Law Firm News

---

Law Firm News

Firm Name

News Title

News

News Date

25383 matches |  4222-4228 displayed

1  601 602 603 604 605  3627

---

Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, LLP

Simpson Thacher Represents Owens-Illinois, Inc. in Proposed Sale of Owens-Illinois Plastics FTS Inc.
Simpson Thacher is representing Owens-Illinois, Inc., in connection with the proposed sale of Owens-Illinois Plastics FTS, Inc. (“O-I Plastics”), to Rexam PLC for approximately $1.825 billion in cash. The proposed transaction, which signed on June 11, 2007, is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2007. The transaction is also subject to Rexam shareholder approval.

O-I Plastics designs, manufactures, and sells plastic packaging and closures for pharmaceutical, healthcare, food and beverage, personal care, household and automotive industries.

The Simpson Thacher team working on this deal includes: Alan Klein, Shalini Aggarwal, Yi Gao and summer associate Hayley Urkevich (M&A), Susan Kaufman (Employee Benefits), Robert Holo and Diane Gipstein (Tax), Lori Lesser, Ivan Rothman and Kirstie Howard (Intellectual Property), Adeeb Fadil and Noreen Lavan (Environmental), Scott Dyer (Labor) and Joe Tringali, Michael Naughton, Jonathan Parker and Olivier Antoine (Antitrust).

06-21-2007

---

Shearman & Sterling LLP

Shearman & Sterling Acts in Africa's Largest Ever Leveraged Financing
Shearman & Sterling LLP has represented Absa Capital and Barclays Capital in the largest ever leveraged financing in Africa.

The banks led a syndicate which included Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and ABN for the funding of Bain Capital’s ZAR 26 billion acquisition of Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon).

South Africa-based Edcon is the leading clothing, footwear and textiles retailer in the region. The company has grown from opening its first store in 1929 to ten retail brands trading in over 900 stores in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho.

The acquisition, which recently reached financial close, was funded with a complex financing package involving covenant lite senior revolving credit facilities, senior and subordinated bridge facilities and asset backed facilities. The bridge facilities were taken out by senior secured floating rate notes and senior subordinated notes.

This transaction is an example of Shearman & Sterling’s ability to advise on the full range of US and UK capital markets and bank finance products utilised in leveraged financings.

The Shearman & Sterling team advising on the deal was led by partners Caroline Leeds Ruby (LO-EF), David Beveridge (LO-CM), Ian Harvey-Samuel (LO-EF) and Michael Baker (NY-FG) and associates John Paul Reno (LO-EF), Malcolm McKinnon (LO-EF), Brian Bishop (LO-CM), Shelley Edwardson (LO-CM), Chris Dana (LO-CM), Karen Saah (NY-CM) and Nicholas Rogivue (LO-EF).

06-21-2007

---

Piper Rudnick, L.L.P.

Reactions Magazine ranks DLA Piper’s Insurance and Reinsurance practice “Highly Commended” in every area
DLA Piper is ranked as one of the top firms in the world in insurance and reinsurance, according to the 2007 Legal Survey by Reactions magazine. The survey, which is based on responses from in-house counsel, top executives and claims directors at insurers, reinsurers and brokers, ranked DLA Piper as a “Highly Commended” firm in the US in every category covered in the survey, including:

* Regulation
* Litigation and Dispute Management
* Insolvency (Including Run-Offs)
* Corporate Contracts, e.g., M&A, Restructuring, Capital Raising, etc.
* Policy Drafting
* Reinsurance

The firm was also ranked as “Highly Commended” in the Middle East Overall category.

“The rankings – based on interviews with our clients and executives throughout the insurance industry – are a testament to the breadth and quality that DLA Piper offers in this area,” said Shand Stephens, head of DLA Piper’s Insurance Litigation group.

David Mendelsohn, head of the firm’s Financial Services group, commented: “We’re one of the few firms that has the capability to seamlessly serve insurance clients in all of their critical areas, both in local markets and on a global basis.”

DLA Piper’s insurance and reinsurance practice is based throughout the firm’s offices in the US, Europe and Asia, offering a combination of local knowledge and cross-border perspective that global insurance clients require. The firm handles clients’ most significant and complex problems, from structuring, negotiating, and closing sophisticated transactions to litigating complex coverage and commercial issues.

06-21-2007

---

McDermott Will & Emery

McDermott Strengthens German Tax Practice with New Partner in Munich
Dr Peter Bauschatz, a corporate tax lawyer, is joining McDermott Will & Emery's Munich office as partner on 1 July 2007, further reinforcing its tax practice. Dr Bauschatz joins from the firm GSK Gassner Stockmann & Kollegen, and previously worked in the Cologne tax boutique Carlé Korn Stahl. As a tax lawyer his activities focus on the tax-related aspects of corporate structuring, from family businesses to cross-border M&A and private equity transactions, as well as successor companies.

He has advised international private equity funds on their entrance into the German market, and on the foundation of subsidiary companies. In his earlier practice he assisted, among others, on the restructuring of a family business, the formation of a limited partnership on shares as a family holding company, and the formation of cross-border subsidiaries of a leading retail group.

Dr Dirk Pohl said on behalf of McDermott's Munich office: "With the arrival of Dr Bauschatz we are strengthening our position as one of the leading tax firms in Germany. Dr Bauschatz will play a particularly important role in the interface between our tax and corporate practices in Dusseldorf and Munich."

McDermott was founded in 1934 as a tax practice and maintains this area as one of its core practices. In the United States, McDermott has the largest tax department of all law firms and it is McDermott's goal, together with the existing team of Dr Dirk Pohl, Dr Gero Burwitz and Prof Dr Arndt Raupach, to further strengthen its top tier market position in Germany. McDermott's tax team in Munich, headed by lawyer and tax advisor Dr Pohl, was formed on 1 July 2004 when he and lawyer Prof Dr Arndt Raupach joined the Firm from Raupach & Wollert-Elmendorff Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft MbH, along with Prof Rüdiger von Groll, a former judge at the Federal Fiscal Court, as of counsel, and lawyer Dr Gero Burwitz.

06-21-2007

---

Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, L.L.P.

Friel Joins Jones Walker's New Orleans Office
The law firm of Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre, L.L.P. is pleased to announce that Kathryn S. Friel has joined the firm as an associate in the Tax, Trusts and Estates Practice Group. She will practice from the firm’s New Orleans office

She received her J.D. from Tulane University Law School in 2004 and her B.S. from Truman State University in 2001.She also received her LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law in 2005.

06-21-2007

---

Jenner & Block LLP

Jenner & Block Wins Victory in Landlord-Tenant Case
Jenner & Block Associate Sean J. Hartigan recently won a major victory on behalf of a client in a landlord-tenant case referred by the DC Bar Pro Bono Program Law Firm Clinic.

Mr. Hartigan’s client was living in an apartment with significant housing code violations, and withheld three months' rent in an attempt to force the landlord to undertake repairs. The landlord responded by suing the client for nonpayment of rent in October 2006, then posted another eviction notice one month later, claiming that the building's owner needed to use the apartment for his own personal occupancy. Mr. Hartigan found this implausible, believing this action to be blatant retaliation for the client’s earlier complaints. After this second eviction notice expired in March 2007, the landlord filed another suit against the client.

Mr. Hartigan aggressively litigated both cases in DC Superior Court, pursuing discovery against the owner, as opposed to his management company, in order to pursue the retaliation defense. Mr. Hartigan was able to negotiate a settlement to both lawsuits that entitled the client to one year free of rent, the return of his security deposit plus interest, and $750 for expenses. In exchange, the client and his two young children agreed to move out of the apartment.

The DC Bar Pro Bono Program Law Firm Clinic pairs lawyers from more than 30 firms in the District with residents who need legal assistance in civil legal matters.

06-21-2007

---

Dykema Gossett PLLC

Dykema Files Complaint Against The City Of Livonia On Behalf Of Pro Bono Client Joseph Marras
Dykema, a premier Midwest law firm, announced today that they have filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Michigan against the City of Livonia on behalf of Joseph Marras Sr. of Marras Music & Lessons. The lawsuit, which the firm is handling on a pro-bono basis, alleges that Livonia's sign ordinance, and particularly its application to Marras, is unconstitutional.

Dykema has filed the claim on behalf of Marras under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for violations of his rights to due process, equal protection and free speech. Marras was cited in December with a misdemeanor violation for displaying a portable sign, after he hired a local high school student to dress in a Santa Claus costume to advertise holiday sales on the sidewalk in front of his store. The City later argued that Marras had encroached on a public right-of-way with the sign. However, Dykema successfully represented Marras in the case last month resulting in Michigan’s 16th District Court’s dismissal of the misdemeanor charges on May 15, 2007.

"The federal law that allows a civil action for deprivation of rights stands as one of the most powerful authorities with which state and federal courts may protect those whose rights are deprived," said Cara J. Edwards Heflin, an associate in Dykema’s litigation practice and leader of the team that represented Joseph Marras.

Dykema seeks a judgment on behalf of Marras declaring Livonia's sign ordinance unconstitutional and prohibiting Livonia and its ordinance enforcement officer from interfering with their client’s lawful exercise of commercial and non-commercial speech. Dykema is also asking for compensatory and exemplary damages, including attorney fees, costs and interest.

Longstanding Commitment to Pro Bono

Dykema believes the practice of law, especially in a large commercial firm, is a privilege that carries with it profound societal responsibilities. Performing legal services for those who cannot afford to pay for them – or for organizations that benefit such persons – is a central part of our effort to improve the quality of life for the underserved in our community.

Last year, Dykema attorneys and support staff performed 12,394 hours of pro bono work. The firm has earned several prestigious awards for its pro-bono work, including the 2006 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year, 2005 Community Development Award, the 2005 Legal Aid and Defender Firm of the Year Award, and the 2004 Community Legal Resources Award.

06-21-2007

---

25383 matches |  4222-4228 displayed

1  601 602 603 604 605  3627