Friederike Heine

September 13, 2011 | International Edition

Slaughter and May and a number of US firms have won roles on US manufacturing company Colfax Corporation's £1.5bn takeover bid for UK engineering group Charter International. Slaughters has taken the lead role for Charter on the deal, which is conditional upon regulatory and shareholder approvals. The magic circle firm is fielding a team under London corporate partners Andy Ryde and Robin Ogle.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 13, 2011 | International Edition

Vodafone has completed a review of its group and UK legal advisers, with Olswang and DLA Piper winning first-time appointments. The panel is divided into two - a group panel which will handle the legal services for Vodafone's corporate centre and a dedicated UK panel.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 12, 2011 | International Edition

Rising demands on businesses to cuts costs will see general counsel dramatically re-engineer their legal functions over the next decade, according to new research from Oxford University's Said Business School. The report was compiled from interviews with fifty-two general counsel from a range of bluechip businesses in the US and the UK, including Citi, BP, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Shell, HSBC and Sony Ericsson.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

September 09, 2011 | International Edition

DLA Piper has boosted its real estate practice with the hire of senior Ashurst partner Simon Cookson as the firm's new London real estate chief. Cookson was previously Ashurst's European real estate chief, and also held a position on the firm's board.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 08, 2011 | International Edition

Weil Gotshal & Manges' global co-head of private equity James Westra is leaving the US law firm to become Advent International's managing director and chief legal officer. Westra, who is set to join the private equity house next month (3 October), will be advising Advent's investment teams globally on deal structuring and general legal matters.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 07, 2011 | International Edition

K&L Gates has launched an office in Qatar, with Dewey & LeBoeuf's former Doha chief, Kenneth Freeling, charged with heading the base. The firm received its licence from the Qatar Financial Centre late last month (23 August) after applying to open in March, with patent and antitrust litigation partner Freeling leading the venture.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 07, 2011 | International Edition

SJ Berwin and Baker & McKenzie have taken lead roles on HSH Nordbank's sale of a stake in a portfolio of private equity fund investments, a deal that values the bank's total 47-fund portfolio at €620m (£549m). SJ Berwin was instructed by Germany's Nordbank, a longstanding client of the firm, and fielded a team led by funds partner Nigel van Zyl, who is set to leave the firm with a team of associates to join Proskauer Rose. SJ Berwin's City team worked with Munich funds partner Sonya Pauls on the deal.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 07, 2011 | International Edition

Ropes & Gray has strengthened its new Shanghai office with the hire of intellectual property (IP) partner Geoffrey Lin from Hogan Lovells. Lin, Hogan Lovells' sole IP partner in Shanghai, was made up in the firm's promotions round last year. He has acted for clients across the pharma, biotech, healthcare, electronics and telecoms sectors, including Genentech, Becton, Dickinson and Company and Apple.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 06, 2011 | International Edition

The ban on televised court sentencing is to be overturned in an effort to improve public understanding of the justice system, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke announced today (6 September). Clarke said in a statement that the move to allow TV broadcasting of judges' comments was part of an attempt to demystify the legal process for the general public.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

September 06, 2011 | International Edition

Weil Gotshal & Manges has added a partner to its London restructuring team with a lateral hire from Jones Day. Paul Bromfield is set to join Weil later this month, with the move reuniting him with Jones Day's former restructuring head Adam Plainer, who joined Weil in January this year.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read