Doing something radical – how Dentons sort of won me over

Everywhere I go in legal circles these days, people ask about Dentons. How incredible it would have been even 18 months ago that this child of a second-line Illinois player and the most battered City law brand of the 2000s would attract such interest. Much of that attention is aghast that this dismissed institution has emerged somehow after a remarkable 2015 as the world’s most lawyered firm.

Given the chequered history, the scepticism is understandable and was shared by Legal Business as we sat down to hear the Dentons pitch to potential suitors for this month’s cover feature. But that presentation – backed by Dentons’ dynamic duo of Elliott Portnoy and Joe Andrew – is pretty good. Whatever the chinks in the armour (and there are chinks), the basic premise stands up. The legal industry called time on globalisation in the 2000s amid a series of troubled mergers, inter-firm competition and the fallout from the banking crisis. But that’s not to say there isn’t a good case for building a genuine global giant. Quickly.

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The outlook for the quality UK mid-tier – the straight-up view from Legal Business

In discussion at a partnership conference, LB editor-in-chief Alex Novarese lays out the prospects for a UK mid-pack

I recently held a one-on-one discussion with the senior partner of a mid-tier UK player at the firm’s partnership conference. As part of the prep, we sketched out some outline questions for which I wrote some notes to order my thoughts. Since it was flowing conversation and I wasn’t looking at those notes, what is below only loosely relates to what was said on the day. But since I often get asked these kind of questions and such Q&As have an off-the-cuff accessibility, I thought it would make a decent article. Mid-weight law firms wanting to know the Legal Business take on the market, read on.

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Privacy v transparency – incoming OECD tax rules are opening a new battle front

Withers’ Filippo Noseda casts a weary eye over the latest attempt to bolster tax disclosure

In almost every field of legal work, privacy is regarded as a primary and legitimate concern to protect the interests of individuals and organisations. This was confirmed recently when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) struck down the US-EU data exchange agreement amid fears that data transferred to the US would end up in the hands of the US government – a fear fuelled by the revelations in 2013 by Edward Snowden of widespread electronic surveillance – as well as a US judge’s ruling ordering Microsoft to deliver information held on an Irish server. For the ECJ, the US-EU ‘safe harbour’ agreement violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that a private life is a human right and any interference with it must be proportionate and justified.

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Singapore swing – a credible threat to the dominance of English law

English lawyers have long had an edge over their US and continental colleagues. English law was established early as the law of trade, business and increasingly projects – a throwback to the days of the Empire. This was a major driver of growth for UK-based firms in recent decades, but it is well known that New York law has become a rival to English law, especially in banking and finance, as corporates tap into the deep US debt markets.

However, more recently, we are seeing another trend that threatens the dominance of English law in Asia and further afield. Singapore law is increasingly becoming the go-to choice of governing law for Asia-Pacific cross-border deals and a strong choice for global deals.

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The Last Word: Deal perspectives

With global M&A passing the $5trn mark in 2015, we ask the City’s leading corporate players if last year’s deal boom will carry on through 2016


WALKING THE TALK

‘We expect to see a resurgence in cross-border activity, which we saw in 2015 to a great extent. It’s always a question of whether or not the mega-deals will continue and the middle market typically follows. Some industry sectors we expect to be active like 2015, such as life sciences and energy. Disruption in the market these past few weeks has not gone unnoticed, but going into the year, there’s lots of activity and people talking.’

David Gibbons, global head of corporate, Hogan Lovells

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The moment of truth arises – will the profession stand up to Gove?

In business as in life, if you want respect you have to start by expecting it and not putting up with its absence. Perhaps the ludicrous attempt to bully the commercial legal profession into taking on more pro bono with the threat of a levy on the UK’s largest law firms will make that point sink in.

For years the government has treated the commercial legal profession with neglect and disinterest unless it needed something, despite its status as a world-leader, major tax contributor and role in helping carry English law around the globe. Far too often the profession rolled over then queued up like a grateful child when the government wanted the great and good to pitch in for something. The policy wheeze by incoming justice secretary Michael Gove has only made explicit what has been obvious for years.

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The limits of culture – WLG needs more than common ground to fulfil its ambitions

Let’s get this out of the way up front. The least expected new entrant to the Global 100, Gowling WLG, is going to have to work very hard to avoid being the classic 2 + 2 = 4 union when its tie-up goes live in January. Yes, it’s hard to see much downside given the hand WLG was playing, after a necessary and credibly integrated union between Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham last year. The Gowlings fit is close enough to be acceptable, if not beyond debate. But the relative lack of interaction between the UK and Canadian economies, and the awkward realities of a dual-hub structure mean it will be perilously easy to settle into two firms existing under the same brand, rather than becoming more than the sum of its parts.

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After Harvard Kool-Aid and lost years can Moore galvanise Linklaters?

Allen & Overy (A&O)’s veteran leader David Morley remarked sometimes that in running a law firm, success or failure is less about the decisions you make and more the ability to communicate what you are doing and why. Though directed at his own firm, the observation speaks to much of what ailed Linklaters over the last four years as a chasm opened between its leadership and partnership.

In managing partner Simon Davies and senior partner Robert Elliott, Linklaters had intelligent and energetic leaders intent on taking tough decisions to reposition the firm after the banking crisis. What was forgotten during a series of restructurings was that the partnership needed to be brought along to achieve their purpose. A decision can be absolutely valid but still entirely wrong if you can’t get the majority of your partnership to believe in it, not just grudgingly rubberstamp it.

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Breeding cynicism – a call to move past the money-driven culture afflicting law

NRF’s Peter Martyr argues senior lawyers need to speak out for a more responsible vision of the profession

Our profession is facing a growing tension between the drive for profit – the resurgent guiding principle of the 2000s – and the increasing demand for more social responsibility among businesses. Post-recession, we can add increased competition, the scrutiny of the business press and a growing focus on efficiency into the mix, all of which amounts to a potential recipe for trouble.

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