Friederike Heine

October 05, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters and Bird & Bird have taken lead roles on Investec's £233m acquisition of UK stockbroker and fund manager Evolution Group. The South African financial services group was advised by Linklaters on the deal, which was agreed last week after a month-long bidding process including Canadian company Canaccord.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 28, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters and Davis Polk & Wardwell have taken lead roles on a $2bn (£1.3bn) notes offering by Rio Tinto, which saw the mining giant take advantage of current low yields on corporate bonds to reduce its debt costs. Linklaters advised Rio – a longstanding client of the firm – on the offering, which is split into three parts, comprising $500m (£324m) of notes due in 2016, $1.15bn (£746m) due in 2021 and $350m (£227m) due in 2040.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 28, 2011 | International Edition

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is launching a regulatory practice in the City with the hire of two in-house lawyers from London-based liquidity provider Liquid Capital Markets (LCM). The US firm is set to bring in LCM's head of legal, Sam Millar, and fellow legal counsel Tony Katz as partners next month. Millar initially joined LCM from Jones Day in 2008, with Katz following in 2009 from the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 28, 2011 | International Edition

The UK's top 100 law firms saw a modest year-on-year increase in fee income for the first quarter of 2011-12, with new research revealing an average increase of 4% on the same period last year. Deloitte's quarterly legal sector survey for the three-month period ending 31 July highlights a notable disparity in revenue growth between the largest law firms and the UK's smaller legal practices, with the top half of the group clearly outperforming those at the bottom.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 28, 2011 | International Edition

After more than a decade overshadowed by strategic angst and a string of aborted merger attempts, Ashurst has finally travelled halfway around the globe to secure what it hopes will be a transformative deal. The firm's tie-up with Australian leader Blake Dawson, which was confirmed in a dual partner vote on Friday (23 September), comes after failed merger talks with Latham & Watkins and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson in 2000 and 2003 respectively. There is no doubt that the union, which will see the two firms unite under the Ashurst brand and combine operations in Asia next March ahead of a vote on a full financial merger in 2014, represents a major and high-stakes change of direction for the UK firm, which has previously been seen as a byword for City conservatism.

By Friederike Heine

7 minute read

September 28, 2011 | International Edition

Even without another downturn, the outlook for law students remains far from rosy. The number of training contracts on offer last year shrunk to 4,874, a fall of 23% against its peak in 2007-08, while the pool of legal practice course (LPC) graduates without an offer continues to grow monthly. Yet law firms eyeing the uncertain market are in some cases still scaling back their future intakes. In this context, former Lovells lawyer Susan Cooper claims to have found a workable solution with her newly-founded business Acculaw. The unusual venture will see Acculaw offer training contracts to LPC graduates and oversee their development by providing training and seconding them to law firms.

By Friederike Heine

7 minute read

September 28, 2011 | International Edition

Ashurst will move to ramp up its lawyer headcount in Asia and shake up its partner remuneration over the next three years in the wake of its ambitious tie-up with leading Australian firm Blake Dawson. The City law firm, which agreed the union with Blakes last week (23 September), is planning to sharply increase joint lawyer numbers in Asia from around 155 lawyers at present. One Ashurst partner predicted the Asia headcount could double by 2014.

By Friederike Heine

5 minute read

September 26, 2011 | International Edition

Outgoing Linklaters senior partner David Cheyne is set to take up a consultant role at the firm when his five-year leadership term comes to an end later this month (30 September). Cheyne, who joined Linklaters in 1972 and made partner in 1980, was elected as senior partner in 2006.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 26, 2011 | International Edition

Ashurst has taken a dramatic step to reposition itself as a credible global contender after agreeing a tie-up with Australian leader Blake Dawson. The structure of the union will see the firms combine their Asian operations, while Blakes' domestic Australian operation rebrands as Ashurst in March 2012, bringing the combined business under a single brand.

By Friederike Heine

4 minute read

September 23, 2011 | International Edition

Baker Botts has strengthened its London office with the hire of corporate partner Neil Foster from Field Fisher Waterhouse. Foster, who focuses on M&A, venture capital and private equity, will join the US firm's 11-partner City base, which is headed up by corporate partner Tony Higginson.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read