The domino effect – restructuring counsel brace for deluge as Covid-19 means no more business as usual

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The domino effect – restructuring counsel brace for deluge as Covid-19 means no more business as usual

‘Even two weeks ago no-one predicted such a catastrophic impact from the coronavirus. Things have turned very quickly.’ This City restructuring partner’s words carry some irony, given that the restructuring and insolvency community has for years waited in vain for a sequel to the global financial crisis of 2008/09.

However, the trigger event in this disaster – the global spread of the coronavirus of which there are so far more than 500,000 confirmed cases around the world resulting in well over 20,000 deaths – is a crisis of the unknown. It has left restructuring lawyers reeling along with peers as everyone hunkers down through an indefinite lockdown. Continue reading “The domino effect – restructuring counsel brace for deluge as Covid-19 means no more business as usual”

DWF flags Covid-19’s ‘material impact’ on profit and increased debt as Keystone declines dividend

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DWF flags Covid-19’s ‘material impact’ on profit and increased debt as Keystone declines dividend

The UK’s largest listed law firm, DWF, expects the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic to have a material impact on its profit and has entered talks with its lenders to extend its £80m credit facility and relax certain covenants.

DWF provided a trading update to the London Stock Exchange today (27 March), setting out the board’s expectation that revenue for the year to 30 April 2020 would be below previous expectations. The final quarter of each financial year is typically the most important to its financial performance, the firm said, which coincided with the coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading “DWF flags Covid-19’s ‘material impact’ on profit and increased debt as Keystone declines dividend”

Listed firms suffer Covid-19 fallout as Knights staff face sweeping cuts and Ince cancels dividend

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Listed firms suffer Covid-19 fallout as Knights staff face sweeping cuts and Ince cancels dividend

Knights board members and staff earning more than £30,000 face pay cuts of at least 10% and some staff will be made redundant, while Ince has followed Gateley in slashing its interim dividend due to the impact of coronavirus.

The listed law firms today (26 March) provided trading updates to the London Stock Exchange, citing increased economic uncertainty brought by the Covid-19 pandemic and responding with measures ranging from pay cuts and redundancies to dividend cancellations and warnings around collecting fees.

Continue reading “Listed firms suffer Covid-19 fallout as Knights staff face sweeping cuts and Ince cancels dividend”

Coronavirus update: The Legal 500 pushes back research schedule to ease pressure on clients and firms

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Coronavirus update: The Legal 500 pushes back research schedule to ease pressure on clients and firms

The Legal 500 is pushing back its research schedule in response to the coronavirus pandemic, suspending all client contact for the next four weeks.

At a time when law firms and their clients are under unprecedented pressure, we have taken the decision not to add to the burden. All client feedback surveys for the UK Solicitors Guide, the UK Bar and Latin America will be suspended for four weeks, until the end of April. For the UK this will affect first-time contact with London clients and client survey re-sends for everywhere outside London. Continue reading “Coronavirus update: The Legal 500 pushes back research schedule to ease pressure on clients and firms”

Guest comment: HSF disputes chief assesses the City litigation market’s Covid-19 response

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Guest comment: HSF disputes chief assesses the City litigation market’s Covid-19 response

In light of the human impact of Covid-19, the immediate concern for businesses is the health and safety of their people and clients.

In addition, the pandemic has caused unprecedented turmoil for the global economy and many businesses are struggling to cope with the huge challenges. Most are feeling the strain financially. Some are fighting for economic survival.  Continue reading “Guest comment: HSF disputes chief assesses the City litigation market’s Covid-19 response”

Freshfields and Slaughters drafted as Government reveals details of Covid-19 business support package

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Freshfields and Slaughters drafted as Government reveals details of Covid-19 business support package

The UK Treasury and Bank of England (BoE) have called in their go-to counsel Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as they iron out details of the multibillion-pound support scheme to underwrite British business through the coronavirus crisis.

The UK Government announced last week the Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility to help companies with cash flow as the rapid spread of the virus has forced governments to put a third of the world’s population in shutdown. Continue reading “Freshfields and Slaughters drafted as Government reveals details of Covid-19 business support package”

Linklaters acts on $500m ‘virtual trial’ while insurers and claimants agree coronavirus ceasefire

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The Commercial Court is going fully virtual on a case worth over $500m this week, with Linklaters and King & Spalding among those acting remotely as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. Meanwhile, insurers and claimants have reached an accord, with the groups set to work together throughout the pandemic to ensure a continued access to justice.

The Commercial Court’s ‘virtual courtroom’ will be in place from tomorrow (26 March) for a case where Linklaters will represent Bank of New York Mellon while King & Spalding is representing the other defendants The Statis, Ascom Group and Terra Raf in a ‘substantial multi-party litigation’,  with The National Bank of Kazakhstan and The Republic of Kazakhstan acting as claimants. The case had originally been scheduled for seven days in the court with witnesses from America, Belgium and Kazakhstan all set to be called before travel restrictions were laid down due to the spread of Covid-19.

Continue reading “Linklaters acts on $500m ‘virtual trial’ while insurers and claimants agree coronavirus ceasefire”

‘Impossible to predict’ coronavirus fallout sees Gateley cancel £3m dividend and suspend guidance

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‘Impossible to predict’ coronavirus fallout sees Gateley cancel £3m dividend and suspend guidance

Listed law firm Gateley has withheld more than £3m in shareholder payouts to keep hold of cash with activity dented by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The firm said today (24 March) it would cancel its interim dividend of 2.9 pence a share, which was due to be paid at the end of this month, in order to ‘maximise the group’s short-term liquidity’. The total interim dividend due to shareholders, including the firm’s partners, was about £3.4m, up more than 11% on last year. Continue reading “‘Impossible to predict’ coronavirus fallout sees Gateley cancel £3m dividend and suspend guidance”

Coronavirus latest: Supreme Court goes virtual as junior lawyers plea against postponing exams

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Coronavirus latest: Supreme Court goes virtual as junior lawyers plea against postponing exams

For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court conducted a case entirely through video conferencing this morning (24 March), after taking the decision to close its building to the public due to the spread of Covid-19.

The move saw the matter of Fowler (Respondent) v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Appellant) conducted virtually, with all cases and judgment hand-downs set to continue via video conferencing until further notice. The measures will see legal teams and counsel, as well as each of the justices, located separately. Continue reading “Coronavirus latest: Supreme Court goes virtual as junior lawyers plea against postponing exams”

Guest post: Coronavirus tears up competition regimes for foreign investments as Europe struggles to shield reeling economies

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Guest post: Coronavirus tears up competition regimes for foreign investments as Europe struggles to shield reeling economies

COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc with the global economy, disrupting all manner of business throughout the world. Stock markets have plummeted and many companies are having to grapple with economic damage that seemed unimaginable at the start of the year.

This unprecedented environment could afford opportunistic buyers the chance to acquire or invest in companies that have been weakened by the crisis. In addition, creditors may unintentionally find themselves in a position where they acquire control over a business. Continue reading “Guest post: Coronavirus tears up competition regimes for foreign investments as Europe struggles to shield reeling economies”