Sofia Lind

September 10, 2010 | International Edition

Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly has moved to defend his judgement following media reports that he last year hired private detectives to find out who leaked information about his parliamentary expense claims. The former SJ Berwin partner (pictured) has released a statement confirming that he instructed corporate investigations company Morris Chase International, but that he was disappointed to see the firm's findings publicly revealed without his consent.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

September 09, 2010 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Goldman Sachs as the investment bank was today handed down a multimillion-pound fine by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The regulator has ordered the investment banking giant to pay £17.5m as a penalty for neglecting to inform it that its executive director Fabrice Toure was subject to a fraud investigation by US financial authorities when he became an FSA-approved person upon relocating to the UK in 2008. Freshfields acted for Goldman with a team led by City-based financial institutions disputes partner Simon Orton, while the FSA used in-house counsel.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 09, 2010 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) partner Michael Smyth CBE has announced that he is standing down from the magic circle firm next month. Smyth, who heads CC's public policy and government affairs practice and is also the firm's pro bono partner, has said that he intends to pursue his interests in the policy field after retiring from the CC partnership. He will leave the firm on 31 October.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 08, 2010 | International Edition

Jones Day and Denton Wilde Sapte have taken lead roles on the administration of social housing giant Connaught, which has placed thousands of UK jobs under threat. Jones Day is acting for Connaught with a team led by London head of capital markets Giles Elliott and head of restructuring Adam Plainer. Denton Wilde Sapte is acting for KPMG, which was today confirmed as the administrator, with a team led by restructuring head Nigel Barnett and restructuring partner Graham Paine.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 08, 2010 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is shaking up its finance department, with ex-Linklaters partner Matthew Kellett appointed to head the practice. Kellett took over as head of the department last week (1 September), having joined BLP in April this year with a brief to develop the firm's structured finance capacity.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 08, 2010 | International Edition

DLA Piper has added to its City finance offering with the hire of CMS Cameron McKenna's investment funds practice head Gawain Hughes. Hughes joined the transatlantic law firm earlier this week (6 September) as the fourth partner in the investment funds team, headed by City partner David Williams.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 08, 2010 | International Edition

Europe's leading deal finance teams are forecasting a revival in activity after advisers benefited from a recent flurry of debt-financed takeovers. Firms to have secured large acquisition finance mandates in recent weeks include Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters, Latham & Watkins and Clifford Chance (CC).

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

September 08, 2010 | International Edition

These days it's hard to keep up with the mood of leverage finance lawyers, who are once again in one of their upbeat phases. Having been terminally gloomy since the credit crunch began, acquisition finance lawyers seemed in remarkably revived spirits by the start of 2010. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the mood to sour as evidence of a slowdown in the US and, worse, mounting woes emerged in Europe's debt markets. Yet, counter-intuitively perhaps, the outlook has brightened into an Indian summer, with many of the leading deal finance teams reporting healthy levels of activity and respectable pipelines. Perhaps this is because, while the news from the US has worsened, signals from the eurozone and public finances have been at the more optimistic range of forecasts in recent months. It is also helping that, on the sponsor side, private equity houses are now in the position of having to do deals, given their need for exits and to put committed funds to work, even if conditions are far from ideal.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

September 08, 2010 | International Edition

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is set to hold firm on the start date for Alternative Business Structures (ABS), despite calls from law firms to allow early agreements. In July last year the regulator stated that firms would be prohibited from signing agreements with outside investors ahead of 6 October 2011.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

September 08, 2010 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) has launched a push for its European high-yield offering with the rehire of former partner Michael Dakin to its City practice. Dakin, who is relocating from Dubai-based client Future Group, will join CC this month along with senior associate Jeremy Traster from Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York. The pair bring the London high-yield team to a total of four partners and 12 associates.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read