Friederike Heine

November 11, 2011 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) and Slaughter and May have taken lead roles alongside Linklaters on the bidding battle for the 632 branches that Lloyds Banking Group must offload to meet European state aid rules. The Co-operative Group, which has made a non-binding bid for Lloyds' retail branch network, is being advised by CC, with which it has a longstanding corporate relationship. The magic circle firm's team is being led by London corporate partners Hilary Evenett and Mark Poulton.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O), Herbert Smith and Ashurst have taken roles on Virgin Money's £1bn bid for Northern Rock, the retail bank that was nationalised in 2008 after becoming one of the most high-profile UK casualties of the financial crisis. Virgin Money, part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group business conglomerate, has instructed longstanding adviser A&O on the bid. The magic circle firm is fielding a team led by corporate head Andrew Ballheimer.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

Hogan Lovells has appointed corporate partner Andrew Pearson as its new London head of corporate finance. Pearson, who will report to global corporate co-heads Andrew Skipper in London and Stuart Stein in Washington DC, joined Lovells in 1998 after qualifying at Linklaters. Recent high-profile roles he has taken include advising SABMiller on its multi-
billion-dollar hostile takeover bid for Foster's, while he also advised the drinks company on mega-deals such as its 
2007 joint venture with Molson Coors Brewing Company and its $7.8bn (£4.8bn) acquisition of Grupo Empresarial 
Bavaria in 2005.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

Field Fisher Waterhouse has appointed its first-ever chief operating officer (COO) to oversee the firm's business services and support functions. Charlie Keeling, who has been with Field Fisher since 2008 as its human resources (HR) director, will also become a member of the firm's board alongside his new role. Keeling joined Field Fisher three years ago from technology and consulting firm BearingPoint, where he was European head of HR. He has also worked as a management consultant, dealing with strategy reviews and business process improvement.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

British Airways (BA) has kicked off its first panel review since its merger with Spanish airline Iberia went live at the beginning of the year (24 January). The review is being overseen by head of legal Andrew Fleming, who was promoted to the role earlier this year after his predecessor Maria da Cunha took up a new post as director of people, legal and government affairs in the wake of the merger.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has asked London partner Marc Becker to leave the firm temporarily due to a conflict issue relating to a multibillion-dollar litigation case. Becker, who joined Quinn Emanuel in 2009 from US firm Munger Tolles & Olson, was one of the partners representing AIG in a $10bn (£6.3bn) securities litigation case against Bank of America (BoA).

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

Many of the UK's top law firms are reporting rising revenues for the first half of 2011-12, despite protracted instability across Europe and lingering fears of a double-dip recession. At least four firms among the UK top 30 are set to unveil double-digit increases on last year's H1 results, defying concerns prompted by the sustained upheaval in the global financial markets.

By Friederike Heine

4 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

"Even if the research team manages to make recommendations in time for the 2012 deadline, I am sure the regulators will drag their heels when it comes to implementation" - Cynics call for more progress on the review of legal education...

By Friederike Heine

6 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

The Supreme Court has backed the court's rights to decide a 'fair' split of assets for separating cohabiting couples in a ruling with widespread implications for family law. The judgment handed down today (9 November) in the long-awaited case Kernott v Jones saw the Supreme Court back an initial county court ruling that a woman who had paid most of the mortgage on a bungalow was entitled to 90% of its value.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

November 09, 2011 | International Edition

The percentage of law graduates signing up to full-time vocational law study fell last year, with 26.4% of 2010 graduates embarking on further study or training in the UK within six months of leaving university, according to new research. The number of graduates signing up for the Legal Practice Course, Bar Professional Training Course and ILEX courses was down 3.7% on the previous year, according to an annual survey of graduate destinations from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU).

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read