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The Lawyer | Latest UK and international legal news

Clifford Chance clinches role in Waterstones-Blackwell’s buyout

cuy.nyikunyit.com - Clifford Chance has won the top mandate for book retailer Waterstones on its acquisition of Oxford-headquartered Blackwell’s. Waterstones is owned by American investment manager Elliot Advisors. The Lawyer understands Clifford Chance acted for the buy-side, with counsel led by partners Chris Sullivan, Spencer Baylin and Neil Evans and associate Priya Shah. The Lawyer has learned that […]

Amendments allowed in negligence claim against Taylor Wessing

The High Court has allowed amendments to a professional negligence claim against Taylor Wessing and a group of accountants, increasing the value of the tax advice lawsuit. Norwegian tycoons and former clients Morten Høegh and Thomas Høegh were given the go-ahead to amend their particulars of claim, which included expanding the description of the tax […]

Dechert partner exits for Sidley Austin

Sidley Austin is adding a new partner to its corporate and life sciences group from Dechert. Robert Darwin is leaving Dechert after just over three years, which he joined in late 2018 from Hogan Lovells. After training at Slaughter and May in 2004, Darwin went on to work for Faegre & Benson and Withers. He joined Hogan Lovells […]

Norton Rose Fulbright clarifies its position on Russia/Ukraine conflict

After it was revealed yesterday that Norton Rose Fulbright had banned its lawyers from commenting on Russian sanctions, the firm has clarified its position on the Ukraine invasion. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “We are shocked by the tragic events unfolding in the Ukraine. Across our global firm, we are donating to humanitarian appeals […]

Covington hires City partner from Weil Gotshal

One of Weil Gotshal & Manges’ private equity partners in London has joined Covington & Burling as co-chair of its global practice. Mark Thompson has made the move after three years at Weil Gotshal. He joined in 2019 from Sidley Austin and has also worked at King & Spalding. He will serve as co-chair of Covington’s […]

Osborne Clarke breaks into Warsaw with 30-strong office

Osborne Clarke has marked its Polish debut by bringing two teams together to launch its an office in Warsaw.

Cadwalader secures partner duo from Bakers

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has finalised the hire of a Baker McKenzie duo, who specialise on private credit and direct lending, as well as restructuring matters. The US firm has hired banking and finance partner Matt Smith and Bevis Metcalfe to its London office. They join in April. Smith has particular expertise in private credit […]Horizon

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Fresh capital: there’s a lot riding on the new listings regime

Many in the City feared that IPO activity would stall after Brexit. For high growth technology companies seeking investment, a listing in Germany or Amsterdam seemed more appealing. However, not to be outdone, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last year revealed a series of rule changes for the listing regime, in what was welcome news […]

Revealed: The Top 10 Appeals of 2022

Earlier this month The Lawyer revealed its Top 20 Cases of 2022, featuring a whole host of cases set for trial. However, there’s also plenty of action to be had in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, involving the likes of New Look, SKAT and Picturehouse Cinemas. Here are The Lawyer’s top 10 appeals of […]

Behind the scenes: Litigators reflect on their biggest wins last year

As disputes teams across the country prepare for looming court battles in 2022, we asked counsel from last year’s biggest disputes to share their experiences. Meghan Markle v Associated Newspapers: claimant won Victoria Anderson, senior associate at Schillings We represented The Duchess of Sussex in her claims against Associated Newspapers for misuse of private information […]

The watchlist: City litigators anticipate this year’s biggest cases

To mark the announcement of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2022, we asked experts across the hottest practice areas to reveal which cases and appeals they’re keeping an eye on this year, and why. Here’s what they had to say. Banking: Ceri Morgan, professional support consultant at Herbert Smith Freehills Nigeria v JPMorgan Chase: This […]

Freshfields and Hogan Lovells line up on £1bn offer for Clipper Logistics

Hogan Lovells and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are the two firms advising on the potential cash and share offer by New-York based GXO for London-listed Clipper Logistics. The deal is valued to the tune of £1bn, with Leeds-based Clipper agreeing to the deal of 690p in cash and a number of new GXO shares that would […]

Corporate duo spearhead Informa-Warburg sale

Clifford Chance and Kirkland & Ellis are the two firms to have inked the sale of Pharma Intelligence from Informa to New-York based private equity group Warburg Pincus. The £1.9bn cash sale comes after Informa announced in December 2021 it would divest from its intelligence portfolio and solely focus on its events and academic publishing […]

City trio lead as Bridgepoint sells testing company

Allen & Overy has strengthened its ties to Bridgepoint by advising on the multibillion-dollar sale of certification company Elements Materials Technology. Bridgepoint is selling Elements to Singapore-based investment fund Temasek in a deal worth around $7bn. A&O advised Bridgepoint in the transaction, with a team led by partners Stephen Lloyd and Peter Banks, along with […]

Linklaters clinches role for Unilever in £50bn GSK bid

Linklaters is on call for Unilever as it attempts to snap up GSK’s consumer healthcare business. The Lawyer has learnt that the magic circle firm is acting for its longstanding client, while Slaughter and May is believed to be advising GSK. GSK is expecting an improved offer standing at £60bn, in contrast to Unilever’s latest […]

M&C Saatchi brings in CMS for takeover talks

CMS has won the mandate to advise M&C Saatchi, after it announced it had received a takeover bid from an acquisition vehicle linked to one of its directors. Vin Murria, the deputy chairman of M&C Saatchi, chalked up a 9.82 per cent stake in the business through her investment vehicle AdvancedAdvT, the day before it […]

Hogan Lovells and Sidley lead on Punch Pubs buyout

Sidley Austin and Hogan Lovells are the two law firms acting on Fortress Investment Group’s takeover of Punch Pubs from Patron Capital Partners. The deal has been funded by equity provided by funds from Fortress affiliates, with no additional debt financing. The Hogan Lovells team acted for Punch’s owners at Patron, led by London-based corporate […]

Simmons launches in San Francisco with OC hire

Simmons & Simmons is launching on the US’ West Coast, hiring the head of Osborne Clarke’s Silicon Valley office. The new office in the San Francisco Bay area will not be practising US law. Simmons has hired Emily Jones for the launch, who has been at Osborne Clarke for nearly twenty years and moved to […]

Kirkland antitrust partner exits for Ropes

Kirkland & Ellis has lost another competition partner from its London office, the second so far to leave the US firm this year. Ropes & Gray has recruited Annie Herdman, who was made partner at Kirkland in 2019. Before joining, she trained and worked at Berwin Leighton Paisner between 2011 and 2014. Her practice sees […]

Live blog: who’s moving where

With the recruitment market hotter than ever, The Lawyer is kicking off a live blog on the latest movers in the legal market.

White & Case funds partner exits for Mayer Brown

Mayer Brown has recruited White & Case’s head of its London funds and investment management practice. Matthew Griffin joined White & Case in 2014 as a partner in its global mergers and acquisitions and corporate practice. Previously, Griffin was an international counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton. He joins Mayer Brown as a partner in its corporate and […]

Shearman replenishes in arbitration with Jones Day hire

A partner from Jones Day’s Singapore office is relocating to London where he will join Shearman & Sterling. Matthew Skinner is moving back to London after nearly two decades in the Asia-Pacific region. He started out at Clyde & Co in London in the early 1990s, also working at legacy Herbert Smith in the City […]

Dentons hires Addleshaws banking partner.