Law Admin

Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Webzen Inc. on its $97 million SEC-registered initial public offering of 8,700,000 ADSs representing one-tenth of a common share. The shares are listed on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “WZEN”. The offering is the first IPO listing of ADSs since 2000 from a Korean issuer. Based in Seoul,

Skadden, Arps is representing The Dial Corporation in connection with its approximately $2.9 billion acquisition in the form of an all cash merger by Henkel KGaA of Germany. The merger, priced at $28.75 per share in cash, is scheduled to be voted upon by the shareholders of Dial during the first quarter of 2004. Dial,

Reed Smith LLP has added aviation attorney Patrick Bradley as a partner in its Princeton office, effective January 2. A former partner at Herrick Feinstein, Mr. Bradley concentrates his practice on the defense of aviation and other product liability actions. Much of his work involves the defense of airlines, aircraft and component parts manufacturers, and

Reed Smith LLP is expanding its Washington, DC office with a strong core of intellectual property lawyers. Seven attorneys are joining Reed Smith from Shanks & Herbert, a boutique IP firm formerly based in Alexandria, VA, effective, January 2. Shanks & Herbert will wind down its operations and dissolve the firm. A total of 15

Global law firm Clifford Chance advised the investment banks Merrill Lynch International (“Merrill Lynch”) and Bayerische Hypo- Und Vereinsbank (“HVB”) on the “Paris Residential Funding PLC” transaction, which consisted of a public issue of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) for an aggregate nominal amount of €1,000,130,000. Merrill Lynch was the Sole Arranger and Merrill Lynch and

Time Warner has announced that its Board of Directors has elected former Harvard Law School Dean Robert C. Clark to join on the Board in January 2004 and serve on its Nominating and Governance Committee and its Audit and Finance Committee. Ambassador Carla A. Hills, who chairs Time Warner’s Nominating and Governance Committee, said: “We’re

Baker & McKenzie announced today that it was ranked No 1 in the PLC Global 50 World Rankings 2003 and has been named ‘International Law Firm of the Year’ by PLC Global Counsel Law Firm Awards 2003. For the second consecutive year, the Firm also won the Asia Pacific category of the awards. PLC Global

The international law firm of Jones Day today confirmed that nearly 100 lawyers from leading intellectual property firm Pennie & Edmonds will join Jones Day in New York, California, and Washington, DC, effective January 1, 2004. Prior to gaining the Pennie & Edmonds lawyers, Jones Day had one of the largest intellectual property practices of

On December 11, 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit announced a ruling in favor of Coudert Brothers’ numerous coal producer clients, reinstating the companies’ lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. Interior Department’s collection of “reclamation fees” on coal that is exported from the United States. If the coal companies prevail

A federal grand jury in Santa Ana has charged a total of 38 Southern California residents in a series of mortgage fraud schemes. The charges, contained in 29 indictments returned last Wednesday, include wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and making a false statement to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The indictments allege