Posted on

Golden goodbyes – changing faces and fortunes at the City’s top banking teams

As the golden generation of banking rainmakers retire, Legal Business takes a look at the core teams of the City elite and assesses the talent in the Square Mile’s top finance practices.

‘The days of lawyers being experts only in the investment grade market are a thing of the past,’ reflects Clifford Chance (CC)’s Michael Bates, and, if anyone should know, the Magic Circle firm’s veteran head of finance should. ‘Corporate treasurers are diversifying funding sources, so while you have to be steeped in investment grade knowledge you also need to have a good level of understanding in areas such as the US private placement market, European private placement and institutional lending markets, the investment grade bond world and M&A/stock market-related requirements to ensure different strands of the capital structure work in harmony.’

Continue reading “Golden goodbyes – changing faces and fortunes at the City’s top banking teams”

Posted on

The battle within: Risk management and professional indemnity survey 2016

With cyber risk exploding and storm clouds over the economy, it’s harder than ever to balance risk with commercial realities. Legal Business’ annual risk survey asks how law firms are coping.

While no major law firm has yet fallen prey to the sort of high-profile data breach that the mobile operator Talk Talk suffered in 2015, the threat is front and centre of every risk manager’s mind. For those polled in Legal Business’ ninth annual risk management survey with broker Marsh, ‘IT security breach/data management accident or breach’ was again regarded as the most significant risk to law firms in terms of the damage it could cause and the likelihood of it occurring (see table).

Continue reading “The battle within: Risk management and professional indemnity survey 2016”

Posted on

Straight to the source – the pros and occasional cons of direct access

In-house teams instructing the Bar has gone mainstream over the last ten years. LB assesses how far direct access can go.

Twenty years ago the idea of any person instructing the Bar other than a private practice solicitor was frowned upon. Although as qualified solicitors in-house counsel always had the right to instruct barristers, convention dictated private practice lawyers acted as gatekeepers of the Bar for companies seeking advice on litigation. But, as the rules have changed and in-house lawyers have expanded their remits, corporate legal teams have come to appreciate the benefits of direct interaction with barristers.

Continue reading “Straight to the source – the pros and occasional cons of direct access”

Posted on

INVESTIGATIONS: Successfully navigating challenging international regulations

With the growth of enforcement activity worldwide, companies are being forced to create or adapt their internal structures and incorporate stricter, more sophisticated risk and compliance management systems, to detect and prevent legal risks and address any wrongdoing that could result in the infringement of domestic or international regulations.

The team at LALIVE, an international law firm renowned for its expertise and experience in international legal matters, in particular dispute resolution, investigations and regulatory advisory services, has been helping clients to successfully navigate and adapt to international regulations for the past 15 years. LALIVE has built a robust business crime defence and investigations practice, led by four partners based in Geneva and Zürich, all established practitioners with strong track records in domestic and cross-border litigation, international investigations, business crime defence as well as best-practice risk and compliance management, who combine an excellent understanding of the legal environment and enforcement agency processes, and practice in Switzerland and abroad.

Continue reading “INVESTIGATIONS: Successfully navigating challenging international regulations”

Posted on

Beneficial ownership in Swiss PE acquisitions

Bär & Karrer’s Christoph Neeracher and Luca Jagmetti advise on the new rules.

As part of a new Swiss legislation aimed at preventing money laundering and tax evasion, any entity acquiring 25% or more of a non-listed Swiss company must inform the latter regarding the acquiring entity’s beneficial owner and update such information in case of changes.

In standard private equity structures, the administrative burden of the new legislation can be minimised by implementing a practicable solution compliant with the rules. As typically the general partner (GP) takes the relevant decisions regarding the fund and its portfolio companies, the individuals controlling the GP (respectively controlling the ultimate shareholder of the GP) should be disclosed as beneficial owners. If such individuals cannot be determined, the top executive officer (chair or chief executive) of the GP, or respectively of its ultimate shareholder, may be disclosed.

Continue reading “Beneficial ownership in Swiss PE acquisitions”

Posted on

Compliance obligations: genetic resources

Homburger’s Andri Hess details the Nagoya Ordinance.

Switzerland is a member of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization on 11 May 2011. The Nagoya Protocol pursues the implementation of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources, which is the third of the three core objectives of the CBD. On 1 February 2016, the main parts of the Swiss implementing ordinance (Nagoya Ordinance) entered into force.

Continue reading “Compliance obligations: genetic resources”

Posted on

News in brief – March 2016

EE LEGAL HEAD REVEALS PLANS POST-TELCO MERGER

Following BT’s high-profile £12.5bn takeover of UK mobile business EE, it has emerged the telco plans to consolidate external legal panels, while EE’s general counsel (GC) James Blendis has been appointed to BT’s legal leadership team. Blendis will now sit on BT’s legal leadership board, which comprises senior legal management, including group GC Dan Fitz.

 

Continue reading “News in brief – March 2016”

Posted on

Red dragon, white cross – Can Chinese money kickstart Swiss markets

Dragon in the mountains

‘In our worldwide business, the volume of mergers is at a record high. However, in Switzerland we can talk about a stagnation of deals,’ says Guy Vermeil, managing partner of Lenz & Staehelin. His downbeat assessment of the domestic M&A market is supported by last year’s numbers. As the broader Swiss economy stalled with GDP growth of only 0.8%, KPMG’s annual transactional review labelled 2015 as ‘troubled for the M&A market in Switzerland’. Transaction volume declined 17% compared to 2014, from 420 to 350 deals, while the aggregate value of completed M&A with a Swiss component fell 55% to $84.9bn.

Benedict Christ, co-head of M&A at Vischer, identifies removal of the currency peg as a particular problem: ‘There was certainly no growth in M&A, that’s probably mostly due to the appreciation of the Swiss franc in early January [2015], which made it considerably more expensive for foreign investors. The hit we took from the appreciation was probably not as bad as it could have been, but this will certainly continue to have an effect on the markets.’

Continue reading “Red dragon, white cross – Can Chinese money kickstart Swiss markets”

Posted on

Shell starts panel review as BG Group legal team undergoes post-acquisition restructure

Royal Dutch Shell has kicked off a review of its external legal roster after finalising its £47bn takeover of BG Group last month and as their existing panels come to an end. As a result of the takeover, the second-largest energy deal on record, both companies will overhaul their legal divisions.

Continue reading “Shell starts panel review as BG Group legal team undergoes post-acquisition restructure”

Posted on

KWM loses historic SJ Berwin client as buyout firm NorthEdge picks Paul Hastings for £300m fund raising

Paul Hastings has won a first time instruction from UK buyout firm NorthEdge on the launch of a £300m fund, the second mandate the US firm has taken from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) in as many months after it recently acted for historic KWM client Investindustrial.

Continue reading “KWM loses historic SJ Berwin client as buyout firm NorthEdge picks Paul Hastings for £300m fund raising”