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Euro elite: focus Greece, Turkey and The Balkans – Bouncing back

They may not be out of the woods yet, but independent firms from the south-east tip of Europe are showing their resilience.

In a region of Europe marred by economic crisis and political unrest, many firms in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the Balkan Peninsula have remained resilient. The expectation that testing circumstances could lead to bad news for many firms has been offset by international interest or domestic legal work that came with the uncertainty.

John Dryllerakis, managing senior partner of Greece’s Dryllerakis & Associates – a firm that despite having just 44 lawyers scores highly in The Legal 500 EMEA – has the most ominous outlook. Capital controls, a possible exit from the Eurozone and two general elections have caused significant uncertainty in the country.

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Euro elite: focus Nordics – Power, soft and hard

The Euro Elite is dominated by independents from the Nordics – large, high-quality and able to resist the advance of international firms.

The Nordic countries – Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland – are diverse legal markets that are home to a strong array of independent domestic firms, including Mannheimer Swartling and Vinge in Sweden, and Denmark’s ‘big four’: Kromann Reumert, Plesner, Gorrissen Federspiel and Bech-Bruun.

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Euro elite: focus Benelux – Perfect triptych

While local firms in the three Benelux countries have had to fight global law firms at one time or another, the independents have successfully held their own.

The Benelux countries – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – may be closely-knit neighbouring states in central Europe, but their legal markets are distinctly different. And while historically these countries joined West Germany, France and Italy to form the European Coal and Steel Community – a predecessor to the EU – the rules and regulations for each market have created unique landscapes for law firms.

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Euro elite: focus Russia and CIS – Cold fronts

While international firms have enjoyed tussling with leading independents in Moscow for years, a hardening market has seen the local players show their resilience.

Russia’s legal market continues to struggle after international sanctions were imposed in 2014 during the Ukraine crisis, affecting corporate, commercial and capital markets. These penalties added to the problems the region was already grappling with following the global financial crisis and low oil prices that were hitting the nation’s industry.

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Banking on change: bonuses still centre stage

Tapestry’s Janet Cooper on regulatory developments affecting pay in financial services.

Since 2009, regulators around the world have been issuing regulations and guidance on how and what employees in financial services firms should be paid. For lawyers working in the area, staying on top of the changes is challenging; making sense of them and applying them in a global context is complex.

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The importance of getting early advice

Kate McMahon of Edmonds, Marshall, McMahon on EMM’s unique offering to victims.

Edmonds, Marshall, McMahon (EMM) was set up in 2012 as a boutique firm specialising solely in private prosecutions, the first and only specialist private prosecution firm in the country. The three founding partners are all experienced prosecutors, with Tamlyn Edmonds previously heading up the prosecution team for the Department of Health, Kate McMahon prosecuting for the bribery and corruption team at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and Andrew Marshall being a Grade 4 Advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Standing Counsel for the Attorney General’s list of prosecuting counsel.

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Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2016

SULLIVANS AND WACHTELL ADVISE ON $62m BAYER DEAL

Sullivan & Cromwell, Allen & Overy (A&O), and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz all won roles as healthcare and agriculture company Bayer placed a bid to acquire agricultural company Monsanto for $62bn in May. Sullivans and A&O are acting for Bayer on M&A and financing matters respectively, while Wachtell has taken the lead for US firm Monsanto.


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The Legal Business 100 debate: No quarter asked

As a resurgent mid-tier asserts itself in the UK legal market, our LB100 debate brings together City players to talk tactics, threats and sharpening your focus.

If the talking point of the UK legal market in recent years has been the sparkling performance of the City mid-tier, success is not leading to complacency. Bringing together a group of leading law firms to pick up themes from our recent annual Legal Business 100 report, it was clear that discipline, focus and a pronounced streak of insecurity means that the group are determined not to surrender the hard-won success they have achieved in the last five years.

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