The rush of UK firms sending their lawyers to qualify at the Irish Bar is well and truly over. In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, Dublin was a safe haven for qualification for lawyers wanting to shore up their European Union (EU) connections. The rationale was simple: it is an English-speaking jurisdiction, its lenient approach […]
It’s still cheaper to keep the best talent in London
While some firms opened offices in Dublin to avoid Brexit disruption, Stephenson Harwood set up a legal entity in Greece, its LLPs have revealed. To avoid any potential problems caused by Brexit, Stephenson Harwood has launched Bowen-Morris & Partners in Piraeus. This new entity emerged after the firm converted the branch to a Greek law […]
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has opened its doors in the Republic of Ireland, giving the firm a greater presence in the European Union. London is the firm’s sole European office, having called time on its Brussels operations in the financial year 2019/20. The firm secured premises in Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Place at the start of February, […]
Eversheds Sutherland has changed the limited liability partnership (LLP) of its German offices, the outcome of preparations made early last year ahead of the Brexit transition period. Effective from January 2021, the firm transferred the business of its German LLP to a new local entity called Eversheds Sutherland (Germany) Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater Solicitors Partnerschaft mbB, which […]
The Prime Minister’s Attorney General is facing criticism over her decision to seek advice on planned changes to the Withdrawal Agreement from individuals not on the UK Government’s panels, including a “baby barrister” from Brick Court. The debate concerns advice given to Suella Braverman and solicitor general Michael Ellis, who provided legal opinion on government legislation […]
Clifford Chance has taken on its second Brexit-related mandate for the UK Government in a matter of months, this time striking a contract with a maximum value of £3m. The magic circle firm has won advisory work for the Department for International Trade, as the institutional body seeks to develop a new trade and investment […]
An array of international players are putting in bids for the UK Government’s post-Brexit trade law panel, as it looks beyond domestic firms for the first time. Panel bidding material shows that the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), which is leading on the process, is not requiring firms to be based in the UK, in a […]
Clifford Chance will provide legal advice to the UK Government as it seeks to agree a trade deal with the European Union. The magic circle firm’s contract is worth £500,000, with a trade agreement due to be completed over the next couple of months. Linklaters, meanwhile, previously won a role advising the UK Government on […]
DAC Beachcroft has filed a claim to the General Court of the European Union, arguing that UK citizens who had EU citizenship should retain it, even after Brexit. Alongside Matrix Chambers, DACB is acting for a representative group of UK citizens, arguing that while the Brexit withdrawal agreement has resulted in the UK leaving the […]
The UK will no longer be a member of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) system, despite an underlying agreement made in April 2019. The news contradicts previous Prime Minister Theresa May’s commitment to the UK’s membership to the UPC. The Boris Johnson government has made it clear that it envisages a far looser relationship with […]
The country’s money market has seen considerable change over the past three years, but Ireland is well placed to respond to investors’ demands as firms look ahead to Brexit – and beyond. The Lawyer asked industry experts for their views on the shifting landscape
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has incorporated its German arm into its UK limited liability partnership so it can continue to operate as an international business in the jurisdiction after Brexit. The change, which took place at the end of 2019, was implemented because, in a Brexit scenario, the firm could not operate in the country […]
Eversheds Sutherland has put in place plans to change the limited liability partnership (LLP) of its German offices in case of a hard Brexit. If a no-deal outcome is implemented, at the end of the year the firm will switch its German internal structure from an English LLP to a local one if UK LLPs […]
As the saga of the UK’s exit from the EU looks to edge nearer to a conclusion, The Lawyer quizzes firms in Ireland about the regulatory changes likely to stem from the divorce
Brexit and IT infrastructure are the major causes of concern among the UK’s Independents, according to an attitudinal survey carried out as part of research for The Lawyer UK 200, with levels of pessimism growing compared to the previous year. Over three-quarters of UK firms ranked 101 to 200 said they either completely or partially […]
Questions are being raised over why a newly-qualified barrister, who is not listed on any of the Attorney General’s panels, was drafted into the government’s legal team for the historic Brexit case against Gina Miller. The most junior member of the Prime Minister’s counsel and a former associate of Dominic Cummings at Vote Leave, Richard […]
Sanctions for most people have never really been on the agenda. Glossed over as something to be aware of but will never really an issue… Included the general AML compliance package but we never have any ‘hits’… Yes, we have a sanctions policy but we have never needed to implement it…
In the first of a series of articles, TLT introduces the Law Society’s recently updated Blockchain Guidance and the impact this new technology will have across our sectors.
A number of taxpayers with HICBC appeals awaiting the outcome of the forthcoming Court of Appeal in HMRC v Wilkes have recently contacted the firm about correspondence received from HMRC about their 2017/18 tax position.
Company A (a Greek company) provides music programmes – based on a specific repertoire and intended to function as background music – to retail stores and, more broadly, to commercial or workplaces. Such music is used as a background for the broadcasting of advertising messages that are heard in such commercial spaces on a daily […]
Private healthcare provider Bupa has been ordered to pay a purported record £1.04 million penalty (fine and costs combined) after admitting fire safety failings.
In the first half of 2021, £355 million was lost to authorised push payment (APP) fraud. This compares to £208 million in the first half of 2020. As a result, APP fraud losses now exceed card fraud losses for the first time. This significant growth in sums lost to APP fraud comes despite the successful introduction of phase 1 of Confirmation of Payee.
Financier Worldwide regularly bring together leading experts from around the world to discuss issues at the centre of their audiences’ interest. Shoosmiths were invited to contribute to the November 2021 roundtable which covers the significant, ongoing challenge many companies face: corporate fraud.
On 18 October 2021 we marked World Menopause Day. It is, therefore, timely that, this month, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has provided one of the few binding rulings on this topic. It has considered whether employees experiencing severe menopause symptoms can be protected from disability discrimination.
This article reviews the key features of a SPAC structure and explains why the Cayman Islands, Jersey and Luxembourg are ideal jurisdictions to establish a SPAC issuer.
After many judicial speeches on the topic the summer saw three significant publications.
ESMA has published its final report and Guidelines on Marketing Communications which set out disclosure principles and requirements for any communications which market funds to EU investors. The guidelines have been issued in the context of the new EU regime on the cross-border distribution of investment funds, which come into effect on 2 August 2021.
ESG. Unless you have been living under a rock these last 18 months (in hindsight probably not necessarily the worst place to have been) you will have heard these three letters over and over again. The hot topic of 2020 is carrying on full steam through the course of 2021 so far. While ESG investing has been gaining steady pace over the course of the last half decade, the use of ESG in financing arrangements has seen a recent proliferation.