Lovells hits legal top 10 with US deal December 15, 2009 Partners at City law firm Lovells and Washington-based Hogan & Hartson voted through merger plans to create the world’s ninth-largest legal practice by sales yesterday. The new firm, to be known as Hogan Lovells, will have sales of £1.1bn and 2,500 lawyers in 40 offices around the world. The enlarged firm comes into being on [...]
The law firm boss who says his US merger is set to take on the world February 28, 2010 For a man weeks away from the biggest deal of his life, Lovells’ managing partner David Harris has a remarkably light air about him. On 1 May the City institution – it can trace its history back to 1899 – will merge with US rival Hogan Hartson to create one of the world’s largest law [...]
VETERAN LAUDS BIG-HEARTED CITY FOR SHOWING SOME GIVE AND TAKE December 13, 2009 AMONG the throng of eager banker-bashers busy giving the City what for at the moment, it’s good to see one of our own returning as good as he gets. Veteran Brian Winterflood, chair of the market-making firm of the same name, has taken on a new role in the past few weeks as ambassador for [...]
Lehman’s PwC fees near record October 19, 2009 Accountancy fees and legal fees for the winding-up of Lehman Brothers in Europe are nearing record highs for fees charged on this continent. PricewaterhouseCoopers said it charged £154m in fees for work on the company just in its first year on the case. And law firm Linklaters has run up £68.9m in fees to 14 [...]
JPM Caz still leading FTSE adviser pack… November 29, 2009 BLUE-blooded City brokerage JP Morgan Cazenove is still proving its mettle as the City’s dominant corporate broking player, topping the adviser leaderboard again over the past quarter despite uncertainty caused by its imminent takeover by JP Morgan. The latest Hemscott adviser rankings guide, published today, shows that the firm advises a total of 240 broking [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 7, 2009 Reed SmithThe law firm has appointed Graham Green as a partner in its employment group in London. Green joins from rival McDermott Will & Emery, and has also worked in the employment department at Linklaters. His practice covers all types of discrimination claims, including race, sex, age and disability discrimination, as well as claims over [...]
Proposals out on living wills December 16, 2009 EMPLOYEES will be guaranteed the option of working out a notice period and clients promised swift access to their money in the event of a future high-profile investment bank failure, under the terms of proposed government legislation unveiled yesterday. City minister Lord Myners launched the consultation paper on so-called “living wills” – measures for an [...]
Slaughters and friends feel the heat September 15, 2009 CITY solicitors are hooked on league tables, and the latest one feeding their addiction is a new ranking that details which law firms are bagging FTSE 100 instructions. Movement at the top has got tongues wagging, as the historically dominant Slaughter and May has seen its position challenged for the first time in years, triggering [...]
FORMER MERRILL LYNCH STAFFERS HERALD A TRIUMPHANT BULL RUN December 7, 2009 BANK of America’s integration with fellow banking scion Merrill Lynch might have been fraught with difficulty over the course of the past year, but it seems the powers that be are finally learning the art of tactful compromise. After Merrill’s beloved bovine logo appeared to have been dropped by BoA in favour of a new, [...]
The City’s most fearsome litigator still has plenty of fire in his belly January 19, 2010 Change is on the way at Herbert Smith as David Gold, who over the last 36 years has built a reputation as one of the most fearsome commercial litigators in the country, will stand down after five years as the City law firm’s senior partner in April. In a distinguished career, Gold has represented Abbey [...]