Special Report: US & Canada
The US mortgage finance market has been in turmoil since the collapse of the subprime market last summer. As a result, US securitisation lawyers have been left with a dramatically reduced workflow.
The first special report discusses the issue of covered bonds and their precarious reputation as a rescue remedy for the mortgage finance market.
Despite all the discussion, covered bonds have not picked up pace, and while many firms have created new practice groups to focus on this area it is clear that they will not provide the same flow of revenue that residential mortgage-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities provided in the boom years.
The final article examines recent moves by the Canadian Bar Association to address one of the most pressing issues facing Canadian lawyers: conflicts of interest. Clients want reassurance on conflicts and have even been known to demand written confirmation that any new instruction will be conflicts-free.
