Competition litigation has certainly become a hot topic in litigation circles, thanks largely to marquee disputes like the £14bn group claim launched against Mastercard.
Continue reading “The waiting game”

‘I have never instructed a Big Four firm on a legal matter,’ says one UK general counsel of a large multinational. ‘The accountants’ legal offering is not something I’m close to,’ concedes Tesco GC Adrian Morris. The respective legal chiefs at The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group strike a similar note: ‘We don’t currently use any of them,’ says Michael Shaw, while Kate Cheetham notes: ‘Our use of these offerings is quite limited.’ Continue reading “The hard sell”

‘There isn’t enough focus on the generational issue,’ says veteran employment lawyer and Lewis Silkin’s divisional managing partner Richard Miskella. ‘There are three different generations in the workplace and they hold completely different world views. The twenty-somethings are impatient for change.’
Continue reading “A change is gonna come”

Another headline panel session from our flagship corporate counsel event, Enterprise GC, saw four in-house banking lawyers reflect on the regulatory dynamics of their sector.
Continue reading “Postcards from the most regulated”

Continue reading “Heal thyself”

One of the set-piece debates of day one of Enterprise GC covered a pressing issue for GCs – how to widen their skillset by gaining board experience, as well as practical tips on becoming a non-executive director (NED) in particular. The session, chaired by veteran City columnist James Ashton, featured some seasoned campaigners: Michael Coates, associate general counsel for Shell UK and a director for a number of Shell companies; Eversheds Sutherland partner Denise Jagger, who has a portfolio of non-executive directorships and trustee roles; Stuart Morton, head of the legal and professional services function at executive search firm Odgers Berndtson; and Rob Webb QC, now a senior adviser at Brunswick and former general counsel for both British Airways and Rolls-Royce, who has held a number of board roles throughout his career.
Continue reading “Broader horizons – GCs taking outside roles”

As technology reshapes the legal industry, we interview three senior lawyers about their attempts to grapple with change at their companies.
Continue reading “Three perspectives on change”

Any lawyer of a certain vintage can recall the dawn of the BlackBerry age, the watershed moment at the turn of the Millennium that meant you could always be on call. It was a blessing and a curse. But the initial freedom of being able to work anywhere at any time has become a crippling 24/7 expectation for many, with the inability to ‘switch off’ being an oft-cited issue.

Continue reading “No alarms and no surprises”

When looking for good in the world, corporate governance law is not the most obvious place to train your eye. Yet there is a sizeable band of corporations – thousands, in fact – who have opted to start just there, using corporate governance as a springboard to the greater good.
Continue reading “Corporations with benefits”

A key morning session of our 2019 Corporate and M&A Summit saw Linklaters London competition head Nicole Kar chair a lively debate between two authorities on European competition law and policy and its effect on M&A. On one side was economist Dr Claudio Calcagno, a vice president at Analysis Group and an expert in the competition arena, while on the other side sat John Gray, partner at Finsbury and head of its competition practice, who focuses on public affairs aspects of merger control cases, both in the UK and the EU.

Continue reading “Tougher competition – the growing impact of antitrust marquee deals”

It was fitting that one of the first morning sessions of our inaugural Corporate and M&A Summit dealt with arguably the trickiest period of any public M&A deal – the first week, and specifically critical initial dealings with the Takeover Panel. Continue reading “The Takeover Panel – that crucial first week”

The final session before lunch in our Corporate and M&A Summit looked at the mechanics of auctions and how best to handle the competitive bid process from both the buyer’s and seller’s perspective. The session, moderated by co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s global corporate practice, Fiona Adams, brought together panelists experienced in the auction process. Joining Adams was colleague Paul Maher, veteran corporate lawyer and vice chair of Greenberg, along with Jessie Gill, head of legal at Stemcor; Chris Hunt, group head of M&A for Rentokil Initial; and Nick Johnston, partner at Perella Weinberg. Continue reading “Auctions – how to play the game”

Given that mega mergers coming out of the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector have dominated the corporate agenda for decades, it was fitting that an afternoon session of our inaugural Corporate and M&A Summit focused on transactional trends in this area. Chaired by Laura Anderson, co-chair of Bristows life sciences group, it gathered a collection of in-house experts from big pharma. Continue reading “Big pharma, small partners: the key transactional trends in life sciences”

Given that mega mergers coming out of the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector have dominated the corporate agenda for decades, it was fitting that an afternoon session of our inaugural Corporate and M&A Summit focused on transactional trends in this area. Chaired by Laura Anderson, co-chair of Bristows life sciences group, it gathered a collection of in-house experts from big pharma. Continue reading “Big pharma, small partners: the key transactional trends in life sciences”

‘What do we mean by business partnering in the legal department?’ Royal Dutch Shell legal director Donny Ching asks. Few general counsel can long resist reminding observers that the in-house legal function needs to be a strong business partner. But far fewer can explain what it means. Continue reading “Shell’s Future Legal 2 programme”