Pui Guan Man

November 15, 2012 | International Edition

K&L Gates has gained permission to open in South Korea, following Clifford Chance (CC), Ropes & Gray and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton into the region. The US firm's application to open a foreign legal office in Seoul has been given the green light by the Korean Ministry of Justice. The licence now awaits approval from the Korean Bar Association in the coming weeks.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

November 14, 2012 | International Edition

Norton Rose is set to merge with US firm Fulbright & Jaworski from June next year, creating a 3,800 lawyer firm. The merged entity, which will be known as Norton Rose Fulbright, will sit just outside the global top five law firms, with revenues of just under $2bn.

By Pui-Guan Man

4 minute read

November 14, 2012 | International Edition

SJ Berwin has posted a marginal decline in revenue for the first half of 2012-13, with billings for the first six months of the financial year coming in at around £83m. The turnover figure for the half year ending 31 October compares with £84m for the same period last year, with the City firm highlighting its international offices as strong contributors for the solid performance.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

November 08, 2012 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May are among a line-up of top law firms advising on Japanese pharma group Shionogi's purchase of a 10% stake in Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) joint venture ViiV Healthcare.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

November 07, 2012 | International Edition

SNR Denton, Salans and Canada's Fraser Milner Casgrain (FMC) are in discussions about a three-way merger which is expected to go live in early 2013 under the Dentons banner. Partners at all three firms are set to vote on the union at the end of this month, paving the way for the creation of a combined firm with revenues of more than $1bn, which would be structured as a Swiss verein.

By Pui-Guan Man

4 minute read

November 06, 2012 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O) has secured a key European litigation hire with the addition of Field Fisher Waterhouse's Germany managing partner Joachim Feldges, less than two years after he joined the firm from Howrey. Feldges, who heads up Field Fisher's offices in Munich, Duesseldorf and Hamburg, joined the firm in January 2011 from Howrey, leading a four-partner team that transferred Howrey's Munich and Duesseldorf bases in their entirety to Field Fisher.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read

November 06, 2012 | International Edition

SJ Berwin has hired Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) CIS group head Alex Woodfield in a boost for its corporate team. Woodfield, who founded FFW's 12-lawyer CIS group, works mainly for clients in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

November 02, 2012 | International Edition

SNR Denton is in discussions to combine with a Canadian law firm, as tie-up talks with Salans continue to gather pace. The transatlantic firm has told partners it is hoping to merge with a firm in Canada, although the name of the firm is not thought to have been formally communicated to all partners.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read

November 02, 2012 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) has selected five charities to which it will provide client-style support and financial assistance, in a new initiative which coincides with National Pro Bono Week 2012. The firm has identified five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with which it will operate as if they were fee-paying clients, with each assigned at least one dedicated relationship partner.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

November 01, 2012 | International Edition

Ashurst has overhauled its pro bono scheme so hours count as utilised time, as a host of firms step up their effort to increase lawyer involvement in charitable activities ahead of next week's National Pro Bono Week.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read