Before the outbreak of coronavirus, one of the biggest questions for law firm leaders was – how can we make our business more sustainable? With just a few decades to go before the climate crisis becomes irreversible, these are the long-term investments firms are making.
Barrister Keir Starmer has been elected as Labour leader and thus becomes Leader of the Opposition. He has been mentioned many times in the pages of The Lawyer over the years: here are some of the most notable occasions.
Five years ago, Eversheds Sutherland’s litigation team came up with an idea that could help clients deal with high-value and long-running disputes. But the journey to get there was not easy, involving bold investment and the persuading of the broader partnership.
Within the space of five days from Monday 16 March, working from home (WFH) became the new normal for the vast majority of the population. Lives and habits changed instantly. You’ve probably already enjoyed at least one Zoom cocktail party, reacquainted yourself with your children and perhaps joined an online choir? From a legal market […]
The entire process of becoming a lawyer is time sensitive. Students progress through university and law school, taking exams in their due turn. Law firms hunt for new talent and offer jobs two years in advance. Trainees wheel through the rotation of seats and eventually apply for newly-qualified jobs. As the seasons turn so does […]
As companies continue to look to the government for survival in the coming weeks, restructuring practices across the City, which had been kept arguably lean until now, are sure to need extra hands in the coming months. Across law firms, corporate associates are poised to be drafted onto restructurings and workouts. The mass redeployment of […]
No 5 Chambers has retained its lead at the top of The Lawyer’s Bar Top 30, an annual ranking charting the headcount growth of the profession’s largest sets.
Last summer, one of The Lawyer’s cover stories focused on the UK mid-tier. It put forward the proposition that many of the firms outside the UK top 50 were ‘boiling frogs’ – surfing comfortably on the surprisingly small amount of growth needed to maintain market position without necessarily adapting to the slowly changing conditions that […]
In this episode The Lawyer editor Catrin Griffiths and deputy editor Matt Byrne discuss the impact of coronavirus, the latest US financials season, and whether law firms are actually listening to their clients on one of the biggest issues in the world today.
As 114 new silks celebrated their success in the 2020 Queen’s Counsel appointments, they were also marking the end of an arduous selection procedure – all for the honour, pride and privilege of securing those two prestigious letters that can reshape a legal career. Finally gaining the QC kitemark gives some barristers a sense of […]
After a blow to its tech credentials in Cambridge last year, Taylor Wessing has re-evaluated and is looking to the future with a new strategy.
It isn’t just the High Courts that are set for a busy year, with both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court set to hear a range of cases, involving the likes of the Iranian Ministry of Defence, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Sports Direct and Mastercard. There’s plenty of work to go […]
The old saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention, and this has been starkly demonstrated within the legal industry over the past few weeks. ‘Necessity’ here is represented by the Covid-19 pandemic, and ‘invention’ by the rapid pace with which professionals have had to rethink the way that they operate while coping with […]
Connected, flexible and with an encouraging collaborative working feel, Osborne Clarke’s refurbished offices are already improving productivity.
Royal London general counsel Fergus Speight tasked his team with hanging the legal function operating model. Solicitor Peter McCusker led the way, and collaborated with procurement to reboot relationships with external firms
In Dell Emerging Markets (EMEA) Ltd v Systems Equipment Services SARL, Mr Justice Henshaw handed down sentences of between nine and 18 months to the directors of one of Dell’s Lebanese distributors for procuring breaches of anti-suit injunctions. The Defendant (“SETS”) was a non-exclusive distributor of Dell products in Lebanon under an international distributorship agreement […]
The final provisions of the Isle of Man Charities Registration and Regulation Act 2019 (2019 Act) came into force 1 April 2020. Whilst, the 2019 Act updates the registration and regulation provisions which were previously contained in the Charities Registration Act 1989 (1989 Act), it does not consolidate all of the Charities Acts. The main […]
Stevens & Bolton LLP invested in HighQ in 2019 as part of its commitment to service quality improvement, and the firm is already seeing a number of benefits for its own business too. Adopting HighQ has resulted in process efficiencies, more engaged clients and new business opportunities, and this is just the beginning of the […]
The Health and Safety Executive have clarified that, in certain limited circumstances, employers do have an obligation make to a report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, or RIDDOR.
Electronic signatures have been suddenly gaining traction and interest as the governmental measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 make it difficult for contracting parties to sign agreements with wet ink, in the traditional manner. Swiss law provides for certain categories of electronic signatures. In particular, a qualified electronic signature legally equates to the traditional […]
Are there any behaviours which, within the context of a public health epidemiological crisis, could be punishable under criminal law? And under administrative offense law? Among the catalogue of crimes aimed at repressing anti-economic and public health offences, the law provides for and punishes as a crime the acquisition of essential goods, such as medicines, […]
Are there any transitional social security measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19? Regarding social security, it was sought to ensure the social protection of beneficiaries who are temporarily prevented from exercising their professional activity by order of the health authority, due to the danger of contagion by COVID-19, notably: Temporary impossibility of exercising the […]
European national regulators issue temporary short-selling restrictions on European shares.
The insurance industry is, of course, in the business of risk and is well placed to respond to this pandemic. While it is still too early to determine potential impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and some insurers consider the impact on them will be relatively limited, insurers will certainly be bracing themselves for a wave of notifications.
The Covid-19 global pandemic is changing usual working practices. How does the government’s requirement that people only leave their homes to work if it cannot be done from home affect the usual operation of buildings?
By Robin Penfold The Chancellor announced that homeowners will be able to claim a three month break from their mortgage repayments if they are unable to repay because of Covid-19. For many consumers, a mortgage is their biggest financial commitment, and the Government’s approach aligns with the FCA’s expectation that lenders will grant flexibility on […]
General overview of the coronavirus pandemic and current safeguards.