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International Edition

Eye of the storm

For lawyers working in banking, the bad news just keeps coming. Ever since the credit crunch gripped the financial services sector in August 2007 it has been a worrying time for anyone in finance, but there is now no doubt that the dramatic escalation of the crisis facing the industry, thanks to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September, has raised the stakes considerably.Before Lehman, lawyers, particularly those working in the central legal teams, were seen as being among the least vulnerable staff in banking. Sure there were widespread claims that lawyers working in badly-hit transactional departments and legally-trained staff working on document management had been hit. But the general consensus was that, in an environment in which regulation, compliance and litigation had become greater issues, in-house legal teams were viewed as some of the most secure jobs.
8 minute read

International Edition

Guardian legal chief in Ofcom switch

Guardian News & Media (GNM) legal chief Nuala Cosgrove has agreed to take up a new role with media regulator Ofcom. Cosgrove will join the regulator in the New Year, after spending six years with the publishing company's in-house team. At Ofcom, Cosgrove will work on Government policy issues and will report to general counsel Polly Weitzman.
2 minute read

International Edition

Citi fund seals $10bn motorway company buy-out

Citi Infrastructure Partners has completed the $10bn (£6.75bn) purchase of a Spanish motorway operator from a company struggling with billions in debts, reports The Am Law Daily. Citi Infrastructure, a fund run by Citigroup, purchased motorway operator Itinere from Sacyr Vallehermoso, a Spanish construction company looking to raise money to pay off debts of $24bn (£16.2bn).Citi Infrastructure relied on in-house counsel and advice from CMS Albinana & Suarez de Lezo's team in Madrid.
2 minute read

International Edition

ITV switches off billable hour after panel review

ITV has become one of the first major British companies to entirely phase out the billable hour as the broadcasting giant unveils its new roster of legal advisers. Group legal director and general counsel Andrew Garard has cut ITV's advisers from almost 50 to nine, with each firm agreeing to use alterative billing methods.Slaughter and May, Lovells, Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Olswang, Charles Russell and Goodman Derrick have all landed roles on the panel, with US law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf and media boutique Wiggin also on the roster.
3 minute read

International Edition

JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley join fee cutting drive

JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are among a roster of leading banks attempting to slash fee agreements with panel law firms. Both banks are known to have contacted preferred advisers within the last month with a view to securing a reduction in fees - thought to be up to 15% - going forward. Banks including Lloyds TSB and Deutsche Bank are also understood to be in discussions with legal advisers with fees thought to be a key consideration.
2 minute read

International Edition

Bank legal teams dread knock-on effect as Citi cuts 20% of workforce

Banking lawyers have expressed concern that the prolonged economic turmoil will lead to further in-house job cuts, as Citigroup this month became the latest bank to announce redundancies. Fifty-two thousand jobs will go at the bank worldwide on top of the 23,000 redundancies made earlier this year - equating to a 20% reduction in headcount over the period. The cull follows a similar review earlier this month at Morgan Stanley, which is expected to lead to 3,600 losses, while Goldman Sachs looks set to cut 3,300 jobs following its announcement in October.
3 minute read

International Edition

Cadbury restructures regional legal teams in wake of management cuts

Cadbury has overhauled its legal team in the wake of an internal restructuring and redundancy programme at the company.The confectionery giant announced last month that it would be making 580 staff redundant, affecting 250 middle management positions worldwide and a further 330 jobs in Australia and New Zealand. As part of the changes the company is also regrouping around seven jurisdictions - up from four - paving the way for the appointment of more regional legal heads.
2 minute read

International Edition

BT opens door to external law graduates

BT has revamped its trainee lawyer recruitment programme, opening it up to external candidates. The telecoms giant launched the graduate law programme last month, replacing its trainee solicitor programme, which was only available to existing company employees.The new scheme, which will have an initial intake of five trainees, will form part of BT's wider graduate trainee programme.
2 minute read

International Edition

Facing the chop

Even if you know you are with the wrong partner, no-one likes to be rejected. So how do clients feel when a law firm tells them they have decided that their business no longer fits with them?After all, there has been much coverage in recent years of large City law firms actively managing their client base, a process that usually means that some smaller clients are turned away.While in busier markets this was typically as much a means for developing advisers' business, with the emphasis on law firms focusing on larger clients, now some firms - notably Linklaters - are looking at trimming their client base to limit potential conflicts in what promises to be a more litigious environment.
6 minute read

International Edition

Bigger isn't better

The rise of large, high-quality, global corporate law departments started more than 20 years ago. It was aimed, in part, at breaking up the monopolies that law firms had with corporations. Using a range of initiatives from requests for proposals to auctions, in-house counsel sought to end these cosy relationships and introduce a measure of competition into the law firm-client dynamic. The mantra of 'lawyers, not law firms' was uttered so often that it became a cliche.Because of these pressures - among others - law firms increasingly focused on becoming more effective business organisations. Some followed globalising clients and looked to provide cross-speciality, cross-border service, either through acquisitions or organic growth, or both.
11 minute read

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