Suzi Ring

June 29, 2011 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and White & Case are among a raft of firms to have taken roles on a £304m high yield bond offering by iconic car brand Aston Martin. The offering, which closed last week, saw notes listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, as well as the creation of a £30m revolving credit facility.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 29, 2011 | International Edition

UK Queen's Counsel (QCs) could be granted advocacy rights in Singapore for the first time in more than a decade as a result of a consultation by the country's Ministry of Law. The consultation, issued last month in response to growing numbers of commercial disputes in the country and a shortage of litigation lawyers, proposes granting a handful of licences to foreign lawyers such as QCs or senior counsel from Australia or Hong Kong.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 29, 2011 | International Edition

Charles Russell has appointed its first-ever chief operating officer (COO), with the firm's finance director Andy Staite set to take up the role next month. Staite, who has headed Charles Russell's finance department since 1998 when he joined from US insurance services company Crawford & Company, will take up his new position on 1 July. The law firm has yet to appoint a replacement finance director.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 29, 2011 | International Edition

City law firms are assessing the prospects for using damage-based billing arrangements (DBAs) for complex litigation following the Government's near-wholesale adoption of the Jackson reforms included in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill last week. The bill, which fell in line with previous consultations, is expected to see City law firms experiment with DBAs for high value disputes as demand for alternative billing methods increases.

By Suzi Ring

8 minute read

June 27, 2011 | International Edition

Clyde & Co has sealed a merger deal with Canada's Nicholl Paskell-Mede (NPM) following a vote at the firm's partner conference last weekend. The move, which will mark Clydes' first presence in the country, will take effect on 1 September this year, when the Canadian insurance boutique's offices in Montreal and Toronto will rebrand as Clyde & Co.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 27, 2011 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has overhauled its City management with corporate head Mark Rawlinson taking up the role of London managing partner from incumbent Tim Jones. Rawlinson will start in the new position on 1 July for a term running until December 2013. Jones will return to fee earning in the corporate department, while corporate partner Julian Long will take over as corporate chief from Rawlinson.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 24, 2011 | International Edition

Slaughter and May has taken a lead role on Prada's $2.1bn (£1.3bn) Hong Kong listing alongside Italian best friend Bonelli Erede Pappalardo and US outfit Davis Polk & Wardwell. The initial public offering (IPO), which went live on the stock exchange today (24 June), marks the first Hong Kong listing by an Italian company.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 22, 2011 | International Edition

The UK's top 100 law firms have seen a 4% year-on-year increase in fee income as trading conditions continue to recover, according to research from professional services firm Deloitte. Figures compiled by the accounting giant for the last quarter of 2010-11 show that fee income across the group rose by an average of 4.5% on Q4 2009-10. The Q4 results mean that, for the year as a whole, revenues across the group grew by 3.9%.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 22, 2011 | International Edition

Bird & Bird has emerged as the UK top 20 law firm with the largest percentage of female partners, with Hogan Lovells topping the rankings within the top 10. Legal Week research into female representation at partner level across the 50 largest UK law firms by revenue shows that, with women making up just under 23% of its partnership as at 1 May 2011, Bird & Bird is the highest placed firm within the top 20, closely followed by Berwin Leighton Paisner and Pinsent Masons.

By Suzi Ring

3 minute read

June 22, 2011 | International Edition

Kennedys has posted a double-digit increase in revenues for the third consecutive year since entering the UK top 50 for the first time in 2009. The firm's 2010-11 performance saw turnover rise 10.3% to £97.4m, with the majority generated by the firm's UK offices, which contributed a total of £76.9m, up from £70.8m in 2009-10.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read