Friederike Heine

March 02, 2011 | International Edition

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has taken a lead corporate role for Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL) on its £4bn acquisition of E.ON's UK power networks following a competitive auction. The US law firm was instructed less than six weeks ago, and fielded a team led by London corporate partner Adam Signy. Other partners to act on the deal included New York capital markets head Vince Pagano and fellow corporate partner James Cross.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

March 02, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken lead roles on Citigroup's sale of the UK credit card assets of online bank Egg to Barclays. Citi instructed Linklaters on the deal, which is the latest in a series of credit card portfolio sales by the US-based banking group. The magic circle law firm fielded a London team under corporate partner Casper Lawson.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

March 01, 2011 | International Edition

Kirkland & Ellis has added two partners to its City competition practice with a double hire from Howrey's London office. Shaun Goodman, one of the last remaining Howrey partners in London following a slew of departures in recent months, focuses on merger control, market dominance, cartel investigations, sector inquiries and private enforcement.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

March 01, 2011 | International Edition

The number of partner promotions in the City offices of US law firms is on track to exceed last year's tally, with 33 new partners made up in London in 2011 so far out of a global promotions total of 382. Legal Week's annual survey of US firms' lateral partner hiring and internal appointments found there have been only five fewer partner promotions in London so far this year than in the whole of 2010.

By Friederike Heine

7 minute read

February 28, 2011 | International Edition

Everything Everywhere has finalised the restructuring of its 45-strong legal team following last July's merger of telecoms providers Orange and T-Mobile. Legacy T-Mobile general counsel James Blendis - who was appointed as GC and company secretary of Everything Everywhere shortly after the merger which created the company - was responsible for the integration of the two companies' legal departments. Following a six-month review, Blendis has made six senior appointments from both sides of the tie-up to head up each of the company's legal divisions.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

February 28, 2011 | International Edition

Arnold & Porter has become the third US firm this year to hire a senior lawyer from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), bringing in fraud group head Kathleen Harris. Harris, who will join the US firm as a partner in June, will become a part of Arnold & Porter's City white collar criminal defence team. In her role at the SFO, Harris oversaw all fraud cases, and monitored changes in the body's critical policy function.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

February 25, 2011 | International Edition

Hogan Lovells has announced its first partner promotions round as a merged firm, with the firm's London office gaining seven new partners out of a global round of 36. The London haul is slightly higher than legacy Lovells' last promotion round in 2010, when the firm made up five City lawyers to partner as a part of a 21-strong global promotions round.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

February 23, 2011 | International Edition

Leading figures at the Bar including former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, Bar council chairman Nicholas Green QC and chair of the Bar Standards Board Baroness Ruth Deech have called for the Bar to take action to improve diversity in anticipation of hikes in university tuition fees. Former Allen & Overy (A&O) senior partner Guy Beringer QC also spoke at an Inner Temple event last week (18 February), which saw speakers discuss the review of legal education announced last November as well as raise concerns about the impact of higher tuition fees on the already poor diversity statistics at the Bar.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

February 23, 2011 | International Edition

Squire Sanders Hammonds has become the first law firm to sign up to BPP Law School's fast-track Legal Practice Course (LPC) outside the five-firm City LPC Consortium comprising Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, Hogan Lovells, Norton Rose and Slaughter and May. The decision means future trainees at the transatlantic firm's UK arm will start the seven-month course from this September. During the time between the course finishing and joining Squire Sanders Hammonds, trainees will take a three-month client secondment from May to July.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

February 23, 2011 | International Edition

Lateral partner hiring by US firms in London picked up last year after the financial downturn, with firms bringing in more partners in 2010 than in any year since the start of 2006. Legal Week's annual survey of hiring trends at the City operations of some of the largest US and transatlantic firms found there were 84 partner hires during 2010 across the 35 firms which took part in the survey.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read