As many as 95 per cent of managing partners expect their firms to merge within the next decade, and 45 per cent of firms that have not secured a merger in the past five years would consider a tie-up before 2017, new research has revealed. However, only 43 per cent of firms that have merged […]
Sovereign Housing Association, the largest social housing provider for the south and southwest of England, has grown its legal panel by 40 per cent, adding four firms to its roster of advisors. Blake Morgan, Clarke Willmott, Housing Law Services and Wright Hassall will join 10 firms that include Ashfords, Osborne Clarke and Winckworth Sherwood on the […]
Italian firm Grimaldi Studio Legale has added three partners to its roster, including former Allen & Overy (A&O) partner Davide D’Angelo. D’Angelo joins Grimaldi from Pedersoli e Associati, having moved to the firm in 2011 when it merged with his boutique Marena D’Angelo & Fagotto (7 July 2011). He was previously a partner at A&O […]
The top 10 stories last week were dominated by our annual top 20 cases feature – but the creation of the world’s biggest law firm was close behind. The hotly-anticipated analysis of the top 20 cases, which showed just how international the English courts now are, was the biggest story of last week. The analysis […]
Bitcoin is still somewhat of a mystery to many. But one firm has helped the electronic currency to become a little more transparent. US firm Vedder Price, which has had a City base since 2011 , has advised on the launch of Digital Securities Exchange (DSX) – the first company in the UK to bring […]
Last week, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) removed the €1.20/CHF peg. This took the FX markets by complete surprise, and caused a dramatic spike in the value of the Swiss Franc. The full scale of that fallout remains to be seen. Casualties include a major hedge fund which reportedly suffered nearly US$1bn in FX losses. […]
US firm Vedder Price’s London office has advised on the launch of Digital Securities Exchange (DSX) – the first company in the UK to bring bitcoin trading into a secure regulated environment. DSX is registered as an agent of ePayments, which is regulated by the FCA and requires traders to comply with a raft of […]
Clifford Chance’s new managing partner Matthew Layton is wasting no time in stamping his mark on the firm. Just a week after the appointment of the firm’s first global innovation head and a new chief operating officer, we reveal today that Clifford Chance has also kicked off a review of its lockstep. Sources suggest that […]
The head of US technology firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s Beijing office has quit the firm to join Sidley Austin. Capital markets specialist Kefei Li is no longer listed on Wilson Sonsini’s website, with Sidley today confirming that he had joined the firm. During his years as an associate Li spent time at US firms Simpson […]
Goodwin Procter and Mayer Brown have advised on the sale of the City’s Tower Place to Chinese insurance giant Ping An. Ping An acquired the property for £327m from Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management – part of the its Grundbesitz Europa mutual fund. Tower Place, which consists of two office buildings overlooking the Tower of […]
DLA Piper has begun to rebuild its depleted Asia practice with the hire of two partners and an of counsel, reuniting a group of former Jones Day colleagues in the process. Corporate specialist John Viverito has joined the firm from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, bringing energy and natural resources of counsel Myles Hankin with him. […]
Clifford Chance has kicked off a review of its lockstep, which could see changes made as early as the beginning of the next financial year. A spokesperson for the firm confirmed that a review is underway but said it was in the earliest discussion stage with no formal plans on the table at the moment. […]