Global 100: Main table 2021
Global 100: Core stats
Braced for impact: GCs on the threat of group actions and collective redress
In April, Legal Business spoke to dozens of disputes counsel in private practice to ascertain the salient trends in contentious law. Near-universally, at the forefront of minds was an imminent and drastic increase in the volume of class actions and other group claims. Now, the in-house community has added its own wave of concerned voices.
A perfect storm of legal changes and market conditions have brought us to this point. In the UK for example, the seeds were planted in 2015 with the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act, which allowed UK consumers to seek collective redress on competition cases in a US-style class action system. Since then several class action claims have formed, among the most notable being the mammoth truck cartel case, in which thousands of individual and corporate claimants are pursuing damages from several of Europe’s biggest truck manufacturers over price collusion spanning multiple years. Continue reading “Braced for impact: GCs on the threat of group actions and collective redress”
Sponsored briefing: New consolidated regime of early access in France
On 14 December 2020, the French Social Security Financing Act for 20211 (article 78) reformed early market access mechanisms in France and simplified the former systems of derogatory reimbursement for medicines, which included the temporary authorisation for use (ATU) and temporary recommendation for use (RTU) regimes.
Two new regimes have been created: early access authorisation (AAP – exceptional use of certain drugs for specific therapeutic indications, intended to treat serious, rare, or disabling diseases) and compassionate use (exceptional use of certain medicines in specific therapeutic indications). Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: New consolidated regime of early access in France”
The ESG debate: Balancing growth and risk
As part of an ongoing series of thought leadership roundtables and webinars we have been hosting with Paul Hastings before, during and after lockdown, we were delighted to finally have an in-person debate at Paul Hastings’ London office in November. We gathered together leading general counsel (GCs) and Paul Hastings partners to discuss the role the legal team within corporates plays in advising the board on major risks – particularly environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns – without stifling healthy growth.
The session examined how businesses are facing a significant number of challenges and opportunities, and the senior in-house counsel present discussed some of the specific challenges they are facing, including re-aligning to e-commerce, re-establishing supply chains, taking advantage of excess liquidity to drive strategic M&A, responding to new ESG demands from investors and stakeholders and responding to an evolving legal and regulatory landscape. Continue reading “The ESG debate: Balancing growth and risk”
LB305 – issue menu
Access your print copy online – LB305
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Limited version Continue reading “Access your print copy online – LB305”
Revolving doors: Management merry-go-round as CC, Mayer Brown and Watson Farley name new leaders
Capping off a week of significant change in big law’s C-suites, Clifford Chance has appointed financial markets partner Charles Adams as its next managing partner.
Adams will succeed incumbent Matthew Layton on 1 May 2022, when he will commence a four-year term. For his part, Layton was re-appointed for a second term in 2017, after improving operational rigour, bolstering partner performance and ushering in shake-ups to CC’s historically restrictive lockstep model . During Layton’s second term, CC boosted revenues by 35% and profit per equity partner by 65%. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Management merry-go-round as CC, Mayer Brown and Watson Farley name new leaders”
Revolving doors: Bumper week for Taylor Wessing with team hire in Poland and double partner swoop in London
Taylor Wessing dominated this week’s lateral partner recruitment, with eye-catching expansion both at home and abroad.
In Poland, the firm has taken on a ten-lawyer team from Deloitte Legal. The group is led by partners Łukasz Szymański and Zbigniew Korba, who together will strengthen the firm’s banking and finance and real estate capabilities in the region. As a result of this team hire, Taylor Wessing’s lawyer headcount has swelled to more than 30 in Poland. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Bumper week for Taylor Wessing with team hire in Poland and double partner swoop in London”
Kirkland shortens equity track as it wages intensified war for talent
Kirkland & Ellis has shortened its path to equity partnership by a year in another audacious move that will doubtless make rivals sit up and take notice.
The move means that its most-talented lawyers will now be considered for equity partnership nine years out of law school, rather than 10. Continue reading “Kirkland shortens equity track as it wages intensified war for talent”
Revolving doors: White & Case lands corporate heavyweight from Clifford Chance as Hogan Lovells makes German team hire
Headlining the latest round of lateral partner appointments, White & Case has made an eye-catching move for Clifford Chance’s former co-head of mining and metals, David Lewis.
Lewis specialises in M&A, joint ventures and equity investments with a primary focus on the mining, metals and energy sectors. Continue reading “Revolving doors: White & Case lands corporate heavyweight from Clifford Chance as Hogan Lovells makes German team hire”
Guest comment: The new differentiator for law firms?
A quiet revolution is happening, and I am here to champion it. For many years, the role of a professional support lawyer (PSL) or knowledge lawyer has been viewed as an optional extra, a ‘nice to have’, something that only a magic circle law firm could possibly justify. If this is what you think, then it’s time to update your precedent. PSLs have become a key differentiator as firms look to benefit not only from their legal experience but also their business acumen.
The PSL role was created back in the 1990s to support a firm’s practice by drafting and maintaining standard form precedents. At the time there was little in the way of legal databases or online research tools and PSLs became the focal point for this activity as well. However, while this remains a central part of the role, the functions of a PSL have evolved. Continue reading “Guest comment: The new differentiator for law firms?”
Revolving doors: Cleary makes Bay Area move as HogLov and Squire enhance Africa offerings
In a bold Bay Area play, Cleary Gottlieb has announced that it is opening in California with the arrival of renowned antitrust trial lawyer Heather Nyong’o and the relocation of a team of partners and associates from its New York and Washington DC offices to Palo Alto and San Francisco.
Nyong’o was partner-in-charge of WilmerHale’s San Francisco office and leader of its California antitrust and competition practice. She joins long-standing Cleary antitrust partners Brian Byrne and George Cary, white-collar partner Jennifer Kennedy Park, M&A partner Benet O’Reilly, and a team of six associates. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Cleary makes Bay Area move as HogLov and Squire enhance Africa offerings”
Significant matters – Autumn 2021
easyJet flies off with Legal Business Awards
The Legal Business Awards, held at Grosvenor House on 30 September, provided the perfect backdrop to honour the leading lights of the in-house legal community from the last year. Taking the top prize of GC of the Year was easyJet’s legal chief Maaike de Bie (pictured), recognised for piloting the company successfully as the aviation sector was ravaged by the pandemic and responding robustly to a sophisticated cyber-attack. Highly commended in this category was Emily Reichwald, general counsel of Dr Martens.
This autumn sees us dropping far more than leaves
The launch of this edition of The In-House Lawyer magazine coincides with an important period for our parent company, Legalease, and our coverage of the in-house legal community. Firstly we saw in-house teams compete in four categories at the Legal Business Awards, which returned as a live event following the pandemic, bringing together 600 guests in Covid-safe conditions at the Grosvenor House hotel on 30 September (see Significant matters). Continue reading “This autumn sees us dropping far more than leaves”
Out of the shadows
According to Sandy Bhogal, co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s global tax practice, ‘General counsel will probably be more involved in tax affairs now than they’ve ever been’. With this in mind, he identifies three major trends in corporate tax that will keep lawyers busy for the foreseeable future: the knock on impact of the pandemic to tax policy, the general trend towards international governmental co-operation initiatives and the increasingly sophisticated and prominent way in which tax is covered in the media, leading corporates to view tax as an ESG issue. Continue reading “Out of the shadows”
Validity in the opposition
A cursory glance at The Legal 500’s IP coverage – which was recently split into a distinct patents table alongside a trade marks, copyright and design table – makes for a head-scratching read. In a legal discipline that attracts sophisticated, technical expertise, fortune favours the innovative as much as the who’s who of the City elite, or indeed the prestigious US names that are continually encroaching on London territory in the corporate space. Continue reading “Validity in the opposition”
Caught offside
It was the football story of the year – eclipsing even Lionel Messi’s move to PSG and football not quite coming home – almost beyond belief in its audacity. On Sunday 18 April, The Times broke a story that 12 leading clubs from England, Spain and Italy had agreed to break away from UEFA’s Champions League competition and launch their own independent format: The European Super League (ESL). Continue reading “Caught offside”
Banking on battles
The In-House Lawyer (IHL): What has been keeping you busy in banking litigation over the past 12 months? Continue reading “Banking on battles”
General overview of the Lithuanian court system
The Lithuanian court system consists of courts of general jurisdiction and specialised courts.
Continue reading “General overview of the Lithuanian court system”