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Latham & Watkins is tying a long-term growth plan to its move into a larger City HQ at One Leadenhall, with London managing partner Ed Barnett targeting lateral hires across energy and infrastructure, capital markets, and other transactional practices to push its $1bn (London office) revenue higher. Boutiques are moving too: Axinn is pulling antitrust enforcers straight out of the FTC and DOJ.
On the client side, AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb have discussed a roughly $400bn combination, Bloomberg LP has held early talks with bankers about an IPO or alternative exit plans, and Amgen disclosed a breach exposing patient health data. Markets set the backdrop: the US paused strikes on Iran, the Treasury bought yen for the first time since 2011, and the 30-year yield hit its highest since 2007.
Now, on to what matters for your practice today.
Today’s Talking Points
-Latham anchors London growth to One Leadenhall; targets energy, infrastructure, and capital markets laterals
-Axinn raids FTC and DOJ antitrust talent as boutiques compete with BigLaw for enforcers
-AstraZeneca–Bristol Myers Squibb weigh a ~$400bn tie-up; NXP, Prysmian, KKR, and Couche-Tard fill out the deal slate
-Bloomberg LP explores an IPO or minority stake; Zepto pauses its IPO as capital-markets timing turns selective
-Amgen patient-data breach and state data-center tax repeals open new privacy, tax, and regulatory mandates
-Treasury intervenes on the yen, 30-year yields spike, and Kevin Warsh weighs fewer Fed meetings
Talent Strategy
Latest Moves
Axinn added Daniel Matheson, former chief trial counsel at the FTC's Bureau of Competition, plus ex-DOJ antitrust lawyers Katrina Rouse and Jimmy Moore, and says it plans to pull more lawyers from the DOJ. The 120-plus-lawyer firm runs offices in New York, Washington, and San Francisco.
Latham & Watkins hired Hg's general counsel as a private equity partner in London, the latest in-house-to-private-practice move.
Bloomberg Law's "build, not buy" framing offered by Jon Henes of C Street Advisory (formerly Kirkland & Ellis), captures the pattern: the firms winning this cycle are building deep benches, and boutiques like Axinn and Holtzman Vogel are doing it with government hires.
What today's moves tell us: one big piece of the puzzle right now is government-enforcement experience and in-house leadership, and boutiques are willing to outbid Big Law for it.
Operations and Strategy
Firms are anchoring growth to footprint and platform build-out rather than headline mergers.
Latham's move from 99 Bishopsgate to One Leadenhall gives its now $1bn London office room to expand, with Ed Barnett pointing to targeted hiring in energy and infrastructure, capital markets, and strategic transactional work as the firm consolidates its standing among leading US firms in the City. Real estate is doubling as a talent strategy, with the larger HQ meant to signal where the platform is going.
On the other side of the size question, antitrust boutiques are showing a leaner path. Axinn's enforcement hires and Holtzman Vogel's Trump-administration additions suggest smaller firms can build credible competition benches by absorbing government talent and competing for the same mandates without a full-scale merger.
Practices
Corporate M&A and Private Equity
Dealmakers are pressing ahead with large, cross-border transactions even with financing costs elevated, a sign that strategic necessity, scale, and looming patent cliffs are outrunning financing caution. General counsel and sponsors are lining up M&A, financing, and governance mandates across pharma, semiconductors, and industrials.
Selected Press:
AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb discussed a roughly $400bn combination that would create the world's fourth-largest drugmaker, with UK-to-US redomiciling and oncology overlap in play.
NXP Semiconductors is in talks to buy chip designer Ambarella, listed near $3.8bn; Prysmian is in advanced talks to acquire US peer Atkore, listed near $2.5bn, in cash.
Couche-Tard, Circle K's parent, agreed to buy Poland's Żabka Group from CVC, Partners Group, and management for $8.7bn.
KKR is nearing a $4.3bn takeover of a medical-device outsourcer; Brookfield is exploring a $5bn sale of Canadian pipeline operator NorthRiver; BP plans to sell its North Sea business.
Capital Markets and IPOs
Executives are testing the equity window selectively: strong franchises explore listings while weaker pricing forces down-rounds and delays. Bankers and issuers' counsel are watching which names clear. A Bloomberg move would be a clear indication for the market.
Selected Press:
Bloomberg LP executives held preliminary talks with bankers about an IPO or other transaction; Mike Bloomberg, who owns an estimated 88%, moved some stock to his philanthropy. Revenue is pegged near $15bn and the company could be worth $80bn or more.
Zepto paused a downsized $850mn IPO and will seek a $100mn pre-IPO round at a lower $4.5bn valuation from Nexus Ventures.
TMX is investing $800mn for a 59% stake in Jane Street-backed exchange operator MEMX, valuing it near $2.3bn.
Antitrust, Tax, and Regulatory
A pharma megadeal and a wave of state data-center tax rollbacks are pulling in competition, tax, and project-finance teams. Boards are treating tax and antitrust exposure as core deal variables, pushing law firms to bet on deal clarity talent.
Selected Press:
AstraZeneca–Bristol Myers Squibb would draw antitrust scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly across overlapping oncology franchises.
Four US states have rolled back or paused data-center tax incentives and nine more are weighing repeals; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the legislature to repeal exemptions in its 2027 session.
Washington ended a sales-tax exemption on data-center equipment, Arizona paused its exemption for three years, and Virginia and Louisiana tied breaks to new electricity taxes and ratepayer protections; New York passed a development moratorium.
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
A breach at a large drugmaker is the kind of incident that pulls in privacy, regulatory, and litigation counsel at once. General counsel are focused on notification obligations and downstream exposure.
Selected Press:
Amgen said hackers accessed company data and patient health information through third-party cloud storage, engaged outside forensic experts, and is still determining regulatory and legal notification requirements. It reported no impact on products or manufacturing so far.
Where the Work Sits
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The pharma, semiconductor, and industrials deals point to a busy stretch for M&A, antitrust, and national-security review, with the AstraZeneca–BMS talks alone capable of generating multi-jurisdiction merger-control and redomiciling work. Prepared buyers who did the analytical work through the slowdown are moving on assets they have tracked for years, and the antitrust narrative is being built into deal theses from day one rather than retrofitted after signing.
Bloomberg LP's early IPO talks and Zepto's down-round put issuers' counsel between listing readiness and structuring around founder control and valuation resets. These are governance, disclosure, and capital-structure mandates that outlast any single print, especially for a founder-controlled asset the size of Bloomberg.
Amgen's breach seeds notification, regulatory, and likely litigation work across health-data rules, while the state-by-state data-center tax fight opens tax-controversy, incentive-negotiation, and financing mandates as operators re-underwrite gigawatt-scale projects against shifting exemptions. Both are high-end matters concentrated in a small set of privacy, tax, and project-finance teams.
Global Markets
Currency intervention and a jump in long-term yields are likely to reshape how investors think about timing across Japanese deals. Clients are watching whether a US backstop for the yen and a possible pause in Fed hikes open a cleaner window to finance deals, while dealmakers weigh how Iran de-escalation and a more cautious Beijing change cross-border risk.
Selected Press:
The US Treasury bought yen for the first time since 2011; Scott Bessent's currency moves appear aimed at containing rising Treasury yields, with the yen near its weakest since 1986.
The 30-year US yield spiked to its highest since 2007, and a curve "twist" points to views the Fed may not hike again; Chair Kevin Warsh is weighing fewer scheduled meetings.
The US paused strikes on Iran over a possible deal, and Beijing's recalibration of Zijin Gold's takeover signals a more risk-averse stance on outbound M&A.
Stories to Watch
Earnings this week: Palantir and Snap today; SpaceX, AMD, Spotify, and McDonald's Tuesday; DraftKings and Airbnb Thursday — reads on AI demand and consumer spending.
AstraZeneca–Bristol Myers Squibb talks — watch for confirmation, price, and early antitrust signals on both sides of the Atlantic.
Texas Legislature on repealing data-center tax exemptions — a swing factor for the largest US data-center market.
US–Japan yen intervention follow-through and the BOJ's response — a tell on Treasury-yield pressure.
Iran de-escalation — whether the paused strikes hold, and what it means for energy markets.
The FISA court's first-ever public hearing — due-process questions worth tracking for national-security practices.
That’s the rundown. See you next where law meets the markets.
-The BigLaw Markets Team
*DISCLAIMER: BigLaw Markets analyzes publicly available information, filings, press releases, and news stories published by reputable media sources to deliver newsletters that highlight the drivers of demand for legal services.
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