Sofia Lind

September 22, 2010 | International Edition

A trio of firms have taken key roles on the first sale in the Candover wind down as Doughty Hanson completes the purchase of Equity Trust for €350m (£291m). The deal, announced last week (10 September), saw the London offices of two US firms take the lead corporate roles, with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom acting for the buyer while Kirkland & Ellis advised Candover. The sale also handed a role to Simmons & Simmons, which advised the management of Equity Trust with a team led by London corporate partners Richard May and Alan Karter.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 22, 2010 | International Edition

At first glance flexible working can seem like a simple issue of giving your staff a shot at achieving that elusive work/life balance. But closer inspection shows that the City's top law firms take different, and at times opposing, views on the pros and cons of flexible working arrangements. Not least of these is whether boosting flexibility is a means to improving female retention, with some firms seeing this as a core reason for such initiatives, while others are wary of making the connection. However, there is at least consensus that flexible working is not just about working less hours. With four-day week or nine-day fortnight arrangements on the march, the most common mode of flexible working seems by far to be remote working - boosted by new technology - but other new ideas such as lawyer job-sharing are also being tried out.

By Sofia Lind

11 minute read

September 22, 2010 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O) has made a series of internal promotions following the departure of finance director Ian Dinwiddie. The magic circle firm has promoted IT director Jason Haines to take over the finance director role. Haines will also remain as IT director but will be supported by deputy IT director Gareth Ash, who is also the firm's chief information officer. Dinwiddie left the City giant last month to become president of Thomson Reuters-owned legal consultancy Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, after 20 years as finance director at A&O.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 16, 2010 | International Edition

Two senior Clifford Chance (CC) partners are set to quit the firm's London office, with former Asia capital markets chief Stephen Roith and veteran real estate partner Iain Morpeth both leaving the firm. Roith, who stood unsuccessfully in the firm's London managing partner elections last year, is joining the London office of US firm Sidley Austin as co-head of capital markets, while Morpeth is joining Oppenheimer Investments as the corporate finance advisory firm's first global chief operating officer.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

September 15, 2010 | International Edition

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoA Merrill) has embarked on its first full-scale panel review since becoming a merged entity, with a number of stringent conditions attached for firms wanting to pitch. The review, which was launched last month, will see the investment banking giant review its external legal counsel arrangements on a global and regional level.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 15, 2010 | International Edition

SJ Berwin is expected to decide whether to push through with US merger plans in the next few weeks after taking time out to consider the potential merger with Proskauer Rose over the summer. SJ Berwin partners had expected that the lengthy merger discussions could reach the next stage last week, when the firm's strategy committee held its first meeting back after summer holidays. However, the committee did not reach a conclusion about how to progress the discussions, and no formal proposal has yet been put to the partnership.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 15, 2010 | International Edition

Transport for London (TfL) has cut a number of legal roles and put the Tube Lines panel review on hold following its acquisition of the underground operator earlier this year. TfL is currently reviewing whether it will continue to run a separate legal line-up for Tube Lines, which had launched a panel review in April aiming to trim down the roster and look for synergies with the TfL legal panel.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 15, 2010 | International Edition

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has launched a two-month consultation on the Bribery Act in an effort to help businesses prepare for new legislation. The consultation opened yesterday (14 September) and will run until 8 November, with all parties set to be affected by the Act encouraged to give feedback. It comes after the Government announced on 20 July that it will postpone the implementation of the Act until April 2011 in order to give companies a chance to put proper procedures in place.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 14, 2010 | International Edition

Senior management at Allen & Overy (A&O) increased their earnings by almost 50% last year against a 10% increase in profits per equity partner, according to the firm's annual report. A&O's financial report for 2009-10 shows that the key management personnel earned £14.2m over the year, a 43% increase on the 2009 figure of £9.9m. The group includes managing partner Wim Dejonghe, senior partner David Morley, as well as the heads of the main global practice groups and the support directors.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 14, 2010 | International Edition

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has offered new hope for law firms looking to sign up to external investment deals ahead of the previously agreed start date of October 2011. At a board meeting last Friday (10 September), the SRA said that it now intends to give further consideration to relaxing its guidelines on Alternative Business Structures and that it will launch a further review of the schedule for permitting outside investment.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read