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Linklaters ‘could face litigation’ over explosive Lehman report

First off I am going to declare a personal interest in this: I am a former Linklaters structured finance lawyer. I find the reporting of this story amazing and really very unfair to my old firm. I took a look at the report - that actual opinion is annexed to it. It is an opinion about a market standard document. The opinion is one that any firm in London could and would have given and (with added emphasis) IS AN ENTIRELY CORRECT AND ACCURATE STATEMENT OF ENGLISH LAW. Linklaters has done nothing wrong at all. I am not surprised a New York firm couldn't give the opinion - the law in New York on this issue is different. The national press have tried make this sound as if it proves that something dodgy was going on but the reality is that it is just a statement of the bleedin obvious fact that laws are different in different countries - just like homosexuality is legal in England but illegal in Iran. If the bankruptcy examiner had thought there was any chance of suing Linklaters, don't you think he'd have said so? After all, he seems to have listed just about everyone else in the world he thinks could or should be sued. I'd say the fact that the examiner didn't say that he'd uncovered a claim against a Links means there isnt likely to be one. Ok maybe that wont stop some ambulance chaser having a pop at them but Linklaters is never going to be found liable for anything. That said, the Linklaters PR department seems to have royally screwed it up yet again. Talk about failing to get their message across! But 'twas ever thus. For a firm that is so highly managed it amazes me how bad their PR management is. Come on David Cheyne: let's see you coming out fighting. You're never going to win the PR battle hiding behind a three line press statement.

15-Mar-2010

7:48 pm