Friederike Heine

October 19, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters, Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners and Credit Suisse have settled a £118m professional negligence dispute relating to advice given to the bank on a deal with Italian food company Parmalat nearly 10 years ago. It is unclear how much the firms have settled for; however, the figure, which both law firms are contributing to, is expected to be only a fraction of the original claim value.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

October 19, 2011 | International Edition

A trio of US firms have taken lead roles on GSO Capital Partners' acquisition of loan manager Harbourmaster Capital in a deal which will boost GSO's European loan holdings to €11.5bn (£10bn). GSO, the credit investment arm of Blackstone Group, was advised by US law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's London office, which fielded a team led by relationship partner Mike Wolfson alongside tax counsel Meredith Jones. Weil Gotshal & Manges, meanwhile, advised the shareholders of Dublin-based Harbourmaster with a team led by London managing partner Mike Francies and finance head Jacky Kelly.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

October 19, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters' new senior partner Robert Elliott has spent much of his first weeks in office courting general counsel. Since formally succeeding David Cheyne in the role at the start of this month, Elliott has paid a visit to most of the firm's top 50 clients, which include the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and BP. The number of meetings represents something of a shift for Linklaters, demonstrating its recognition of the growing power of in-house counsel and the way the firm needs to change its service accordingly.

By Friederike Heine

6 minute read

October 19, 2011 | International Edition

Nomura and Barclays Capital have both confirmed that they have made a number of redundancies in their UK legal teams. Nomura made between six and eight redundancies in London over the summer in a redundancy consultation overseen by European general counsel Piers Le Marchant.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

October 19, 2011 | International Edition

Quinn Emanuel is set to launch an office in Moscow with the hire of two senior litigation partners from Dechert. Ivan Marisin and Vasily Kuznetsov, who are set to join Quinn later this year, both joined Dechert's Moscow office from Clifford Chance (CC) last year. The number of associates who will follow the duo to Dechert is as yet unconfirmed.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

October 18, 2011 | International Edition

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has strengthened its London competition team with the hire of Peter Freeman QC, the former chairman of the Competition Commission. Freeman's arrival, which is scheduled for next month (1 November), will take the number of senior lawyers in the US firm's London competition practice to four. He will join the office as a senior consultant, working alongside partners Maurits Dolmans, Romano Subiotto QC and Nicholas Levy.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

October 14, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters has won a role advising Lloyds Banking Group on the sale of 632 of its UK branches. The bank has been given until the end of 2013 to sell the branches by the European competition authorities and put the branches to auction earlier this year.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

October 14, 2011 | International Edition

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is targeting some of the biggest private practice names in white-collar crime to replace director Richard Alderman when he retires in April next year. The body has drawn up a shortlist of potential candidates for the role, including Dechert litigation partner Neil Gerrard - who is currently in dispute with DLA Piper over his exit from his former firm - and ex-Simmons & Simmons partner Louise Delahunty, who is now a counsel in Sullivan & Cromwell's London office.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

October 13, 2011 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) has added three partners to its New York litigation practice with the hire of a trio of former US federal prosecutors. David Raskin, Christopher Morvillo and Edward O'Callaghan all formerly worked together in the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

October 13, 2011 | International Edition

Ashurst's outgoing litigation chief Michael Madden is set to join the London office of US firm Winston & Strawn. Madden, whose departure from Ashurst was first reported by Legal Week yesterday (12 October), has been hired with a remit to launch a London commercial litigation practice for Winston. The firm is planning to recruit additional laterals in the coming months.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read