Simmons & Simmons’ Angus McLean argues the profession is missing a unique opportunity in the City’s fintech revolution
Unless you have been too busy reconciling your cheque book stubs against your monthly paper bank statements, you may have heard that the financial technology (fintech) sector is white hot right now.
Continue reading “UK’s fintech boom is set to dazzle but advisers are still struggling to respond”
My summer holidays were spent licking envelopes at my parents printing factory in Hemel Hempstead. My parents were an odd mix, my mum an Italian immigrant and my father as English as they come. They were very keen that I have a profession as they wanted something better for their kids. The business is still in the family.
I learnt classical guitar as a kid. Every time I got to the next grade, a bit like a dog getting a treat, I got a guitar. I had a room full of guitars in my late teens. My Fender Stratocaster is one of my most prized possessions. They end up getting used more by my daughter now.
I was crazy about basketball as a kid and toured with the England youth teams. Nowadays I wouldn’t get anywhere near a team – I’d need to be twice as big.
Continue reading “Life During Law: Stephen Wilkinson, Herbert Smith Freehills”
Freshfields remains the most potent of the City’s big four but modernising the 270-year-old institution has always been a delicate business. Legal Business meets the leadership team tasked with sealing its place in the global elite.
A City veteran, previously a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, sums up the task ahead for the firm’s incoming leadership. ‘The biggest challenge it faces is how it will retain its leading position in an increasingly competitive market. They are running a few initiatives to tackle this and have been reasonably creative. They are willing to challenge a few taboos but are taking their time. Time they don’t have.’
The Magic Circle has so far been able to hold off the advance of US firms in project finance, but how are teams faring in a market hit by European austerity and falling commodities prices?
‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Continue reading “Price of debt – austerity and the plight of a project finance partner”
Africa’s economic transformation has made it a key target for globe-trotting private equity houses. Can the continent pay out for the lengthening queue of investors?
For the private equity (PE) community, where risk and return are uneasy bedfellows, Africa represents less of a gamble. Given the continent’s increasing political stability and steady economic growth, the stakes are becoming stacked progressively in the sponsors’ favour. Not so long ago, investors’ bets were as safe as buying a handful of lottery tickets.
Continue reading “A safe bet – charting the rise of private equity in Africa”
Legal Business teamed up with Simmons & Simmons to discover how financial institutions are coping with the twin threats of regulation and litigation, and assess whether the end is in sight.
If there was ever any doubt about what might be in store for the Volkswagen Group following its recent emissions scandal, a glance at the banking industry over the last five years offers a sobering clue.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is stripping back its worldwide support network in favour of its new Manchester back-office centre as it closes its global IT and helpdesk function in Germany.
While peers have chosen low-cost hubs farther afield in the UK, Clifford Chance (CC) is moving its back-office staff from its Canary Wharf headquarters to a new location five minutes’ walk away.
Nick Grandage and Daniel Franks of Norton Rose Fulbright discuss major developments over the last year in finance law.
Prudential’s Margaret Coltman (pictured) has retired from her role as group general counsel (GC), with the insurance business’ company secretary Alan Porter adding the GC role to his.
Continue reading “In-house: Prudential’s GC Coltman retires as company secretary takes on dual role”
British housebuilding company Taylor Wimpey has added national firm Bond Dickinson to its current roster while renewing its existing panel arrangements.
FRESHFIELDS AND LATHAM ADVISE ON BARCLAYS SPIN OFF
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham & Watkins have acted on the spin-off of Barclays’ natural resources private equity arm in a management buyout. Barclays Natural Resources Investments was purchased by its managers after being placed into Barclays’ non-core asset pile following a restructuring last year. Freshfields acted for Barclays, while Latham advised management.
Continue reading “Deal watch: Corporate activity in November 2015”
Ashurst and RPC are among a quartet of firms that have won places on Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE)’s UK legal panel, with the drinks company also selecting Devereux Chambers as its preferred barristers’ set ahead of a review of its internal legal function.
Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) said its investment in lateral hires has seen revenues improve as the firm posted 5% growth in half-year revenues for the period to October 31. WFW posted global turnover at £59.5m, and said on a currency by currency basis, its turnover is up 7%.
Continue reading “H1 2015/16: Watson Farley points to lateral hires as revenues grow 5%”
Elected as senior partner of Herbert Smith Freehills earlier this year, corporate heavyweight James Palmer has been appointed chair of legal services at professional services lobby group TheCityUK.
Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) continues to build its City roster with the hire of Reed Smith corporate partners Giles Beale and James Wilson, who join as the firm seeks to ‘help domestic and international clients take advantage of transactional opportunities’.
Continue reading “Holman Fenwick continues recruitment drive with Reed Smith corporate duo”
3 Verulam Buildings’ Gregory Mitchell QC and Alexia Knight on what lies ahead for banks
Banks have had a bruising few years. After litigation over bank charges and the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal, very serious allegations surfaced, regarding the alleged mis-selling of interest rate hedging products (IRHPs) and, more recently, regulatory investigations on LIBOR and forex manipulation. This article considers some of the legal challenges for banks as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) review closes.
IBM Watson. Google’s driverless cars. Uncanny recommendations from Amazon, Siri, and Google Now. Not to mention the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award for 2015 going to Martin Ford’s Rise of the Robots: Technology and the threat of a jobless future, summarised as:
Continue reading “Guest post: Artificial intelligence – the robots are/are not coming”
Following a BBC investigation that alleged bribery at British American Tobacco (BAT), the FTSE 100 firm has turned to media boutique Harbottle & Lewis to ‘deal with the matter’.
Continue reading “BAT calls in Harbottles after Panorama bribery allegations”
The highest-paid LLP member at Linklaters took home £3.2m during the last financial year, a 33% increase on what was paid in in 2013/14.
Continue reading “Linklaters pays out a third more to highest-earning member in latest LLP accounts”
