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International Edition

Global 100: Empire builders - does globalisation equal profit?

Since the early days of the Global 100 survey, globalisation and profit have seemingly grown hand in hand. For the top 50 firms in 1999 – the first year that The American Lawyer published profits per equity partner (PEP) for what was then the Global 50 – the proportion of lawyers employed outside each firm's home country doubled, while PEP more than doubled. But whether there is a causal relationship between global expansion and financial success is unclear, whether one charts the performance of individual firms in a single year or over time. Star performers may be found among the most stubborn homebodies, like Slaughter and May, and the most persistent imperialists, like Allen & Overy (A&O).
9 minute read

International Edition

Norton Rose's second Canada deal wins plaudits, but can it sustain global growth?

Coming barely four months after it formally merged with Canada's Ogilvy Renault, last week's announcement that Norton Rose had sealed a second tie-up in the country led some rivals to question why the firm needs 700 lawyers in a nation that was until recently ignored by international law firms. But while Calgary-based Macleod Dixon – which will unite with Norton Rose's existing Canadian operations under a new Norton Rose Canada banner in January 2012 – may not have the same brand recognition outside Canada as legacy Ogilvy, closer scrutiny shows the union with the 250-lawyer practice fits rather neatly with the City firm's practice and global ambitions.
6 minute read

International Edition

Watson Farley secures Singapore local law launch with new tie-up

Watson Farley & Williams has launched a local law practice in Singapore via a joint venture with regional firm Asia Practice. The Singapore firm, a five-partner practice specialising in banking, corporate and litigation law, was set up in November last year by banking partner Leon Low from local outfit Shook Lin & Bok.
2 minute read

International Edition

Slaughters and A&O lead on £472m private equity credit card sale

Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy (A&O) are leading a four-firm line-up advising on the £472m private equity sale of credit card provider SAV Credit to investment manager Vaerde Partners. Slaughters advised SAV owner Palamon Capital Partners on the sale, with London corporate partner David Wittmann leading a team that also included tax partner Graham Iversen.
2 minute read

International Edition

Linklaters set to boost Asia presence with transfer of senior corporate trio

Linklaters has moved to bulk up its partner ranks in Asia with corporate heavyweight Matthew Middleditch among a senior trio set to relocate to the region. Middleditch will join the firm's Hong Kong office in January next year, while Amsterdam partner Peter Goes is set to join the Beijing office in early 2012 and Madrid partner Miles Curley will transfer to Singapore next summer.
2 minute read

International Edition

Dundas and Bircham Dyson Bell call off merger discussions

Dundas & Wilson and Bircham Dyson Bell have ended their merger discussions after deciding against a combination. The firms announced today (10 October) that they have concluded exploratory discussions about a tie-up after mutually coming to a decision not to seek partner approval for a potential merger.
2 minute read

International Edition

Roschier and Hannes Snellman managing partners break away to launch new firm

The managing partners of Nordic law firms Roschier and Hannes Snellman have left their respective firms to launch a new venture in Helsinki. Roschier's Ulf-Henrik Kull and Hannes Snellman chief Carl-Henrik Wallin have joined forces to launch a new law firm, Avance Attorneys, which opened for business earlier this month (4 October).
2 minute read

International Edition

Linklaters and Freehills advise on $1.3bn bid for Aussie miner

Linklaters and Freehills are advising China's Minmetals Resources Ltd. on its $1.3bn (£837.5m) offer for Perth-based Anvil Mining, writes The Asian Lawyer. Anvil, listed in both Sydney and Toronto, is engaged in exploration, development and production of copper, mainly in Central Africa. A successful acquisition would give Minmetals Resources, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Minmetals Group, a controlling stake in several copper mines and exploration sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
2 minute read

International Edition

Who's in charge? Too many firms are led by their corporate practices

Since the 1980s, it's been clear who is in charge at large City law firms: corporate and banking partners. The reason is fairly obvious – unlike the US and many foreign markets, City law firms make most of their money from transactional work and their corporate practices have become the dominant power blocs at most top 25 (and a good number of smaller firms). Partnership remuneration may be relatively flat and law firms are supposedly consensus-driven. There's some truth to that, but not all partners are created equal. The direction of most City law firms is set by a relatively small group of partners, the vast majority of whom are drawn from transactional disciplines. When managing partners talk about getting buy-in, getting this group on board is what they mean. That ambitious law firms must lead off their corporate teams has become a cliche so utterly prevalent that it is hardly ever acknowledged, let alone queried.
3 minute read

International Edition

Linklaters and Freshfields top Euro M&A rankings amid tough market

Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have topped Mergermarket's European M&A rankings for the first three quarters of 2011 – with the new research demonstrating the impact of the global sovereign debt crisis as deal volumes plummeted during 
the third quarter. Linklaters held onto the top spot in the European volume rankings, working on 161 deals worth a total of $164.9bn (£107bn), placing the firm ahead of Freshfields, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy (A&O) and DLA Piper.
3 minute read

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