Month: November 2017

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The Legal 500 view: we are changing to reflect the needs of in-house UK

Alexander Boyes and Hayley Eustace review the latest launch of the UK edition

The 2017 edition of The Legal 500 is our biggest yet, for a number of reasons. The demand for ʻlegal directoriesʼ has increased in the past few years, due in part to more movement in the market, firms getting smarter at marketing, clients having less time, globalisation – which all leads to a need for independent third-party review. Continue reading “The Legal 500 view: we are changing to reflect the needs of in-house UK”

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NYLon focus continues as Kirkland and White & Case announce promotion rounds

Elite US firms ramped up their London partner headcounts in October, with Kirkland & Ellis making up a record 97 new partners – equal to more than 10% of its existing partnership – 13 of them in its fast-growing London base, while White & Case’s more modest 31 included seven in its City arm.

The number of London promotions at Kirkland more than doubled last year’s round and its total tally is up on last year’s 81. The 2,000-lawyer US firm has an unusual model in that it makes up large ranks of salaried partners before considering promotions to its tightly-held equity, which at the end of 2016 totalled 359 of its 820 partners. Continue reading “NYLon focus continues as Kirkland and White & Case announce promotion rounds”

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Litigators warn of impact on clients as ENRC wins right to appeal controversial privilege decision

Serious Fraud Office

Legal professional privilege (LPP) was thrown a lifeline last month, when mining giant Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) was granted the right to appeal against a controversial order to disclose documents in a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation.

ENRC has been the subject of a long-running investigation by the SFO relating to alleged fraud, bribery and corruption. In May, the High Court ruled that certain documents prepared by ENRC in relation to the probe were not covered by LPP and therefore had to be disclosed. Continue reading “Litigators warn of impact on clients as ENRC wins right to appeal controversial privilege decision”

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Autumn dealwatch: Euro mega deals keep Magic Circle busy

Freshfields and K&E act on Monarch administration

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s restructuring chief Ken Baird and finance partner Catherine Balmond led the team advising KPMG as Monarch Airlines filed for administration. Kirkland & Ellis and Reed Smith advised the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), while Stephenson Harwood acted for the Pension Protection Fund. Continue reading “Autumn dealwatch: Euro mega deals keep Magic Circle busy”

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Boon for City real estate market as Eversheds Sutherland leads on largest-ever UK fund launch

In a major boon to the UK property market, recent changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) have sparked a trend that saw Eversheds Sutherland advise on the largest-ever launch of a UK property fund for Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) in October.

The portfolio, worth over £2.7bn, seeded by the transfer of two existing Royal London property portfolios, includes central London properties in New Bond Street, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street and St Paul’s. With a minimum investment of £50m, it is designed to expose the UK’s commercial real estate market to institutional domestic and foreign investors. Continue reading “Boon for City real estate market as Eversheds Sutherland leads on largest-ever UK fund launch”

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Irresistible forces

Donny Ching

Alex Novarese, Legal Business: Looking at the top of the market, how is buying behaviour changing?

Donny Ching, Royal Dutch Shell: I see increasing sophistication in sourcing legal services. I am sure you all have experienced tenders and reverse tenders. More corporates are looking at using different tools, also driven by the contracting and procurement [C&P] organisation. Procuring legal services used to be the last bastion, where C&P could not touch. That is changing. We hired our own pricing analyst sourcing officer a couple of years ago. He has done phenomenal work and opened our eyes to what is possible. Continue reading “Irresistible forces”

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Deal view: Ashurst strives to reboot M&A brand but deal market is getting tougher

Ashurst

Ashurst’s once-admired M&A reputation has taken a pounding of late. One former partner delivers representative sentiments: ‘Corporate was the jewel in the crown. The firm has changed from what it was six or seven years ago.’ Another notes: ‘It used to be joint number one with Clifford Chance for private equity. The practice faded away as it focused outside London.’

A controversial Australia merger, a soft run of financial performance and the loss in recent years of prominent partners has taken a major toll on its brand as a serious plc deal adviser. Continue reading “Deal view: Ashurst strives to reboot M&A brand but deal market is getting tougher”

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Who Represents Who: The Data Behind the Story

Monarch Airlines entered administration at the start of October, with KPMG directing corporate affairs. As Legal Business reports on which law firms have been instructed to deal with the aftermath, Who Represents Who (www.legal500.com/wrw) data shows which firms have led aviation instructions in the past 12 months, and which have lost a client due to the collapse of the low-cost airline.

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Comment: The Legal Services Act ten years on – still waiting for the Big Bang

As our October/November issue hits desks, it will be ten years since the Legal Services Act gained Royal Assent, ushering in the most liberal services market in the world by some margin. Given that span of time, and the five years since the most radical elements of the act came into force with the regime for alternative business structures (ABS), it is natural to ask if it has lived up to billing.

There clearly was an impact of sorts, supporting an environment where new business models and fresh thinking were encouraged. That renewed the legal ambitions of the accountants, encouraged the pioneering UK launch of Slater and Gordon, and made Co-op as close as we have got to Tesco law. After a slow initial start there are now over 700 licensed ABSs in England and Wales, representing a significant chunk of the market. Also significant is the messy regulatory fallout and ongoing turf war that it triggered, which has continued with varying degrees of intensity ever since. Continue reading “Comment: The Legal Services Act ten years on – still waiting for the Big Bang”

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Under the sword

Tom Baker assesses attempts to revive the flagging Serious Fraud Agency amid a fractious political debate

It is fair to say that David Green QC took over the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in 2012 at what was, even for the frequently beleaguered agency, a low ebb. The good news is the consensus among hardened white-collar crime specialists is that the veteran silk has had considerable success turning around a body derided as toothless and operationally slack. The bad news is that the biggest remaining sceptic of the SFO happens to be the prime minister, with Theresa May having gone into this year’s general election with the pledge to disband the agency, rolling it into her own creation, the National Crime Agency (NCA). Continue reading “Under the sword”

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GC 2.0 – The GC Powerlist Summer Reception

photos from powerlist reception

Do you know your cash-burn phase from your TLDNR? Welcome to the buccaneering, hierarchy-lite world of the fast-growth, tech-driven ‘disruptors’, the kind of business that a growing number of lawyers aspire to work in or advise.

Following the launch earlier this year of the 2017 GC Powerlist, which focused on early-stage companies and rising stars at major plcs, we teamed up with DLA Piper to assemble an audience of more than 70 in-house counsel at London’s private members’ club Home House for an informal discussion from the lawyers working at the digital coal-face. The debate covered the launch of the much-touted Disruptive GC group, the challenges of working with impatient entrepreneurs and how lawyers can slot into the culture of a constantly-evolving company. Continue reading “GC 2.0 – The GC Powerlist Summer Reception”

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Privilege: A rock and a hard place

For years, privilege was the invaluable asset taken for granted by the profession. But those days have long since passed, with regulators increasingly testing the boundaries of privilege in a series of investigations and court actions.

This trend has re-opened much of the settled law on privilege and generated several cases – most notably the court battle between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and mining group ENRC over the disclosure of internal documents – that have made the area one of the most closely watched fields of civil law. Continue reading “Privilege: A rock and a hard place”

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Our leadership: Evolving London’s courts for a global market

Despite post-Brexit challenges to the UK’s legal market and persistent concerns over court funding, confidence remains high among commercial practitioners of London holding its place as a top-tier global disputes centre.

In the first panel of the 2017 Commercial Litigation Summit on 3 July a prestigious line-up of jurists and practitioners assembled to discuss key developments in the commercial courts, focusing on initiatives to improve the London commercial courts and attempts to corral spiralling disclosure. Continue reading “Our leadership: Evolving London’s courts for a global market”

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The Legal Services Act ten years on – still waiting for the Big Bang

Alex Novarese

As this issue hits desks, it will be ten years since the Legal Services Act gained Royal Assent, ushering in the most liberal services market in the world by some margin. Given that span of time, and the five years since the most radical elements of the act came into force with the regime for alternative business structures (ABS), it is natural to ask if it has lived up to billing.

There clearly was an impact of sorts, supporting an environment where new business models and fresh thinking were encouraged. That renewed the legal ambitions of the accountants, encouraged the pioneering UK launch of Slater and Gordon, and made Co-op as close as we have got to Tesco law. After a slow initial start there are now over 700 licensed ABSs in England and Wales, representing a significant chunk of the market. Also significant is the messy regulatory fallout and ongoing turf war that it triggered, which has continued with varying degrees of intensity ever since. Continue reading “The Legal Services Act ten years on – still waiting for the Big Bang”

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What’s the point of Baker McKenzie?

Paul Rawlinson

Ever wonder what Baker McKenzie is waiting for? The firm once had a crystal clear market position as the only major commercial practice that got anywhere near being truly globalised. And while the sprawling nature of the network meant a 20-year battle to shrug off the franchise tag, Bakers has long achieved polished mid-market credibility in many key jurisdictions. While it was never a threat to the US and London elite, the logic for an emerging giant to handle the mid-stream work for global plcs speaks for itself. Yet Bakers has continually fallen short of its own rhetoric.

Having been an international trailblazer, growth has been pedestrian for a decade now and there is too little evidence of the oft-promised push up the value chain. Continue reading “What’s the point of Baker McKenzie?”

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BLP’s US merger bid – a certain loss of confidence

St Louis

If nothing else, it is safe to say Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s not-very-convincing claim that management was not dead set on a US merger was stretching it. Because recent news that the firm is debating a union with Bryan Cave screams: ‘We really want a US merger!’

The talks come after last year having gone through a bruising but short courtship with the far larger Greenberg Traurig, the thrusting Miami shop which had a culture clash with BLP that could not have been more obvious if it had been heralded by fireworks. Continue reading “BLP’s US merger bid – a certain loss of confidence”

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The last word: Speaking out

Tamara Box

With the recent Weinstein revelations shining a light on sexual harassment and misogyny across every industry, we ask senior lawyers for their views

Call it out

‘Sexual harassment of anybody in any circumstance is outrageous. It must be called out at every opportunity and condemned for what it is – an insidious abuse of power.’

David Morley, member, Mayor of London’s International Business Advisory Council Continue reading “The last word: Speaking out”