Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Law Shucks, Summer Associates

This Week in Biglaw: 05.31.10

By  
on

Ed. note: Law Shucks focuses on life in, and after, BigLaw, including by tracking layoffs, bonuses, and laterals. Above the Law is pleased to bring you this weekly column, which analyzes news at the world’s top law firms.

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer for business, if not for astronomers, and with that comes the arrival of the summer associates. Most years, it’s a months-long party, but lately it’s taken on a veneer of respectability as young gunners put on their best face and try on professionalism. Gone are the days of cruising through, knowing that you’d really have to screw up to not get an offer. Offer rates have plummeted from the high 90s to little better than a coin flip at some firms.

If you think you need advice on how to behave during the summer program, there’s plenty out there whatever your role.

Bitter Lawyer has the best list, with nine simple things to avoid. It’s not just the summer associates who need advice on summer programs, though. BL’s Unethical & Amoral Matthew Richardson provides the lecherous associate’s perspective.

Corporette has some practical advice on keeping the weight off while being tempted left, right, and center with the city’s finest food. Even Jones Day’s hiring partner has some advice.

The highest-profile incoming summer associate is probably Sara Hallmark (nee Albert), a competitor on America’s Next Top Model, who will be summering at Hogan Lovells’ DC office. Not that she in particular needs fashion advice, but the newly merged firm did feel the need to publish a dress code for the legacy Lovells lawyers who are about to be freed to enjoy their first casual Fridays. Even with everyone on their best behavior these days, and no clash of culture excuse, other firms still send the dress-code memos out. Weil Gotshal is one of the latest – at least they illustrated their version.

Of course, we expect common sense in abundance from those smart enough to gain entry to BigLaw. But it’s good to know that if someone can fail out of medical school and get disbarred, there’s always business school.

Sponsored

After the jump, we hit the recent highlights and lowlights in BigLaw.

Deals

This week, we’ll go all international.

  • Prudential rights issue ($21 billion) – Only two US firms got roles on the UK’s biggest insurer’s rights offering to fund its acquisition of AIG’s Asian insurance business AIA Group. Cleary Gottlieb is handling US securities issues for the issuer, which Debevoise is handling for AIA. Slaughter & May is lead counsel for Prudential, and Herbert Smith represents the underwriters.
  • Perenco reserve-based borrowing ($2.8 billion) – Herbert Smith represented the borrower, Allen & Overy the banks on what is reported to be the largest facility of its kind.
  • Merger of three Spanish banks ($5.2 billion (revenue)). In the first of a pair of nice deals for the Iberians, Cuatrecasas and Garrigues handled the three-way merger and kept all the work en el país.
  • Spanish telecom ONO refinancing ($4.3 billion) – Weil Gotshal (with an assist from Garrigues) for the equityholders, Clifford Chance for the debtor, and Uria Menendez for the consortium of SIXTY lenders.
  • UIL acquisition of assets from Iberdrola ($1.3 billion) – In yet another Spanish deal, Connecticut-based UIL acquired three New England natural gas utilities. Sullivan & Cromwell for UIL, Chadbourne & Parke for Iberdrola.
  • Man Group acquisition of GLG partners ($1.6 billion) – Weil Gotshal and Clifford Chance for the UK-based hedge fund on US and UK issues, respectively (although each has strong presences in both jurisdictions). Chadbourne & Parke for the target, Winston & Strawn for the special committee, and Allen & Overy for two individual directors.
  • Astellas Pharma acquisition of OSI Pharmaceuticals ($4 billion) – It only cost Japanese Astellas $500 million to switch this deal from hostile to negotiated. Morrison & Foerster represented the buyer on the initial unsolicited offer, the litigation, and the negotiated deal, while Skadden handled the defense and acquisition for OSI.
  • National Grid rights issue ($4.8 billion) – Linklaters for the issuer, Herbert Smith for the underwriters.
  • Vedanta acquisition of zinc mines from Anglo American ($1.3 billion) – The Indian company bought mines in Namibia, Ireland, and South Africa with the help of Dewey. Linklaters represented the seller.
  • Onexim Sports’ investment in New Jersey Nets ($200 million) – It doesn’t meet the dollar threshold, but you know you tell your friends about every deal involving a major sports team. Hogan Lovells for the Russian investor, Simpson Thacher for the sellers – and here’s hoping Eric Swedenburg gets to enjoy the holiday weekend – it will have to be better than his 4th of July weekend in 2007, which led to the United Rentals/Cerberus litigation.

Sponsored

Suits

Unlike deals, which are less interesting when firms are involved (see, e.g., the SNoRe Denton merger), litigation is a whole lot more entertaining when the firms are the actual parties. That’s why the fracas arising out of BDO Seidman tax shelters is so fascinating. Four firms duking it out with all sorts of allegations of malpractice, conflicts of interest, and good old fraud. Morgan Lewis, DLA Piper, Bingham McCutchen, Gibson Dunn, and Vedder Price have all stepped into the ring.

And when it’s former-associate v. firm, that’s all the more interesting. Publicity hound/former A&O associate/porn writer Deidre Dare is back in the headlines. She’s suing her former firm for almost $5 million for wrongful termination and discrimination. Not content with that, she also went and spewed some random nonsense about men’s propensity for rape.

Laterals

The past two weeks have been interesting for the number of groups that have been poached.

Despite all that movement, recruiters are getting squeezed, especially when they’re trying to place laid-off lawyers.

If you’re thinking about making that jump inhouse, we’ve started a column that has an absurd amount of insider information on transitioning from BigLaw to inhouse. 2,000+ words (in four parts, so your eyes won’t glaze over) just on compensation issues. So far we’ve also hit the crucial, but misunderstood and/or underappreciated, banding system and explained how titles work.

No matter what kind of move you make, follow Hiring Partner’s advice and keep the departure classy.

In the conclusion of the article on Law Shucks, we unfortunately have layoff news to report and a few other choice items.

Topics

, , ,