Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has retained the top spot in UK M&A rankings for Q3, having ranked second behind Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) in Q1. According to data from Thomson Reuters, Freshfields announced 55 UK-based deals between July and the end of September, totalling $115.4bn. The firm’s work on Comcast’s Sky bid paid dividends. Davis Polk & Wardwell, […]
Davis Polk & Wardwell and Linklaters have advised on the simplification of Unilever corporate structure, in which its Dutch and UK entities have been merged to create one listed holding company. As a result, Unilever’s UK business will join with the Dutch entity to create New Unilever NV. The company will be listed in three jurisdictions; […]
Orrick’s City office has offered partnership to two private equity lawyers from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy to bolster the firm’s efforts in this area. James Connor and Daniel Wayte join from Simpson Thacher and Milbank respectively, and have been brought in to add bench-strength to Orrick’s London private equity practice and add […]
Baker Botts has snagged a corporate partner from Morgan Lewis & Bockius’ London office, three weeks after the latter brought in a trio of M&A partners from Herbert Smith Freehills to boost operations. David Ramm is joining Baker Botts after four years as a partner at Morgan Lewis. He moved over to the firm in 2014 […]
Clifford Chance has strengthened its relationship with bookstore Waterstones after acting for the retailer on its purchase of Foyles. The magic circle firm secured the mandate for Waterstones after winning a first-time instruction from Elliott Advisors on its acquisition of the bookstore. The lead partners on both deals were London-based Chris Sullivan and Spencer Baylin; […]
This month, a line-up of tech specialists will gather for The Lawyer’s Business Leadership Summit 2018, a one-day event focused on the future of law firms in a tech-driven world. Among the panels hosted during the day, a discussion called “Skills of the future” will explore the abilities lawyers will need to thrive in a […]
When Wayne Rooney landed at Manchester United in 2004, the story went that it wasn’t because Sir Alex Ferguson needed another striker, but because Newcastle had put in a bid for the young Evertonian and he couldn’t countenance seeing such an exciting talent anywhere else. That brings us to this week’s news that former SFO […]
Predicting fraud, case outcome and budgets are some of the benefits from using analytics tools. But how do you implement them?
Law firms give their advice on implementing the tools, and what happens when predictions go wrong
The ENRC’s victory in the Court of Appeal was one of the most closely watched decisions in the legal community this decade.
Opportunities around digitisation characterise the German legal market.
In fact, taking a stake in a legal tech company was one of the most eye-catching moves made by The Lawyer’s German Firm of the Year.
Using Global 200 data, The Lawyer reveals which law firms have failed to keep pace with the global market, and what this group’s performance since 2008 can tell us about the future for the world’s top law firms
In 2018, a new trend has emerged among law firms for offering graduate schemes with a tech flavour. Here are the ones that have come to light so far.
When Latham & Watkins turned its attention to infrastructure private equity, the firm had two choices about how to fill the gap. The first was targeting Clifford Chance, the second was recruiting out of Allen & Overy. It decided to do both. Earlier this month, Latham pulled out all the stops by announcing it was […]
From shoring up the South African banking system to helping home buyers in Cambridgeshire, it’s been a busy year in finance.
By Rob MacAdam With clients expecting more efficiency, transparency and value from their lawyers, it’s time for law firms to re-engineer their legal service delivery into real competitive advantage. In this video, Rob MacAdam, Director of Legal Solutions, identifies six elements that make up the anatomy of a legal matter, and discusses what improvements can be […]
By Susana Almeida Lopes Women represent 50% of the working population and are as much or more educated and qualified as men are. However, the problem of gender diversity (or lack of it), especially in top positions in organisations, is a persistent societal problem, and there are (many) studies that, if concrete measures are not taken, […]
By Emma Lusty It is a common misconception that a franchise network with a high level of resales is a bad sign. In fact, a healthy resale market is a good sign. It means that franchisees are able to build up profitable businesses which can be sold to recover a return on their initial investment and […]
By Daniel Gera, Dorottya Gindl Gender equality may be a core EU principle, but it will not become a reality without effective legal action. To meet the EU objective of reaching a 75% employment rate for both men and women by 2020, the European Commission aims to change the existing legal framework. Thus, the European […]
By Sagardeep Rathi, Pranjal Prateek, Ebaad Khan In a case connected to the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) cartel investigation in the conveyor belt market, an appellate bench of the Delhi High Court (Court) (LPA 607/2016; Judgment dated 24 May 2018) has confirmed a single judge bench judgment of the Court (WP(C) 11411 of 2015; Judgment […]
Last year, the UK was named the least productive European nation in the G7 and latest figures suggest that things have not improved; in fact, some claim these productivity challenges are one of the biggest economic threats facing Britain. At the same time, the intense and constant pace of change caused by the digital era […]
By David Asker What constitutes an obstruction? An obstruction ranges from locking the building up, to threats with a weapon or physically hiding items away. Essentially it is the obstructing and preventing of an enforcement agent from enforcing the writ of control. We would also consider wasting time and making the agent’s job as difficult as […]
By Norman Turvey Appleby Hope & Matthews had been AlphaLaw users for many years, and had reached the limits of being able to take the software any further. In order to maximise efficiencies and ensure their software would be able to meet their needs in the future, the decision was taken to review their current system […]
By Maurus Winzap, Robert Desax On 12 September 2018, the Swiss National Council (Lower House– Nationalrat – Conseil national) approved the revised version for a corporate tax reform (“Tax Proposal 17”). It is based on the Government’s proposal issued in March 2017 and on the version negotiated in the Upper House (Ständerat – Conseil des États) in […]
By Simon Barnes On 13 September 2018, the UK government published guidance on the application of competition law and merger control if there is no Brexit deal. The guidance forms part of the Government’s broader publication of technical notices to help businesses and individuals understand and prepare for a possible no-deal Brexit scenario. Consistent with current […]
By Richard Hall Landmark decision on Legal Privilege The Court of Appeal has overturned a previous judgment allowing the Serious Fraud Office access to documents shared between the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) and its former legal adviser Dechert in relation to ENRC’s findings during a criminal investigation into alleged bribery and financial malpractices. The earlier […]
By Glen Jennings, Matthew Doak The time has now arrived. A mechanism is finally in place in Canada that will allow for a better process to resolve criminal offences for corporations. In response to a consultation that ended in November 2017, the federal government introduced legislation amending the Criminal Code to allow for remediation agreements (better known as […]
