John E Morris

December 06, 1999 | Law.com

High tech may be the business story of the 1990s. But when historians look back on the century, they may see something else as the dominant economic theme of the last 50 years: the conversion of the corporation into a commodity that was bought, sold, spun off, taken private, leveraged, then deleveraged and taken public again. Joe Flom was instrumental in the reinvention of American business, helping to engineer many of the biggest proxy fights of the '60s and the hostile tender offers of the '70s and '80s.

By John E. Morris

5 minute read

May 01, 1999 | Law.com

A tense, court-imposed cease-fire seemed to be holding between Gucci Group N.V. and LVMH Mo't Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A. are at odds in a tense, court-imposed cease-fire. The fight symbolizes a new rough-and-tumble corporate mentality in Europe, which is witnessing an unprecedented wave of hostile takeovers. American-inspired barbarians are knocking down the gates of some of Europe's most high-profile companies, egged on by American investment bankers and lawyers.

By John E. Morris

25 minute read

March 01, 2001 | Law.com

As American firms follow their investment banks and private equity clients to Germany, top lawyers in Frankfurt, Cologne and D|sseldorf report a rash of cold calls from headhunters. The question on everyone's mind is whether U.S. legal powerhouses such as New York's Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, to name only two, can pry big-name lawyers from local firms.

By John E. Morris

5 minute read

January 31, 2001 | Law.com

One of Germany's top 20 law firms, Gaedertz, is splintering after its partners could not agree on a merger with London's Norton Rose. Norton Rose will merge with Gaedertz's 46-lawyer Cologne office, while its Hamburg office will join with Los Angeles-based Latham & Watkins. The breakup creates merger and lateral hiring opportunities for Anglo-Saxon firms with Gaedertz's Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich offices.

By John E. Morris

3 minute read

July 01, 1999 | Law.com

For the third year in a row, the nation's 100 largest law firms saw double-digit growth in gross revenue. What effect did turmoil in the capital markets and a merger boom have on the AmLaw100?

By John E. Morris

8 minute read

February 24, 1999 | Law.com

Will Hunter was a small-town lawyer with a big-town resume -- a charismatic Harvard Law school grad who opted for a practice in rural Vermont. He didn't like to turn down a case, even when a client couldn't pay. But then came a dizzying ethical tailspin and charges of fraud. Was this the same idealist The American Lawyer Editor at Large John Morris knew in law school?

By John E. Morris

27 minute read

July 05, 2007 | New York Law Journal

New York hedge fund manager Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC filed to go public Monday, saying it hopes to raise as much as $2 billion. Och-Ziff's decision to pursue an IPO suggests that tax changes proposed in Congress last month for hedge and private equity funds may not deter more of them from going public.

By John E. MorrisThe Deal

2 minute read

June 19, 2008 | Law.com

Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. has sued to get out of its $10.6 billion deal to buy Huntsman Corp., claiming the merged company would be insolvent. When Hexion, which is owned by Apollo Management LP, disclosed the suit after the market closed Wednesday, it confirmed long-running suspicions the deal might fall apart. Hexion is represented by Peter Hein and Marc Wolinsky of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in the litigation, with Donald Wolfe Jr. of Potter Anderson & Corroon as Delaware counsel.

By John E. Morris and Scott Stuart

4 minute read