Man U action group gets lawyers

SHAREHOLDERS United, the Manchester United supporters action group, has hired a hotshot US legal team to help it block the £800m takeover of the club by American raider Malcolm Glazer.

But Weil Gotshal & Manges, one of the new breed of aggressive Wall Street legal firms shaking up the City, says it is taking on the work free of charge.

Will Rosen and Ian Hamilton, the partners heading the Weil Gotshal team, are United fans hired by Nick Towle, a fellow Mancunian lawyer who is chairman of Shareholders United.

The two are among London's leading mergers and acquisition lawyers, currently working on the takeover of drugs group Warner Chilcott, having also advised on the contested bid for Canary Wharf.

'Why have we taken this on pro-bono?

'Shareholders United is a not-for-profit organisation and it's an interesting job, right up our street,' said Rosen.

'There are wider social and community issues. This is not a personal crusade.'

News of the involvement of the firm, which made substantial money advising on the bankruptcies of Enron and WorldCom, will not be lost on Glazer, who has built a 28% stake in United, or Allen & Overy, the City legal firm he hired.

Shareholders United is trying to harness the 18% of Man U shares held by small supporter-investors. In reality, Glazer's plans are being blocked by the 28% slice held by Irish horseracing tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus.

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