From bank rescues to student loans: The firms working on 2017/18’s biggest finance deals
From shoring up the South African banking system to helping home buyers in Cambridgeshire, it’s been a busy year in finance.
Litigation Top 50: The five firms leading the way since 2013
Since 2013, the same five firms have occupied the top five positions in The Lawyer’s Litigation Top 50.
When politics and reputation meet: Mishcon has cemented its punchy brand in the Labour anti-Semitism dispute
Earlier this week, Mishcon became a public player in a toxic battle over anti-Semitism that is threatening to engulf the Labour Party.
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Wilson Sonsini has landed in London: “We’re here to complement, not compete”
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has arrived in London. The US firm revealed in June that it was to launch a office in the City to provide US access and support to UK-based technology and life sciences companies. It officially opened yesterday, based on Old Street in the heart of London’s technology community. The new shop will […]
Polo shirts and geeks: Inside Mishcon’s tech incubator
“We want to be at the forefront of law firm tech innovation,” says Mishcon’s chief technology officer Nick West
Litigation too bespoke to pin down on price? HSF didn’t think so
HSF has adapted the fixed fees approach used for transactional work to the much less predictable world of disputes
Pinsents and Everton FC: advice from a law firm, with no lawyers required
While the provision of legal advice is central to any law firm, many are branching out into other areas. One recent project taken on by Pinsent Masons for football club Everton was notable because it had little to no involvement from lawyers. Instead, it was managed from start to finish by the firm’s dedicated legal […]
DLA Piper’s offices overhaul: If you’re going open-plan for costs, you’re doing it wrong
DLA Piper’s recent office overhauls in Australia, Manchester and next London are not about cramming more people in.
It’s not about the kit. In tech and innovation, firms need to learn to speak fluent human
There will soon be a transfer market for law’s tech celebrities, and the internal opportunities are attractive.
My Pride Story: “Being gay is no big deal for me – thanks to the work of those who came before me”
Solicitor apprentice Hal Donovan gives his take on LGBT in law as one of the newest entrants to the profession.
The JLD column: The SRA needs a null hypothesis for SQE – and a Plan B
Avid Lawyer 2B readers will be well aware of the SRA’s plans to radically alter the process of qualifying as a solicitor via the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). For those less familiar with the topic, it can be summarised as follows: whereas the current formula for qualification can crudely be expressed as […]
I clinched a training contract only after ignoring my diversity
When I first started making training contract applications I concentrated heavily on my ‘diverse’ background. I realise now I was wrong to do so.
Six things to consider if you want to float your law firm
Nothing comes for free – before going for the IPO firms need to understand six key points.
Freshfields lockstep: the war for talent gets teeth
This is the first fissure revealing the implications for those of us who are not superstars; we’re not worth as much as we thought we were.
KPI: Make kindness a performance indicator
Should kindness be a significant measure of success for all leaders and all teams? asks LBC’s Paul Gilbert
2018 financials: Why the Clifford Chance Carillion deal is more important than Freshfields losing Higgins
Across the board, we’re hearing of splendid figures all round, with the mid-tier proving its worth once again.
Slaughters can’t grow all its own talent anymore – no wonder it has to bring in laterals
Warning: we must now confront the unthinkable. Slaughter and May lateral hires will start to be seen as the norm.
What we can expect from the SFO’s next director
As the non-announcement leaked out, there was much scratching of collective heads and asking, who is she? Because she isn’t One Of Us.
US lateral hires: Asda shows a payoff for Gibson Dunn’s competition push
A US firm displacing the mighty competition department at Slaughter and May, no less, has not gone unremarked by City partners.
Transatlantic tie-ups have slowed local growth for UK legacy firms
US-UK mergers can be divided into two waves: pre- and post-Hogan Lovells.
Global growth obsession: Six firms that are setting the trend
In 2016 Global 200 billings totalled $128.4bn – a 3 per cent increase on 2015’s $124.4bn. A large part of that growth is thanks to six ambitious firms.
Herbert Smith Freehills tops mammoth settlements in 2017
If settlements are conducted behind closed doors then they seldom achieve the attention and excitement of the cases that make it to trial, for the fact there is no binary winner or loser. That may have to change, because so far, three of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases for this year have settled.
The sad story of Cobbetts
As it emerges that eight former Cobbetts lawyers have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, we recall the story of an ambitious firm caught out by the recession.
Clifford Chance lances the boil with lockstep review
Clifford Chance partners have voted to extend the firm’s lockstep ladder once again this week. But who is going to benefit from this change?
LIA SocGen settlement: This saga is nowhere near over
As far as litigation is concerned, settlements are supposed to be the gentle way out. But in the case between the Libyan Investment Authority and Societe Generale, it has come to signify the end of one headache and the beginning of another.
How partner exits sparked Ashurst’s strategy u-turn
Last year Ashurst’s mounting partner exits signalled serious trouble within its ranks. But as firms prepare to release their year-end financials, the consensus is that the storm at Ashurst has calmed. Will it last?
Overseas companies and UK property – all change in 2021
By Maria Connolly At the end of July, the Draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill was published. The intention is that, from 2021, overseas entities wanting to deal in certain UK property will have to register in the overseas entities register (OER). Why will overseas entities have to register?
Hackitt review: Response suggests further extension of the regime
By Adrian Mansbridge As outlined in our previous articles covering what lies ahead for high rise regulation and the proposed ban on flammable cladding the legislative programme to implement the recommendations of the Hackitt review and to address broader concerns is already underway. However, as anticipated, political concerns have already led to these proposals being “beefed up”…
Use of behavioural biometrics brings privacy issues under GDPR
By Alex Towers With cybertheft and data breaches becoming an increasingly common occurrence, the need to rapidly and accurately identify fraud has driven the development of behavioural biometrics as a means to target automated attacks and suspicious transactions. However, for the technology to function, companies must amass libraries of biometric personal data to construct profiles…
Supreme Court rules a ‘right to litigate’ cannot be assigned to a third party
By Rebecca MacCann What happens if you assign your right to litigate to a person or company that is unconnected to the event that creates the right to litigate? In the recent Supreme Court case of SPV Osus Ltd v HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Ireland) Limited & Ors [2018] IESC 44, the Supreme Court held […]
Portugal: Fund management 2018
By Pedro Simões Coelho, Ricardo Seabra Moura and Carlos Filipe Couto How is fund management regulated in your jurisdiction? Which authorities have primary responsibility for regulating funds, fund managers and those marketing funds?
Commercial Court discharges $3bn freezing order in relation to Angolan sovereign wealth fund
On 16 August 2018, Mr Justice Popplewell discharged a $3 billion proprietary and freezing injunction (“WFO”) against the Defendants, Mr José Dos Santos, Mr Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais (“Mr Bastos”), and the Quantum Global group of companies. This is a very important judgment on the requirements for freezing orders, especially the duty of full and […]
Kazakhstan: China’s Belt and Road initiative and opportunities for Islamic finance
By Shaimerden Chikanayev Kazakhstan has high ambitions in China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI) as it is geographically an ideal junction between China and the west. There may, however, be some roadblocks for the BRI’s projects in Kazakhstan. It is therefore important to examine past experiences in order to be able to predict what legal […]
Arbitration at the Astana International Financial Center: What it can offer to Kazakhstan business
By Bakhyt Tukulov In early July this year we witnessed the opening of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). We have seen a large number of reports in the media on the Court and Arbitration at the AIFC, but little has been said specifically on what exactly they can offer to Kazakhstani businesses. We observe increasing […]
Cayman Islands: A contractual term solid as a Rock
In a review of a recent judgment of the United Kingdom Supreme Court, which overturned longstanding precedent on No Oral Modification clauses, partner Ben Hobden and associate Spencer Vickers of Conyers Dill & Pearman in the Cayman Islands and the decision will provide welcome certainty on contracts…
M&A activity in Ireland valued at €70.9bn in first half of 2018
The first six months of 2018 have been notably buoyant for Ireland’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market. Dealmakers were kept busy with a pipeline of transactions, in a continuation of the active market that was evident last year…
Retail Risk Report 2018: Digital disruption and regulatory changes
By Kerry Gwyther 2018 has been a particularly challenging year for retailers so far, combining tough trading conditions with digital disruption and major legal and regulatory changes. Our Retail Risk Report, now in its fourth year, is a single point of reference to help retailers understand the legal and regulatory changes taking place in 2018 […]
When can a force majeure clause in contracts be relied on?
By Tom George, Daniel Wood and Cathy Moore In times of economic and/or political uncertainty, parties to construction contracts may consider whether they have a right to rely on force majeure provisions as a justification for temporarily or permanently failing to perform substantive obligations. We review the recent decision in Seadrill Ghana Operations Ltd v Tullow Ghana […]