Friederike Heine

December 02, 2010 | International Edition

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has sealed the hire of Olswang litigation head Martin Davies for the US firm's fast-growing London office. Davies, who was re-elected as head of Olswang's litigation practice earlier this year, will join the US firm in the New Year.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

December 01, 2010 | International Edition

Brewing giant Carlsberg has appointed Baker & McKenzie as its primary global legal adviser, with the international law firm seeing off competition from around a dozen firms to secure the mandate. The appointment, which was confirmed last week but will take effect from 1 January, will see Bakers take on all of the beer company's corporate work, as well as its banking and finance, antitrust and major cross-border commercial work.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

December 01, 2010 | International Edition

Hogan Lovells is set to offer marquee lateral hires above-lockstep pay deals as part of ambitious plans to dramatically expand its City M&A practice. The strategy is intended to underpin the firm's commitment to upgrade the merged entity's corporate practice in the City without being restricted by legacy Lovells' lockstep.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

December 01, 2010 | International Edition

Despite both being 400-plus partner law firms, there is something about senior transfers between old rivals Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters that get feelings running high. And that goes double when the departures come from Freshfields' banking practice, a team that seems perennially uneasy at Fleet Street. So news last week of Chris Howard's departure for Linklaters' finance team sparked familiar tensions, leaving Freshfields feeling bruised and baffled. One disgruntled partner comments: "Linklaters seems to view our partnership as fertile hunting ground…"

By Friederike Heine

4 minute read

December 01, 2010 | International Edition

SNR Denton has emerged as the highest ranked top 20 UK law firm by clients for cost and billing practices, according to Legal Week research. The merged firm was closely followed by Eversheds, Simmons & Simmons and CMS Cameron McKenna, according to Legal Week Intelligence's seventh annual Client Satisfaction Report, which is based on responses from 1,265 senior in-house lawyers.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

December 01, 2010 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) and Mayer Brown have won hotly-contested places on Nomura's new EMEA legal roster. The Japanese investment bank finalised the line-up last week (22 November), with CC and Mayer Brown joining existing advisers Allen & Overy (A&O), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Travers Smith and Ashurst on the seven-firm line-up.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

December 01, 2010 | International Edition

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan's London arm made profits of £5.7m during its first full year of trading in London, with the highest-earning partner taking home just under £1.5m, according to the US law firm's UK limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts for 2009. The accounts, which cover the year ending 31 December 2009, show that while turnover for the period stood at £7.6m, the law firm's operating profit stood at £5.7m – indicating a profit margin of 75%.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

November 30, 2010 | International Edition

Sullivan & Cromwell, Baker & McKenzie and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld have advised on BP's $7.1bn (£4.6bn) sale of a majority stake in Argentinian energy company Pan American Energy. Akin Gump was instructed by Argentina-based energy company Bridas Corporation, which is acquiring a 60% stake in Pan American. The US firm's team was led by London partner-in-charge Steven Blakeley and Dallas corporate partner Seth Molay. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Bridas' state-owned Chinese parent company, was advised by longstanding adviser Bakers, which fielded a team led by Shanghai-based corporate partner Bee Chun Boo.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

November 26, 2010 | International Edition

The overwhelming majority of partners at commercial law firms believe Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plans to cut £350m from its annual legal aid budget will lead to a 'brain drain' of talented lawyers from publicly-funded work. Just under half of partners responding to Legal Week's Big Question survey said the scale of cuts will lead to a considerable brain drain from a sector already contending with low billing rates, with 8% claiming they will have an enormous impact and a further 40% saying they will make a small contribution to lawyers moving away from publicly-funded work.

By Friederike Heine

4 minute read

November 26, 2010 | International Edition

More than a third of BPP's purchase value of £303.5m has been written off by its US parent company Apollo Global, according to the education provider's US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The accounts, which cover the financial year ending 31 December 2009, state that the BPP incurred "impairment charges" of £106m, representing a 35% drop in value. This is Apollo's first "goodwill impairment test" for BPP since its takeover last year, with the US parent company reassessing BPP's financial outlook in the wake of the recession in the UK.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read