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International Arbitration Insight: Bigger, longer, more complicated

digital map

‘Arbitration has gone from being the exotic bird of dispute resolution to become almost the norm,’ argues Constantine Partasides of Three Crowns (3C).

The appearance of boutiques such as 3C and Hanotiau & van den Berg is itself a sign of arbitration’s entry into the mainstream. It is tempting to consider parallels with the US-based litigation firms that emerged in the late 1980s and ’90s, when Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Boies Schiller Flexner broke away from the full-service model to focus on disputes work. Continue reading “International Arbitration Insight: Bigger, longer, more complicated”

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Virtual Fear and Loathing – Can GCs get law firms to collaborate on tech?

Clichés abound over the stereotypical contrast between stuffy lawyers and progressive tech start-up gurus. Clearly law firms – whose liberal and often misplaced use of the term ‘innovation’ often adds fuel to the fire – have plenty of work to do. At the same time, some clients are far more insistent on innovation from their external advisers than others.

To what extent is this true? Are clients really driving a technological shake-out in the procurement of legal services? As Stuart Whittle, business services director at Weightmans, says: ‘The appetite varies massively among clients. Some want a solution on a stick while others are willing to invest time in tech and work with start-ups. They are all doing their own things and they are subjected to all kinds of pressures.’ Continue reading “Virtual Fear and Loathing – Can GCs get law firms to collaborate on tech?”

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The last word: New order

As part of our technology special, we canvass the experts and ask where the legal start-up market is headed

Most will fail

‘1,400 legal tech companies are not going to succeed. This is the normal curve for any disruption of an industry: we’re going to see failures and people abandoning software, you’re going to see a consolidation phase. I see some of these failures freaking people out, but that’s normal. Lawyers have to understand in early-stage entrepreneurship most companies don’t make it. Failure is not investing in a little company that went under; it’s the portfolio not generating an overall great return.’
Dan Jansen, chief executive, Nextlaw Ventures Continue reading “The last word: New order”

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UK Outlook sponsored briefing: ‘Hodl’, ‘Hit the moon’, ‘Lambo’, ‘Miners’

Brown Rudnick

Brown Rudnick’s Jane Colston considers asset tracing and enforcement across the blockchain

As comedian John Oliver recently said: ‘Cryptocurrencies and blockchain [are] everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers.’ Continue reading “UK Outlook sponsored briefing: ‘Hodl’, ‘Hit the moon’, ‘Lambo’, ‘Miners’”

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UK Litigation Outlook sponsored briefing: Three is a crowd! The rise of third-party funding in international arbitration

Eversheds Sutherland

Eversheds Sutherland assesses the key issues of using third-party funding in international arbitration

The use of third-party funding (TPF) has been a hotly debated topic in the international dispute resolution community for some time, with all signs pointing to its continued growth. The funding market appears to be on a constant expansion trajectory, with the number and geographic diversity of funders increasing, and new funders continuing to enter the market. Continue reading “UK Litigation Outlook sponsored briefing: Three is a crowd! The rise of third-party funding in international arbitration”

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Star power is core to your pitch – accept it

Within the same week, two Magic Circle firms stressed to Legal Business the same mantra after departures of big-name lawyers: it is not about stars, the focus is the platform and that is what top clients are buying. In a mobile market where even the once-untouchable elite City law firms lose marquee names to high-paying rivals, it is an increasingly familiar refrain, albeit one that has spread from mid-weight stalwarts to the tier more used to the role of hunter than prey.

But law firms – and this goes double for the leaders in the UK and US – would be well advised to go nowhere near the seductive institutional defence and not only because the financial results of the last ten years provide ample evidence that contradicts the assertion. Continue reading “Star power is core to your pitch – accept it”

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A&O merger bid risky but US question can’t be delayed forever

Allen & Overy

‘It is an odd couple. I wouldn’t have put them together,’ is one take from a London peer to the news that Allen & Overy (A&O) has sought a $2.8bn union with O’Melveny & Myers. It is certainly a representative view.

Since news of the talks broke in early April, One Bishops Square has gone uncharacteristically coy. However, it is understood that management indicated earlier this year that it was talking to two, then unnamed, US firms. A&O, of course, has to tread carefully – getting a deal through the demanding audience of its London partnership with O’Melveny or any comparable firm is a big ask. Continue reading “A&O merger bid risky but US question can’t be delayed forever”

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The wheat from the chaff – Hustling start-ups meet City law

In a quiet east London street off the bustling Brick Lane, a few doors from a sign tagged ‘Vegan Hair Salon’ is a co-working space. You meet Gaz, the office’s bulldog, and work among Star Wars figurines, gaming consoles and an electric drum kit.

It has blackboard walls and is suspiciously empty on a Friday afternoon given the barbecue outside. Equidistant from the corporate hub at Liverpool Street and the ‘scene’ of Shoreditch High Street, music plays. Continue reading “The wheat from the chaff – Hustling start-ups meet City law”

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UK Litigation Outlook sponsored briefing: Get on board! Sea changes in civil litigation – Spring 2018

Walker Morris

The courts are introducing innovative methods of dispute resolution to meet the growing demand from clients

The civil courts in England and Wales are experiencing unprecedented change. Lord Justice Briggs’ wholesale review of their structure1 coincided with a five-year programme to ‘deliver – through the use of modern technology, an improved estate and modernisation of current working practices – a more effective, efficient and high performing courts and tribunals administration’2. This follows Lord Justice Jackson’s sweeping reforms3, which elevated the importance of costs management and proportionality. Continue reading “UK Litigation Outlook sponsored briefing: Get on board! Sea changes in civil litigation – Spring 2018”

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Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Internal investigations and public enforcement: challenges under Italian law

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

Cleary Gottlieb’s Francesco De Biasi, Andrea Mantovani and Alessandra Anselmi examine the challenges facing companies

Internal investigations and public enforcement actions pose significant legal challenges for companies. The inherent multidisciplinary nature of the most frequent issues, which requires an in-depth knowledge not only of the laws and regulations of the relevant industry, but also of criminal, corporate, contract, data protection and labour law (often in more than one jurisdiction), increases these challenges. Continue reading “Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Internal investigations and public enforcement: challenges under Italian law”

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Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Interim injunctions in China – the key tactical considerations

Hui Zhong Law Firm

Fang Zhao, Jing Liu and Xueyu Yang of Hui Zhong Law Firm discuss the status of interim injunctions under PRC law

Court injunctions originated as a common law concept, which takes its name from the Latin word to enjoin or to impose. The glossary of the UK White Book defines it as: ‘A court order prohibiting a person from doing or requiring a person to do something.’ In its interim form, an injunction constitutes one of a number of remedies available to a litigant in the course of litigation, a procedure which enables a party to apply to the court for temporary measures against the other party in advance of a final judgment. If and when granted, an interim injunction will have a mandatory effect, requiring the respondent to take or refrain from taking such actions as are stipulated in the court order. An interim injunction is generally regarded as a powerful tool in civil litigation proceedings since it substantially impacts on the rights and obligations of the parties prior to substantive resolution of the dispute. As such, it acts as a strong incentive for early settlement. Continue reading “Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Interim injunctions in China – the key tactical considerations”

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Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Welcome shores for arbitral awards?

MoloLamken

MoloLamken’s Robert Kry examines the state of the law governing enforcement of arbitral awards in the US

The US finds itself in a complicated relationship with international arbitration. The institution has deep roots in this country – the US remains, after all, the home of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the cradle of the New York Convention, the treaty that underpins most enforcement of arbitral awards around the globe. But as the political climate veers in a more nationalist direction, detractors are having their day, as seen most prominently in the debates over whether to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement from the North American Free Trade Agreement. While the US remains a generally hospitable place to enforce foreign arbitral awards, the current environment makes it all the more important to litigate such matters with care and judgment. Continue reading “Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Welcome shores for arbitral awards?”

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Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Reformation and evolution of the arbitration laws in India

Singh & Associates Advocates & Solicitors

The Indian courts are proposing new amendments to legislation surrounding arbitration in India to encourage a positive pro-arbitration approach

The arbitration regime in India has undergone evolutionary change in the last few years. The arbitration laws in India have been made more flexible with time, to attract international parties to choose India as their preferred seat for international arbitration. Continue reading “Global Outlook sponsored briefing: Reformation and evolution of the arbitration laws in India”

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Global Outlook sponsored briefing: The International Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal – France has risen to the challenge

Stewarts

The Paris courts aim to strengthen France’s appeal as a centre for litigation post-Brexit

Paris has long been positioned as one of the leading centres for international commercial arbitration disputes, so the French government’s latest legal initiative should come as no surprise to its European counterparts. Indeed, Paris is no stranger to international dispute resolution as there has existed for more than ten years within its Tribunal of Commerce an International Chamber, formed of ten English-speaking judges, hearing commercial disputes with an international dimension. Continue reading “Global Outlook sponsored briefing: The International Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal – France has risen to the challenge”

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16 easy steps to making you a great managing partner

Recently a surprisingly popular column in Legal Business took a jaded view of the state of leadership in major law firms. The nub of our argument was that the law firm c-suite had descended into technocratic managerialism over genuine leadership, leaving once bold institutions to put off crucial decisions.

That piece drew on years of hanging around with managing and senior partners, which at times means feeling more like a leadership therapist/their mother than a reporter. But in the spirit of lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness, here are my tips to successful law firm leadership. And ignore the flip tone because I mean it all. Continue reading “16 easy steps to making you a great managing partner”

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SFO makes interim director appointment as Linklaters hires DPP Alison Saunders

Linklaters

The white-collar crime arena has seen significant upheaval in recent weeks, with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) making an uninspiring interim appointment to replace director David Green QC, while Linklaters has hired the divisive Alison Saunders, the current director of public prosecutions (DPP).

Mark Thompson, formerly the SFO’s chief operating officer (COO), took over from the previous incumbent on a temporary basis on 21 April. In an SFO press release, Thompson had said: ‘The search for a new director has been successful, although the individual cannot take up the post immediately.’ Continue reading “SFO makes interim director appointment as Linklaters hires DPP Alison Saunders”

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Disputes Eye: Witness statements – going loco with Acratopulo

Clifford Chance

With the war to overhaul disclosure raging on, a new battleground already seems to be emerging. Leading the charge is the newly-appointed president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), Julian Acratopulo.

Clifford Chance (CC) partner Acratopulo, elected LSLA president in April, was quoted as saying witness statements needed reform. Continue reading “Disputes Eye: Witness statements – going loco with Acratopulo”

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Reports of the death of CC’s sponsor practice prove exaggerated but surviving isn’t thriving

Clifford Chance

Marco Cillario finds much more substance to CC’s PE business than the usual critique but stopping managed relative decline will only get harder

‘Look at the team they had in the mid-2000s: strong personalities, industry leaders, primary advisers to any significant private equity house. There has never been a team that strong in Europe. They failed to bring through any meaningful succession.’ Continue reading “Reports of the death of CC’s sponsor practice prove exaggerated but surviving isn’t thriving”