Continue reading “AI and the law tools of tomorrow: A special report”
Global 100 quartet line up as Shire continues acquisition spree
Ropes & Gray, Slaughter and May, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Sullivan & Cromwell have all picked up advisory roles as pharmaceutical group Shire moves to buy US firm Dyax.
Continue reading “Global 100 quartet line up as Shire continues acquisition spree”
Dentons to vote on new union with Australian and Singaporean firms
Dentons announced last night (2 October) it intends to create a tripartite union with Australian firm Gadens and Singaporean firm Rodyk & Davidson, subject to partner approval.
Continue reading “Dentons to vote on new union with Australian and Singaporean firms”
Economic recovery will not lead to decline in the disputes sector
We are delighted to sponsor the Disputes Yearbook, which now forms a central part of Legal Business’ wide-ranging and insightful disputes coverage.
There is no doubt that litigation continues to be a dynamic and rapidly developing sector of the legal market. Although there is a possibility that the improving economic climate will have a negative impact on a sector that is, to some degree, counter-cyclical, it is the rise in regulation and enforcement, and the rise in international arbitration, which show no signs of slowing and continue to drive the market.
Continue reading “Economic recovery will not lead to decline in the disputes sector”
Legal privilege: the ripples flow on still from Three Rivers
Colin Passmore assesses a key ruling in the increasingly contentious area of legal privilege.
In June this year, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal held that the English Court of Appeal decision in Three Rivers (No.5) [2003] does not represent Hong Kong law. This is, of course, the 2003 English Court of Appeal decision well-known for the challenges it presents companies who wish consultations with their legal advisers to benefit from the protection of legal advice privilege.
Continue reading “Legal privilege: the ripples flow on still from Three Rivers”
Brodies hires Freshfields partner Fountain amid double corporate hire
Scottish firm Brodies is taking its private equity offering up a gear by hiring Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Karen Fountain as part of a double lateral hire into its corporate group.
Continue reading “Brodies hires Freshfields partner Fountain amid double corporate hire”
Moore chosen as Linklaters’ next managing partner
Global head of banking Gideon Moore has been selected as the next managing partner of Linklaters, pipping dispute resolution head Michael Bennett and Asia managing partner Marc Harvey to the post.
Continue reading “Moore chosen as Linklaters’ next managing partner”
Ropes & Gray promotes two new London partners in global round of 17
Having been increasingly focused on growing its City offering through lateral hires and expanding into new practice areas, Boston-based Ropes & Gray has promoted just two associates or 12% to its City partnership ranks from a reduced global round of 17.
Continue reading “Ropes & Gray promotes two new London partners in global round of 17”
Latham & Watkins: Masterminding a fraud claim – the English courts as a magnet forum?
The world is an increasingly small place: money travels far and fast across seemingly invisible borders converting from cash into assets, back into cash, and then back into yet further assets at the click of a button.
CMS: Crowdfunding litigation – power to the people?
When the people of France gave the Statue of Liberty to the US in 1886, they left it to the people of the US to fund the acquisition of a site and build the pedestal. Fundraising proved difficult until the publisher of the New York World started a campaign that attracted over 120,000 donations, most of which were less than a dollar.
Harneys: British Virgin Islands positioned to become an international arbitration centre
The British Virgin Islands’ (BVI) Arbitration Act 2013 came into force on 1 October 2014. It is a landmark piece of legislation which is expected to propel alternative dispute resolution in the BVI into high gear. The BVI is now well-positioned to become a leading jurisdiction for international arbitration. The Act incorporates these main features:
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan: Party-appointed arbitrators, impartiality and a perceived need for change
It is an old adage that the quality of any arbitration as a method of dispute resolution is only as good as the arbitrators themselves. The lack of substantial scrutiny over the arbitrators’ decision rests on the assumption that the parties wish to avoid any extensive review of the arbitral award by the courts at the seat of the arbitration (or indeed anywhere else).
Signature Litigation: Legal privilege: far from resolved
Abdulali Jiwaji
Partner, Signature Litigation
Daniel Hayward-Hughes
Associate, Signature Litigation
The right of clients to preserve the confidentiality in advice provided by their lawyer is fundamental to English common law. Other common law jurisdictions such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong have all gone one step further than England by entrenching legal advice privilege and protection from disclosure into statute. Legal advice privilege applies to confidential communications between a lawyer and client for the purpose of seeking or obtaining legal advice. Problems can arise though when it is unclear who the instructing client is and whether the lawyer is actually a ‘lawyer’ for the purposes of the common law test for privilege.
Signature Litigation: Policing arbitration – can accountability deficit be addressed?
Natalia Chumak
Partner, Signature Litigation
Nick Storrs
Senior associate, Signature Litigation
Over recent decades, arbitration for dispute resolution has become increasingly popular. Commercial parties are becoming far more amenable to resolving their differences by private means rather than through national court systems, which can be more costly and time-intensive. There is, of course, nothing wrong in engaging in a private, consensual process and there are numerous advantages of doing so. But the framework within which such disputes are resolved must be unimpeachably robust in order to meet the objective in any dispute resolution process: to do justice between the parties in accordance with the law. Accordingly parties’ autonomous right to submit disputes to arbitration needs to be structured within a legislative framework which governs and regulates the arbitral process. This is in part to:
Travers Smith: CPR 36: time for a re-boot?
Jan-Jaap Baer
Partner, Travers Smith
Emma Reynolds
Associate, Travers Smith
In April this year, CPR 36 underwent the latest in a series of amendments. These amendments did not amount to a root-and-branch overhaul of the regime but rather to a reorganisation and codification of existing principles, largely designed to address issues which have been thrown up by recent court decisions. The changes were generally welcomed as providing a greater degree of clarity for litigants when navigating their way through what remain complex and densely drafted rules. However, there remains a question as to whether a more radical overhaul of the rules is desirable.
Mishcon de Reya: The dangers of repeat appointments
The issue of repeat appointments has been news in International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) cases in recent times, but what’s the concern? The independence of the arbitrator is one of the cornerstones of arbitration. An independent arbitrator is one who has no close relationship with a party in the arbitration or its counsel, be it of a financial, professional or personal nature. It is crucial that an arbitrator has no such relationships because they might induce the arbitrator to decide in favour of one of the parties, irrespective of the merits of the case.
Continue reading “Mishcon de Reya: The dangers of repeat appointments”
Jasbir Dhillon QC: Freezing injunctions and receivership in support of arbitration
Jasbir Dhillon QC
Brick Court Chambers
A frequently encountered problem for any claimant in international arbitration arises where the respondent seeks to make enforcement of any arbitral award against their assets difficult or impossible. In this article, I describe two forms of injunction available from the English court that provide an effective remedy for this widespread problem.
KWM’s Hong Kong office doubles up on prime capital markets deals
King & Wood Mallesons has advised on Hong Kong’s largest rights issue to date this year, with investment house Fosun International raising $1.5bn to fund a push into financial services.
Continue reading “KWM’s Hong Kong office doubles up on prime capital markets deals”
Game over: Debevoise, A&O and Fenwick & West lead on Candy Crush maker’s sale for $6bn
Debevoise & Plimpton, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Fenwick & West have scored roles advising video game maker Activision Blizzard on the acquisition of Candy Crush creator King Digital Entertainment for $5.9bn – one of the largest deals in the fast-growing interactive entertainment industry.
Olswang launches 10% staff bonus to encourage entrepreneurs
After what has been a challenging couple of years for TMT firm Olswang, chief executive Paul Stevens is launching a series of initiatives in a bid to ‘re-ignite the firm’s entrepreneurial spirit’.
Continue reading “Olswang launches 10% staff bonus to encourage entrepreneurs”