Pui Guan Man

June 26, 2012 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) and Sullivan & Cromwell have taken lead roles on Chilean airline Lan's merger with Brazilian rival Tam. The deal completed last week (22 June) after nearly two years of negotiations, creating one of the largest airlines in the world with combined revenues of around $14bn (£9bn). With more than 51,000 employees initially servicing around 150 destinations, the merged airline will be known as Latam.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

June 25, 2012 | International Edition

Pinsent Masons is set to cut around 40 back office jobs across the firm in light of its recent merger with Scotland's McGrigors. The redundancies are expected to be made in the firm's HR, IT, facilities and business development functions, with no fee-earner roles affected by the cuts. The news was first reported on RollOnFriday today.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 16, 2012 | Law.com

Norton Rose has increased first-year trainees' salaries to £38,000; second-year trainees' salaries to £43,000; and newly qualified lawyers' salaries to £61,500. Separately, the U.K. firm has confirmed that, for the first time, junior lawyers will soon be able to spend some of their training contracts in Australia.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

August 08, 2012 | Law.com

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Bird & Bird, SJ Berwin and Field Fisher Waterhouse have confirmed trainee retention rates for their September 2012 qualifiers, with all but SJ Berwin keeping on more than 80 percent of their intake.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 17, 2012 | Law.com

The Korean Ministry of Justice has granted approval to open an office in the country to three firms: Clifford Chance, Ropes & Gray, and Sheppard Mullin. The news comes after South Korea signed free trade agreements with the E.U. and the U.S. last year, giving foreign firms the right to hire local lawyers after five years.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 27, 2012 | Law.com

SJ Berwin is set to ask a small number of partners to leave as the firm undertakes a restructuring -- its second since 2009 -- in response to market conditions. Over the last year, a number of London-based firms have looked to downsize partnerships in non-core practice areas.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

October 05, 2012 | Law.com

Simmons & Simmons has secured a boost in the U.S. by sealing an alliance with funds specialist outfit Seward & Kissel. The nonexclusive alliance will focus on the firms' hedge fund and asset management practices in London, New York and Hong Kong. Both firms will continue to work with their other referral firms.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read

October 05, 2012 | Law.com

Clifford Chance's management committee received total remuneration of £19 million for the 2011-2012 financial year, a 10 percent increase from the previous year's figure of £17.3 million, according to firm accounts. Average partner headcount at the firm increased 3 percent to 568 in 2011-2012, while the number of associates rose 5 percent to 2,325.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 05, 2012 | Law.com

Simmons & Simmons has added two partners to its London capital markets team with a double hire from Linklaters. Alan Davies is a founding partner of Linklaters' derivatives and structured products practice in the City. Piers Summerfield, a managing associate at Linklaters, will advise on debt and equity-linked transactions at Simmons.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 10, 2012 | Law.com

Clifford Chance is embroiled in a legal dispute with two female staff members, whose allegations are said to include sex discrimination and anti-Semitism in the firm's Paris office. One of the pair was fired last summer on performance grounds. French authorities have denied the firm's request to authorize the second woman's dismissal.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read