Legal Week

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

DLA Piper's US practice is set to scale back the size of its associate classes and make more use of staff attorneys as it revamps its associate program, the firm's leaders said. The delayed class of first-year US associates entering the firm in January has 85 lawyers, and only half of those will actually take up posts at the firm, while the other half go into public interest jobs and join the firm during the autumn of 2010, said Frank Burch, the firm's global chairman.

By Legal Week

4 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

Brown Rudnick has bolstered its City litigation practice with the hire of a team of lawyers from immigration, human rights and litigation boutique Gherson. Neil Micklethwaite, previously a partner with both Bingham McCutchen and DLA Piper, will join Brown Rudnick as a partner on 6 July along with one associate and two trainees.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

It is common knowledge among professionals active in the German restructuring market that the country's insolvency law is characterised by stringent insolvency filing obligations triggered not only by illiquidity, but also over-indebtedness. This sets Germany apart from other European jurisdictions and often strongly influences transaction structuring and timing.

By Legal Week

7 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

On April 24, 2009, almost unnoticed by the public, an important amendment to the German Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Aussenwirtschaftsgesetz - AWG) entered into force. The amendment materially impacts a significant number of transactions involving German businesses and allows the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (MET) to prohibit investors outside Europe from buying German enterprises or voting stakes of 25% or more in German companies if such acquisitions constitute a threat to the security or public policy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

By Legal Week

9 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

Over the last few months, international law firms have been gearing up for the long-awaited upturn in litigation, with a string of office openings and major hires. With the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) gaining in popularity in recent years, it is no surprise that the UK capital has been at the forefront of the action, alongside other major arbitration centres like New York and Paris. There have also been moves to bulk up on dispute resolution expertise in Asia and the Middle East.

By Legal Week

11 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

Much time and attention has been devoted to considering the relative minutiae of the conduct of proceedings in the Commercial Court since the establishment of the Commercial Court Long Trials Working Party over two years ago. The result is the now amended Commercial Court Guide - the Admiralty and Commercial Courts Guide (8th edition, 2009), published on 18 May, 2009.

By Legal Week

8 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

The air cargo price-fixing litigation looks promising from a plaintiffs lawyer's perspective. Since US and European antitrust authorities raided the offices of more than a dozen airlines in February 2006, settlements and fines have been racking up. The US Department of Justice has levied more than $1.6bn (£1bn) in fines against 15 airlines and air cargo companies. In 2006, Deutsche Lufthansa settled claims from a class of US plaintiffs for $85m (£54m). Class actions against other airlines are pending in the US and Australia.

By Legal Week

4 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, speaking at a press briefing in 2002, famously said: "As we know, there are known knowns: there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know."

By Legal Week

9 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

"I recently rather reluctantly signed a training contract with a high street law firm. However, I have just been offered a paralegal role at a more reputable firm, with a view to a training contract. I'm not sure what to do, as I would much rather work for this firm. What would the implications be if I was to break the training contract, and would this be the advisable thing to do?"

By Legal Week

1 minute read

June 25, 2009 | International Edition

For 10 years or so, the global economy grew. Lenders were free with their funds, especially in the US, where billions of dollars worth of mortgages were sold to people with weak credit ratings. The US banking sector packaged these subprime home loans into mortgage-backed securities known as collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), which were sold on to hedge funds and investment banks around the world. When borrowers started to default on their loans, the value of these investments plummeted, resulting in huge losses for banks globally.

By Legal Week

8 minute read