Jeremy Hodges

January 21, 2010 | International Edition

Telecoms giant Vodafone has appointed former Reuters legal chief Rosemary Martin as its group general counsel and company secretary. Martin will take up her new role on 1 April, replacing Stephen Scott, who is retiring after 30 years with the company.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 21, 2010 | International Edition

McDermott Will & Emery is to be left without a single competition partner in London as longstanding partner Scott Megregian leaves for K&L Gates and Alasdair Bell joins football governing body UEFA as general counsel. The pair's departures follow that of fellow competition partner Davina Garrod, who joined Bingham McCutchen earlier this week.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 21, 2010 | International Edition

Lewis Silkin has expanded its sports law group with the appointment of the former chief executive of the Football Association (FA) as a consultant and the hire of a former partner from Hammonds. Rated sports immigration lawyer Andrew Osborne is joining to head up the firm's immigration practice, which sits within the wider employment and incentives group (EID).

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 21, 2010 | International Edition

Lovells and Hogan & Hartson have named their first combined governance body ahead of their 1 May merger, confirming details of the firm's board. The 12-member Hogan Lovells board will play a supervisory role, overseeing partner issues and management affairs.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 20, 2010 | International Edition

Lovells has set up a new scheme to encourage young people from a wider socio-economic background to enter the legal profession. The initiative, dubbed Ladder to Law, has been launched in response to last year's report compiled by former cabinet minister Alan Milburn, which singled out the legal profession as being too socially exclusive.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 20, 2010 | International Edition

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has taken the lead role on one of the largest initial public offerings (IPO) for almost two years. A team from Skadden advised online travel booking company Travelport on its hotly anticipated flotation, which values the company at around £1.8bn.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 20, 2010 | International Edition

Hugh Nineham, McDermott Will & Emery's London head, has been given a new role leading the US firm's European practice as part of a firmwide strategic review. The position will involve Nineham taking a seat on McDermott's firmwide executive committee, which oversees global strategy.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 19, 2010 | International Edition

Lovells and Clifford Chance (CC) have advised on the £1bn restructuring of catering group Select Service Partners (SSP). SSP, which operates catering and retail units primarily in airports and railway stations in more than 25 countries, was acquired by buyout house EQT in 2006 for an undisclosed sum and subsequently refinanced in 2007 in a deal worth around £1.2bn.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

January 19, 2010 | International Edition

Exactly 12 months ago this column suggested that the M&A deal drought of 2009 would be reminiscent of the post-dot com gloom in 2003, and it was true. This year, however, is harder to call. The latest figures from Legal Week's exclusive data provider Mergermarket confirm what all M&A lawyers knew: 2009 was a bleak year for transactional lawyers, with global deal values just shy of $1,800bn (£1,103bn) compared to $2,427bn (£1,488bn) in 2008. The good news is that most signs suggest that the bottom has already been passed, with the final quarter of 2009 managing a modest if fairly broad revival. That revival looks set to trudge into 2010, even if there is little evidence of a dramatic rebound.

By Jeremy Hodges

4 minute read

January 19, 2010 | International Edition

Dorsey & Whitney has boosted its London corporate capabilities with the hire of former DLA Piper partner Kate Francis. Francis, who resigned from DLA last August, becomes the tenth corporate partner in Dorsey's London office. She joined the partnership at DLA in 2005 and her practice focuses on capital markets and M&A.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read