In the picture: City firm Hogan Lovells advised internet retailer ­Amazon on acquiring £200m worth of shares in film rental company LoveFilm, giving it a majority stake. City firm Stephenson Harwood advised LoveFilm.

Stainless deal: Magic circle firm Linklaters advised steel giant ArcelorMittal on the €3.24bn (£2.77bn) demerger of its stainless and speciality steels businesses into a spin-off company.

Discovery channel: London and south-east firm Penningtons advised property investment company Fourteen Ninety Two on the £107m refinancing of 17 Columbus Courtyard, Canary Wharf, London. Lenders MetLife, Duet and The Partners Group were advised by magic circle firm Clifford Chance, US firm Paul Hastings, and City firm Macfarlanes respectively.

Sole practitioners: Manchester firm Heatons advised Jones Bootmaker on its £40m sale to Dutch retail group Macintosh, advised by Midlands firm Browne Jacobson.

Cut above: Sports firm Couchmans advised insurer Beazley on a £1m five-year sponsorship deal with the British Fencing Association, advised by London firm Russell-Cooke.

Swiss role: Hogan Lovells advised Barclays and Lloyds TSB on financing non-life insurance company buy-out firm ­Catalina’s acquisition of Swiss-based reinsurer Glacier Re, for an undisclosed sum. Magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised Catalina.

Indian tie-up: Clifford Chance, alongside Indian law firms AZB & Partners and JSA, advised healthcare and medical products supplier Bayer HealthCare on a joint venture agreement with Indian pharmaceutical company Cadila Healthcare.