Mergers & Acquisitions

Deal King & Law Media Mogul Dies; Bruce Wasserstein Once Worked for Cravath

Bruce Wasserstein, a onetime corporate lawyer at Cravath Swaine & Moore who became a deal king and law media mogul has died a few days after being hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat, reports Bloomberg. He was 61 years old. “He made more from investment banking than any man on the…

Oct 14, 2009 10:18 PM CDT

Bank of America to Waive Attorney-Client Privilege in Merrill Acquisition

Bank of America has agreed to reveal legal advice it obtained in its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, a move likely to put the spotlight on its outside law firm in the deal, Wachtell, Lipton Rosen & Katz. Bank of America’s board voted to waive its attorney-client privilege on Friday, according…

Oct 13, 2009 11:37 AM CDT

Experts See Only Slight Risk for Law Firms in BofA Case, Despite Judge’s Ire

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff’s refusal to approve a $33 million settlement between Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission has put two law firms into the spotlight. The firms are Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which represented Bank of America, and Shearman & Sterling, representing takeover target…

Sep 16, 2009 1:34 PM CDT

Laterals Who Jumped to Dewey Lead Firm’s Work on eBay Skype Deal

Dewey & LeBoeuf is representing eBay in the $1.9 billion sale of Skype, thanks to the law firm’s acquisition of three laterals from Cooley Godward Kronish. The three mergers and acquisitions lawyers are on Dewey’s team handling the eBay sale, and two of them—Richard Climan and Keith Flaum—are leading the…

Sep 2, 2009 4:22 PM CDT

Antitrust Chair, 4 Other Partners Leaving Cooley Following Climan’s ‘Long Goodbye’

Craig Waldman, who chairs the antitrust practice at Cooley Godward Kronish is leaving the firm, along with another antitrust partner, Michael Knight, to join Jones Day. Meanwhile, the firm has also lost three other partners since the much-publicized “long goodbye” earlier this summer of mergers and acquisitions star Richard Climan,…

Aug 28, 2009 8:44 PM CDT

Former SEC Chair Christopher Cox to Join Bingham McCutchen

Former top securities regulator Christopher Cox is to join Bingham McCutchen as a partner in the firm’s Orange County, Calif., offices and a principal in its Bingham Consulting Group subsidiary. Cox, who left his post as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January, is a former Republican…

Jul 17, 2009 4:42 PM CDT

Ex-Cravath ‘Lolita’ Lawyer Weighs Another Suit, Targets Monitoring

The former mergers and acquisitions lawyer with Cravath, Swaine & Moore accused of paying a woman to have sex with her teenage daughters is weighing yet another lawsuit. James Colliton, who pleaded guilty to statutory rape and sentenced to time served, now lives in a motel on Route 9 in…

Jul 10, 2009 2:05 PM CDT

Dewey Snags Three M&A Partners from Cooley

Dewey & Leboeuf announced today that three mergers & acquisitions partners from Cooley Godward Kronish will be joining its Silicon Valley office. According to the Dewey press release, published by the Recorder, Richard E. Climan, who had headed Cooley’s mergers & acquisitions practice, will now take over Dewey’s and serve…

Jul 7, 2009 10:48 PM CDT

Stats ‘n’ Studies

I Shoulda Been a Doctor Practicing lawyers aren’t the only ones feeling the recession’s pinch. The economy also is affecting law school recruiting, according to NALP. Based on fall 2008 recruiting at the nation’s law schools, the market for entry-level legal employment has tightened drastically. Across employers of all sizes,…

Jul 2, 2009 2:50 AM CDT

Slowed Rate of Law Firm Mergers Reflects Overall Caution

Law firm M&A activity has slowed during the second quarter of this year, the legal consultancy Hildebrandt reports. There have been nine completed mergers and acquisitions involving U.S. law firms this quarter, compared to 14 during the same period in 2008. Still, because M&A activity in the first quarter was…

Jul 1, 2009 1:48 PM CDT

Goodwin Leader Is Latest Lateral Lured to Growing Linklaters Office in NYC

Partner Robin Maxwell of Goodwin Procter is the latest lateral lured to the rapidly growing New York City office of London-based Linklaters. The firm today announced the acquisition of Maxwell, who headed Goodwin Procter’s financial services team, saying that her banking regulatory experience would be a much-needed skill as financial…

Jun 29, 2009 8:25 PM CDT

Australian Tax Law Threatens Full Merger of Norton Rose, Deacons

Norton Rose partners voted this week to merge with Australia’s Deacons, a move that would dramatically extend the reach of the London-based firm. But the deal faces a significant hurdle that could prevent the full financial integration of the firms. Norton Rose chief executive Peter Martyr told the Australian that…

Jun 26, 2009 2:44 PM CDT

Barnes & Thornburg Continues Shopping Spree, Snaps Up Minn. Firm

For the third time this year, Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg has made an out-of-state acquisition. This time it’s the 22-attorney Parsinen Law Firm P.A. in Minneapolis. The deal takes effect July 1, according to a news release and the Indianapolis Star. Already this year, 500-plus attorney Barnes &…

Jun 22, 2009 12:27 PM CDT

Howrey Looking to Acquire Day Casebeer?

National law firm Howrey may be close to a deal to acquire high-end IP boutique Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder, the Recorder reports. Howrey already has a strong presence in Northern California and could use the acquisition of the Cupertino, Calif.-based firm to beef up its IP practice. The Recorder…

Jun 22, 2009 11:34 AM CDT

Law Firms Buy Trendy Coffee Makers in Hopes of Averting Starbucks Runs

Lawyers involved in the recent $250 million merger of chip developers NetLogic and RMI couldn’t stop gushing about two ingredients that helped late-night sessions go smoothly: Bingham’s high-end gourmet coffee and big bowls of M&Ms. Lawyers were singing the praises of the firm’s Keurig B3000 coffeemaker that dispenses single cups…

Jun 4, 2009 3:24 PM CDT