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International Edition

Orrick's German arm taps Bird & Bird for M&A partner hire

Orrick Hoelters & Elsing has made its first lateral partner hire since its merger went live in September. The German arm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is set to add Bird & Bird corporate and M&A partner Erich Michel in Frankfurt (1 January, 2009). Michel will bring one associate as well as senior European consultant, Stefan Kleinbreuer, with him in the switch, with Kleinbreuer joining as of counsel.Michel was the founding partner of Bird & Bird's Frankfurt office, launching the City firm's base there at the end of 2005. His move comes after spending three years with Bird & Bird.
2 minute read

International Edition

Skadden boosts Moscow with partner relocation

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is boosting its Russia practice with the relocation of a senior corporate partner from London to Moscow. Linda Davies is set to transfer to the region in the new year, becoming the third partner on the ground in the Russian capital. Davies will join Alexey Kiyashko and Dmitri Kovalenko as full-time partners in the office, with two further partners - Pranav Trivedi and Richard Muglia - splitting their time between London and Moscow.
1 minute read

International Edition

Banking: Stabilising the German market

In early October, the German Government started work on a stabilisation programme, deciding to guarantee all private customer deposits at banking institutions without limit. The programme came into force on 18 October, under the Financial Market Stabilisation Act.The objective of the Act is to overcome the liquidity squeeze affecting financial institutions and to improve their equity. Under the Act, through a state-owned fund, the Government will:
5 minute read

International Edition

Mannheimer announces 30 staff redundancies

Mannheimer Swartling has announced plans to lay off around 30 support staff, becoming the first Swedish law firm to announce redundancies since the financial crisis took hold. The Swedish leader has yet to decide which staff members will lose their jobs, or which offices will be affected, but said that no lawyers risk being cut at present. Biorn Riese, Mannheimer chairman and head of M&A, said: "We have had a one-year project to oversee all the firm's support staffing needs in order to become more efficient. We began before the financial crisis took hold, but with the current market situation there is yet another reason."
1 minute read

International Edition

Finland's Borenius seals merger with boutique

Borenius & Kemppinen has bagged a merger with a local shipping boutique. The firm will boost its existing practice through a tie-up with Aminoff & Weissenberg. Name partner Jan Aminoff will take over as co-head of the merged shipping practice group at Borenius with Ulla von Weissenberg. Aminoff & Weissenberg advises on maritime, transport and insurance law.
1 minute read

International Edition

Italy: Jostling for position

Italian lawyers have a history of finding international law firms as unpalatable as a drop of cream in their afternoon coffee. Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, McDermott Will & Emery, and White & Case all bear the marks of high-profile partner departures, failed mergers, and collapsed alliances in Italy. Most have struggled to challenge the hegemony of the elite independent Italian practices, led by the trio of Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, Chiomenti Studio Legale, and Gianni, Origoni, Grippo & Partners. But for Latham & Watkins and Linklaters, history is no barrier to entry. Throughout 2007, both firms announced ambitious raids on Italian firms to launch outposts focused, at least initially, on winning high-end corporate and finance work. Linklaters made a series of hires from Allen & Overy and local practices Pedersoli e Associati, Bonelli and Camozzi Bonissoni Varrenti e Associati to build an eight-partner team of corporate, finance, and capital markets lawyers. In one fell swoop, Latham took a five-partner team from Bonelli, giving the firm its first Italian-qualified lawyers, split between Milan and Rome, to augment a US and English-qualified team of Italian specialists in London and Brussels.
14 minute read

International Edition

Ukraine: Ukraine's economic washout

It is going to be a pretty chilly winter in Ukraine. Most law firms accept they are facing major challenges, but are hoping for an upturn in financial and political conditions when temperatures go back above zero again in March."It is very difficult to predict where we will be even next week," says Vladimir Sayenko, managing partner of five-partner Sayenko Kharenko, which prides itself on its 'innovative cross-border' work. As Legal Week ILFE went to press, Ukraine had just been offered a £10bn loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to save the country from going bust. On the upside, the state of financial emergency has at least ameliorated a political stalemate, forcing the Prime Minister and President to get on speaking terms again.
6 minute read

International Edition

Hungary: Hungary eyes uncertain future

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out package to Hungary - amounting to over $25bn (£16bn) worth of support and including an injection of capital to shore up Budapest's ailing banks -set out unambiguous criteria for stabilising the country's economy. In response, Hungary's lawyers are gearing up for a wave of restructuring, insolvency and litigation work, as they seek to service the needs of clients who face a future shrouded in uncertainty.Peter Berethalmi, managing partner at Budapest's biggest independent law firm, Nagy es Trocsanyi, is circumspect about the future and frank when assessing the current state of the market: "There are far fewer transactions, and it's something we need to consider, but this isn't surprising - we simply have to face the same problems as other Hungarian firms."
2 minute read

International Edition

Magic circle duo take lead on German insolvency

Two magic circle firms have taken lead roles on the bankruptcy of a leading German automotive company. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters are advising TMD Friction as the brake pads producer files for insolvency after piling up debts of more than €350m (£300m). Freshfields London-based restructuring and insolvency partner Richard Tett is understood to be advising TMD's lenders, along with finance partners Peter Hall and Lars Westphal, based in London and Hamburg respectively.
2 minute read

International Edition

DLA Piper signs up CC IT partner for Paris office

DLA Piper has recruited a new partner for its Paris office with the hire of Marc d'Haultfoeuille from Clifford Chance (CC). D'Haultfoeuille, who made the switch last week (1 December), focuses on IT, media and telecoms, as well as commercial law. He had been a partner at CC since 2001 when he joined the magic circle firm from Salans. He also had a spell as in-house counsel at IT services company SEMA Group.He joins DLA Piper's Paris technology, media and commercial (TMC) practice group and will work closely with group head Patrick Boiron.
2 minute read

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