-plus buyouts undertaken by the leveraged transaction group. The review looks set to hand Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer a victory in its attempts to hike private equity and could drop many of the existing legal advisers. Apax created a two-firm panel of accountants […]
Special Branch officers have launched an investigation into a campaign of harassment by animal activists against two senior High Court judges. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is using a website to appeal to members to target the judges – who The Lawyer has chosen not to identify – as well as their mothers and mothers-in-law. […]
Kirkland and Simpson Thacher close to $2m average profits – O’Melveny, Gibson Dunn and Weil post 15 per cent profit hikes – Bryan Cave profits up 35 per cent