Anna Reynolds

March 17, 2014 | International Edition

Slaughter and May, Hengeler Mueller and Linklaters have acted on the €5.1bn (£4.3bn) sale of RWE AG's oil and gas business to Russian investment vehicle LetterOne Group. RWE - one of Europe's five leading energy companies – has agreed to sell the holding company for its oil and gas unit, RWE Dea, to LetterOne Group, which was set up by Russian private investment group Alfa. RWE Dea has interests in 14 countries including Germany, the UK, Norway, Denmark and Egypt.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 17, 2014 | International Edition

Berrymans Lace Mawer is merging with Scottish firm HBM Sayers to create BLM, a £100m business with 170 partners. The combination will go live on 1 May 2014, creating a firm with 12 offices across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 17, 2014 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)has held on to its £5m a year contract with Thames Water for another four years, after the water company re-tendered the contract. BLP sealed the initial deal in 2010, with Thames Water transferring the bulk of its in-house legal team over to the City law firm in a contract worth around £5m a year for five years. The contract has now been extended until 2018 and has been agreed at a similar rate. There are now 20 people working in the legal team, which is based in Thames Waters' Reading head office but employed by BLP. This includes 15 lawyers who work together with BLP's London office.

By Anna Reynolds

3 minute read

March 17, 2014 | International Edition

DLA Piper and Weil Gotshal & Manges have landed key roles on Vodafone's acquisition of Spanish cable operator Ono, in a deal worth €7.2bn (£6bn). DLA Piper is acting for Vodafone, led by senior partner of DLA Piper Spain, Juan Picon, with Weil acting for Ono's private equity shareholders. The deal marks the first significant mandate for DLA in Spain for Vodafone, which has frequently turned to Linklaters for advice on major corporate matters worldwide. In 2011 DLA joined Olswang winning first-time appointments to Vodafone's group and UK legal panel.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 14, 2014 | International Edition

A team of arbitrators has left Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Germany to set up their own independent firm. Partner Christian Borris who is based in the firm's Cologne office, is leaving the magic circle firm to set up the boutique along with Frankfurt-based partner Sebastian Kneisel and associate Rudolf Hennecke. The new firm - Borris Hennecke Kneisel - will open in May.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 13, 2014 | International Edition

Herbert Smith Freehills has become the latest firm to push gender diversity up the agenda, setting a 30% target for female partners, by 2019. The gender target is set in two stages: by May 2017 at least 25% of the partnership will be women and by May 2019 at least 30% of the partnership will be women.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 13, 2014 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has made up five partners in the City as part of a 15-strong promotion round worldwide. Competition lawyer Martin McElwee, M&A lawyer Richard Thexton, disputes lawyers Giles Pratt and Piers Reynolds and finance lawyer Jonathan Birks will join the partnership in London from 1 May.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 13, 2014 | International Edition

Partners in management positions at DLA Piper will have their basic pay capped under plans to encourage more fee-earning among practice and sector heads. The proposals will see managers paid a fixed sum, with extra remuneration available based on their individual contribution to the firm's revenue.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 13, 2014 | International Edition

Withers faces a £1.6m damages bill after losing a professional negligence claim related to the drafting of an LLP agreement. However, the High Court also rejected three other claims of negligence brought by the firm's former client, executive search company Wellesley Partners.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 12, 2014 | International Edition

One Essex Court's Lord Grabiner QC and Travers Smith have been appointed to carry out a review into the Bank of England's conduct in the foreign exchange market, in response to allegations that it allowed the manipulation of foreign exchange (forex) rates to take place. The oversight committee of the bank's court of directors appointed Grabiner to lead the investigation earlier today (12 March), after Travers' role supporting the investigation had already been announced.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read