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Sponsored briefing: Africa: The land of milk and honey and business as usual

African countries, even with their less advanced healthcare systems and low vaccination rates, have weathered the pandemic well with a low incidence and mortality rate for Covid-19. The impact, therefore, of the pandemic in Africa remains markedly lower compared to the Americas, Europe and Asia. Scientists say it is a paradox and are exploring the hypothesis that Africans have had more exposure to other coronaviruses, which may act as a defence against Covid-19. Another possibility is that regular exposure to malaria or other infectious diseases could prime the immune system to fight new pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. If tens of millions of Africans have already been infected, scientists question whether the continent should try for ‘herd immunity’ without a vaccine, shielding only the most vulnerable, which might be preferable over control measures that cripple economies in the long run.

Further, Africa’s youthful population stands out against the global backdrop of ageing populations. Only in Africa is the size of the working-age population as a portion of the total population still increasing. In short, Africa is open for business as usual. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Africa: The land of milk and honey and business as usual”

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The Legal 500 View: Promotion prospects – the firms with the biggest gains in the UK Legal 500

winner celebrating with trophy

Every firm thinks they deserve to move up the rankings – but which are making the strongest case? Ben Wheway crunches the numbers to find the firms who saw the biggest improvement in their rankings

Of all the questions fielded by The Legal 500 editorial team, ‘what do we have to do to move up the rankings?’ is almost certainly the most frequently asked, narrowly ahead of ‘please can we have an extension on the submission deadline?’ Continue reading “The Legal 500 View: Promotion prospects – the firms with the biggest gains in the UK Legal 500”

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The Client profile: Elisabeth Sullivan, Waterstones

While some discover an aptitude for law while at university, others have it in their veins. According to Elisabeth Sullivan, recently installed as general counsel (GC) of book retailer Waterstones, she very much falls into the latter category.

‘People always told me since I was a kid I should be a lawyer because I had a “strong sense of justice”. Probably after I had some big tantrum!’ Continue reading “The Client profile: Elisabeth Sullivan, Waterstones”

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Stronger together? Not really

When we first launched our Euro Elite report in 2016, much of the narrative was that the future of the elite European independent firms as a breed looked assured but individually they faced challenging headwinds and delicate balancing acts to modernise their businesses for a more globalised and networked world. But we were perhaps being charitable to the Anglo-Saxon firms that have striven so hard for decades to dominate Europe and have largely failed. Nobody is drinking that Kool-Aid anymore. The headwinds have come and gone, or at least remain with little of the effects that many anticipated. The 100 firms in 40 jurisdictions that make up this year’s report have taken Brexit, Covid and political turmoil in their stride and are largely going from strength to strength.

It was supposed to be so different; the mostly UK-based firms that threw their weight about in Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Paris and Rome in the late 1990s and early 2000s, acting like bullies, predicted that legal services in those markets would be homogenised and those resisting would suffer. There were casualties – Loyens & Loeff was largely born of the ruins of Loeff Claeys Verbeke after Allen & Overy had picked it over. There were success stories too – Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber’s merger of equals with Freshfields was viewed as market defining, although there is an argument that it allowed Hengeler Mueller, Noerr and Gleiss Lutz to bolster their positions in Germany. There are many examples of Euro Elite firms rejecting formal advances from UK firms: Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe told Herbert Smith where to go, as did De Brauw (and others) to Linklaters. Few will have regretted that decision. Continue reading “Stronger together? Not really”

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Euro Elite Overview: Sterner stuff

In what should be difficult times, our annual Euro Elite survey finds the 100 leading firms across more than 40 jurisdictions largely in great shape and looking forward to 2022 – with clearly no room for doom and gloom.

The European Commission’s Winter 2022 Economic Forecast projects that, following a notable expansion by 5.3% in 2021, the EU economy will grow by 4% in 2022 and 2.8% in 2023. Growth in the euro area is also expected at 4% in 2022, moderating to 2.7% in 2023. The EU as a whole reached its pre-pandemic level of GDP in the third quarter of 2021 and all member states are projected to have passed this milestone by the end of 2022. The comments coming back from the leading independent law firms across the region reflect this macroeconomic picture – they are generally in rude health. Continue reading “Euro Elite Overview: Sterner stuff”

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Euro Elite Baltics: Closer together

The relatively small markets of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia enjoy a strong reputation for legal know-how on behalf of international investors, which has ensured that the bigger Baltic firms were able to weather the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic unscathed, easily changing emphasis to respond to quickly shifting and time-sensitive legal mandates.

Consequently, there is a general pattern that has developed since 2020: many reported a momentary freeze in work in the early months of the pandemic. This led to an increase in contentious corporate disputes, restructuring, and refinancing, all expected consequences of an economic downturn. Continue reading “Euro Elite Baltics: Closer together”

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Euro Elite Benelux: Full steam ahead

Independent law firms across the Benelux region have gone into 2022 with a renewed sense of optimism, with them successfully withstanding the challenges of Covid-19 to continue winning exciting new mandates. Reflective of the buoyant mood of the market, at Stibbe, Brussels managing partner Wouter Ghijsels says: ‘Last year was our best year in terms of turnover. Our office is growing, and things are actually going extremely well in Brussels.’

Deal activity in Belgium has remained high since summer 2020, with firms reporting unprecedented demand from clients, as pre-pandemic trends in debt markets reassert themselves. 2021 saw an increase in activity from private equity funds, with the TMT, logistics and industrial sectors doing particularly well. Real estate, after a period of uncertainty, has once again become a sought-after asset, with centrally-located office space, logistics property and data centres in particular proving attractive targets for international investors, REITs and portfolio holders. Continue reading “Euro Elite Benelux: Full steam ahead”

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Euro Elite CEE: The middle ground

Compared to previous uncertainty faced across the CEE region at the start of the pandemic, countries have started to recover well with transactions regaining speed. For independent and regional law firms, market conditions are favourable, and firms with office networks that span the region are well placed to handle increasingly cross-border transactional work. As US firms continue to gradually scale down their operations in jurisdictions across the region, many lawyers have become wary of working for the big international players, which is a boon for more localised firms.

In Poland, where the legal market has remained strong and withstood the effects of the pandemic considerably well, law firms are benefiting from continued growth in the economy. Poland also continues to see international inward investment and its geographical position places it at the crossroads of numerous transport routes across Europe, both of which are factors enabling its continued economic success. Continue reading “Euro Elite CEE: The middle ground”

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Euro Elite France: Vive l’autonomie

The second year of the Covid-19 crisis has seen French firms busier than ever. Following an initial slowdown between March and May at the beginning of the pandemic, the Paris market has more than picked itself up since early summer 2020. As corporates and investors adapted to life under Covid rules and French courts opened up again, firms across all areas of the legal market report extremely high levels of activity.

As interest rates remain low, firms are struggling to keep pace with the big appetite for mergers and acquisitions. LBO specialists in particular shouldered more transactions in 2021 than in the year before the pandemic hit. The Paris fund formation teams also report a buzzing market, partly caused by a necessity to fund restructurings, but mainly driven by the economy’s staggering comeback. In the venture and growth capital scene, the extremely busy market, and in particular the heavy investments made by US and UK investors, has caused a rise in the number of new firms specialising in venture and growth capital transactions. Continue reading “Euro Elite France: Vive l’autonomie”

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Euro Elite Germany: Bouncing back

At the beginning of the Covid pandemic, German law firms found themselves wary of what the future might hold and prepared for the worst. Two years on, most say their fears were unwarranted – several firms have reported the last financial year to be their strongest to date. ‘The pandemic has shown the enormous resilience of the independent law firm model,’ says Alexander Ritvay, co-managing partner at Noerr. ‘The legal market in Germany recorded a 6% revenue increase in 2020 [to €253m]. We outperformed the market, as we increased our top line by 10%. The ongoing year is also looking quite strong.’

This optimism can, in part, be attributed to the fact that the predicted big slump in commercial and corporate mandates never arrived. M&A, private equity and restructuring are identified as current key drivers of activity in the legal market. ‘With the low interest rates and the liquidity that’s in the market, we believe that transactional activity – both domestic and foreign – will continue and probably increase in the forthcoming 12 months,’ says Ritvay. ‘This is likely because there is also significant reorganisation as well as restructuring going on in many industries.’ Continue reading “Euro Elite Germany: Bouncing back”

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Euro Elite Iberia: Aiming high

Though the landscape has shifted as a result of the pandemic, the entry of international players and the ongoing digital transformation, independent law firms in Spain and Portugal continue to rise to the occasion.

The M&A market took an inevitable knock due to Covid-19, but Spanish firms’ optimism appeared justified, with high liquidity and low interest rates continuing to fuel M&A activity in 2021. ‘There has been strong investor interest in sectors such as renewable energy, technology, real estate, health, finance and agri-food,’ notes Fernando Vives, executive chair of Garrigues. Continue reading “Euro Elite Iberia: Aiming high”

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Euro Elite Ireland: Setting the pace

The past six years have been a turbulent period for the Irish economy, with uncertainties surrounding the UK’s exit from the EU quickly followed by the impact of Covid-19. Despite these external shocks, however, Ireland’s economy has performed strongly relative to the rest of Europe, with the country’s technology and pharmaceutical sectors particular bright spots. In addition to continued foreign direct investment, the domestic economy has overperformed expectations in spite of prolonged periods of restrictions, and ambitious targets on climate change are driving the development of new energy infrastructure.

Multinationals remain a major engine of Irish economic growth. Dublin is home to a host of household names in the tech space, including Apple, Google and TikTok, which established a base in the Irish capital in 2021. The presence of these tech giants in Ireland has wide-ranging effects on the Irish economy, with increased demand for Dublin office space and data centre infrastructure two particularly visible trends. Continue reading “Euro Elite Ireland: Setting the pace”

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Euro Elite Italy: La dolce vita

Our Euro Elite report in 2021 noted how the Italian legal landscape, dominated by independent law firms, had been more resilient to the pandemic than initially predicted. A year later, with the global crisis still not over, the verdict still holds true. With its consistently healthy market, Italy’s future outlook remains positive.

Italian law firms across the board saw their turnover increase by an average of 4% in 2020 compared to the previous year. Looking at the firms with the highest turnover, only 10% registered a decline, while 20% were able to maintain the same revenues. Meanwhile, a striking 70% reported growth of varying degrees – from feeble to impressive. Within this group are, on the one hand, international firms with a strong Italian presence that were able to consolidate their position and, on the other, independent Italian players including Legance, Chiomenti and Advant Nctm, while multi-practice boutique firm Pedersoli also achieved remarkable success. Continue reading “Euro Elite Italy: La dolce vita”

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Euro Elite Nordics: Complete package

Across the Nordic region, the Covid-19 crisis meant firms faced challenges in terms of adapting to remote working requirements and new regulations. The early days of the pandemic saw a noticeable dip across the board in terms of new work coming into firms, and transactional activity slowed down, but despite the ongoing uncertainty, the market has proven resilient.

‘The Norwegian legal market has proven to be very robust with high growth over time,’ observes Thomas K. Svensen, managing partner of BAHR. ‘Despite an uncertain global situation, the strong and stable outlook for the Norwegian economy continues to attract activity which again fuels an already strong legal market.’ Continue reading “Euro Elite Nordics: Complete package”

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Euro Elite Southern Europe: Sole resistance

Greece and Israel dominate the Southern Europe section of the Euro Elite – and both are jurisdictions where domestic, independent firms enjoy a near-monopoly. In Greece, for example, Athens-based firms seemingly lead the legal market. Despite the continuous detrimental economic consequences arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, lawyers have remained significantly active in the past year due to the high demand of legal services across an array of markets; one of those being projects and privatisations.

Demanding the most attention in Greece is the €8bn Hellinikon Project, set to be the largest urban regeneration project in Europe, with the development replacing the former Hellenikon International Airport. There has been a continuous focus upon the construction, operation and execution of the project, with legal advice coming from an array of firms, including Dryllerakis, Karatzas & Partners, Koutalidis and PotamitisVekris. It is estimated to contribute 2.4% to Greece’s GDP once completed, aiding the significant decline of 9% as seen in 2020. Employment is also set to see an improvement, with 10,000 jobs already filled and 70,000 to follow, facilitating the opening of restaurants, hotels and shopping malls. Continue reading “Euro Elite Southern Europe: Sole resistance”

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Euro Elite Switzerland: Like clockwork

When the world went into lockdown in March/April 2020, everyone expected the worst for the economy. While it is safe to say that some countries struggled more than others, Switzerland conquered the crisis and even exceeded pre-Covid activity in some areas.

As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Switzerland’s GDP has been on a steady increase and almost tripled in the last 20 years. Projections also show significant growth from 2020 to 2021, stressing the fact that the pandemic had little to no impact on the Swiss economy. This was also witnessed by Thierry Calame, the new managing partner at Lenz & Staehelin: ‘The pandemic continued to be the largest challenge this year. However, thanks to the robust Swiss economy there has not been any economic downturn in 2021, but rather a significant recovery.’ Continue reading “Euro Elite Switzerland: Like clockwork”

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Caribbean Offshore Report: The vital signs

Driven by different dynamics, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Bermuda have each experienced their own problems in the Covid era – much like the rest of the world – but collectively and individually these sophisticated legal jurisdictions have continued to fare well. Driven by experienced and talented lawyers, strong commercial nous and a well-honed judicial system, the leading global players in the Caribbean can take whatever is thrown at them.

As all jurisdictions were forced to adapt quickly to the coronavirus pandemic, the Caribbean was no exception, with working from home and reduced contact due to social distancing swiftly becoming the norm. The climate has not been without its challenges as multiple lockdowns forced local businesses to suffer and caused substantial disruption to many in the hospitality sector. Indeed, the region’s once-thriving tourism industry continues to stall as travel levels remain low compared to pre-pandemic times – an inevitable blow for Bermuda, the BVI and Cayman – given their significant reliance on international cash injections into the local economy. Continue reading “Caribbean Offshore Report: The vital signs”

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UK Offshore report: Keeping a weather eye

In our 2021 offshore report, law firm pundits placed their bets on the market drivers they predicted would define the coming year. Notwithstanding some unsurprising volatility, the outlook has proved far brighter than many had dared to hope.

‘There was a sense that revenues were going to drop last year, the courts were going to close and strategic decisions would go on hold’, says Jason Romer, group managing partner of Collas Crill, ‘but that never happened. Revenues have continued to increase, the costs are down and we continue to get busier.’ Continue reading “UK Offshore report: Keeping a weather eye”