Georgina Stanley

February 08, 2011 | International Edition

The Ministry of Justice may have pushed back the implementation of the Bribery Act after an intense period of industry lobbying, but companies shouldn't sit back and look forward to their next corporate jolly just yet. The message from advisers is clear: the delay in publishing the guidelines is just that - a delay. Despite the protests, the best companies should expect from the Government is clarification and further guidance - not the substantive overhaul in the law some businesses may have been longing for. "It's inconceivable that it will come into law in any fundamentally different way," says Pinsent Masons partner and co-author of thebriberyact.com, Barry Vitou. "The UK has been subjected to widespread, justified international criticism that our existing patchwork of anti-bribery laws aren't fit for purpose. The US already thinks nothing of prosecuting overseas businesses and if our laws don't change, they'll just do it for us."

By Georgina Stanley

4 minute read

February 02, 2011 | International Edition

Mayer Brown's London office has posted a 10% increase in revenues for the 2010 calendar year. The revenue increase takes the US firm's London turnover to £102m from £93m in 2009, with the growth following a 16% drop in fee income in 2009 from £112m. The result means London has outperformed the rest of the firm, where results were roughly static. Profits per equity partner inched up by 1% to $1.07m (£668,000) with revenue dipping 1% to $1.11bn (£691m) in 2010, having fallen almost 14% in 2009.

By Georgina Stanley

3 minute read

February 02, 2011 | Legal Week

Mayer Brown's London office has posted a 10% increase in revenues for the 2010 calendar year. The revenue increase takes the US firm's London turnover to £102m from £93m in 2009, with the growth following a 16% drop in fee income in 2009 from £112m. The result means London has outperformed the rest of the firm, where results were roughly static. Profits per equity partner inched up by 1% to $1.07m (£668,000) with revenue dipping 1% to $1.11bn (£691m) in 2010, having fallen almost 14% in 2009.

By Georgina Stanley

22 minute read

January 25, 2011 | Legal Week

No matter what awful name the Government's centralised panel for external legal services is currently going by, complaints about it from those on the roster have for years remained awfully consistent: it's far too unwieldy and work is not handed out evenly. Even so, the latest figures make for startling reading, demonstrating that criticism levelled by panel firms is in many instances justified. In addition to highlighting the huge discrepancy between what individual firms are receiving from the panel, the data - covered in more depth on page 6 - demonstrates the extent to which large City firms have been moving into territory that would previously have been the preserve of smaller London and regional rivals.

By Georgina Stanley

12 minute read

January 25, 2011 | International Edition

No matter what awful name the Government's centralised panel for external legal services is currently going by, complaints about it from those on the roster have for years remained awfully consistent: it's far too unwieldy and work is not handed out evenly. Even so, the latest figures make for startling reading, demonstrating that criticism levelled by panel firms is in many instances justified. In addition to highlighting the huge discrepancy between what individual firms are receiving from the panel, the data - covered in more depth on page 6 - demonstrates the extent to which large City firms have been moving into territory that would previously have been the preserve of smaller London and regional rivals.

By Georgina Stanley

4 minute read

January 12, 2011 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have topped Mergermarket's European deal rankings by value and volume respectively for 2010. The rankings show Linklaters reclaiming the top spot by volume last year from Freshfields, with roles on 203 deals worth a total of $157.3bn (£101bn). Freshfields held on to the top of the table by value with roles on 179 deals worth $230.5bn (£148bn).

By Georgina Stanley

3 minute read

January 12, 2011 | Legal Week

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have topped Mergermarket's European deal rankings by value and volume respectively for 2010. The rankings show Linklaters reclaiming the top spot by volume last year from Freshfields, with roles on 203 deals worth a total of $157.3bn (£101bn). Freshfields held on to the top of the table by value with roles on 179 deals worth $230.5bn (£148bn).

By Georgina Stanley

26 minute read

January 11, 2011 | Legal Week

"It wasn't a bad year, you just don't look back at any really standout UK deals," comments one M&A partner at a magic circle firm. In fact while global M&A levels may still be a way off even 2008 standards, let alone the heady heights of the 2005-07 boom, the 2010 figures from Mergermarket show there is reason for legal advisers to be relatively optimistic about 2011 - even though a surge of Kraft/Cadbury-type UK deals looks unlikely. Deal volumes globally increased by 23% year on year between 2009 and 2010, with the value of M&A increasing by 24% to $2,113bn (£1,393bn) during 2010. There was greater growth within the crucial European M&A market, where volume increased by just over 25% and value by 40% to $644bn (£413bn), with European M&A as a percentage of global deals also increasing marginally over the year.

By Georgina Stanley

8 minute read

January 11, 2011 | International Edition

"It wasn't a bad year, you just don't look back at any really standout UK deals," comments one M&A partner at a magic circle firm. In fact while global M&A levels may still be a way off even 2008 standards, let alone the heady heights of the 2005-07 boom, the 2010 figures from Mergermarket show there is reason for legal advisers to be relatively optimistic about 2011 - even though a surge of Kraft/Cadbury-type UK deals looks unlikely. Deal volumes globally increased by 23% year on year between 2009 and 2010, with the value of M&A increasing by 24% to $2,113bn (£1,393bn) during 2010. There was greater growth within the crucial European M&A market, where volume increased by just over 25% and value by 40% to $644bn (£413bn), with European M&A as a percentage of global deals also increasing marginally over the year.

By Georgina Stanley

4 minute read

October 19, 2010 | Legal Week

Land Securities has appointed its first general counsel and company secretary with the hire of SABMiller's European head of legal. Adrian de Souza is set to join the FTSE 100 property group on 1 November to take up the newly-formed post. He replaces outgoing company secretary Peter Dudgeon, a non-lawyer, who is stepping down after 12 years in the role.

By Georgina Stanley

4 minute read