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Sponsored briefing: The lateral partner hiring landscape for 2024

I have been working with law firms advising on strategic lateral partner hires for more than 20 years, and trying to predict what the market is going to do is not only challenging but futile, as the market often does exactly the opposite of what everyone thinks it is going to do.

Law firm growth and profitability is directly linked to hiring and developing the right people, be that as trainees, or as lateral partner hires. Even firms that have historically grown organically, such as the Magic Circle or single-office big hitters like Macfarlanes and Travers Smith, are increasingly making forays into the lateral recruitment market. This desire/need/pressure to grow and to get ahead of the curve has exploded in recent years and resulted in record numbers of partner and team moves, not to mention some eye-catching mergers.
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Sponsored Q&A: PwC

1. What are the key regulatory bodies overseeing the banking and finance sector in Poland, and what is their role in ensuring compliance with financial laws and regulations?

The main supervisory body in Poland is the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority (‘Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego’ or ‘KNF’). KNF supervises the banking, capital, insurance and pension sectors, payment institutions and payment service offices, electronic money institutions and credit unions. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: PwC”

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From wellness amenities to stranded assets: leading real estate partners give their 2024 predictions

Following a year of high interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation, the real estate sector would be forgiven for feeling a little worse for wear. However, when LB caught up with some of the industry’s leading partners, their outlook for 2024 was more positive than might be expected. While investment in traditional real estate transactions is down, opportunities in new areas of business are booming and the City’s lawyers are ready to diversify.

2023 dealt the real estate sector an enforced pause as landlords and investors grappled with rising interest rates. While the investment market is unlikely to bounce back to full force in 2024, more movement is expected. Continue reading “From wellness amenities to stranded assets: leading real estate partners give their 2024 predictions”

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Revolving doors: Restructuring veteran Ereira leaves Paul Hastings for Quinn as firms build up funds practices

Quinn Emanuel made a significant move in London this week, hiring restructuring veteran David Ereira from Paul Hastings. In the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for corporate restructuring and insolvency, Ereira has a wealth of experience advising clients from governments to debtors, creditors, and investors on a wide range of insolvency and restructuring issues.

Ereira’s practice at Paul Hastings included non-contentious work, and this makes him a somewhat uncharacteristic hire for disputes-focused Quinn. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Restructuring veteran Ereira leaves Paul Hastings for Quinn as firms build up funds practices”

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If you build it – firms put together infra dream teams as market booms

If there was any doubt remaining that infrastructure is a hot asset right now, BlackRock just eradicated it with its market-moving $12.5bn acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The combined business will have infrastructure assets under management of more than $150bn worldwide, including London’s Gatwick Airport.

The planned transaction is the latest evidence of the sector’s resilience even against the backdrop of high inflation and interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty that have caused M&A and IPO levels generally to falter in recent years. Continue reading “If you build it – firms put together infra dream teams as market booms”

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Dealwatch: Global 100 advisers take centre stage on BlackRock-GIP $12.5bn mega deal

Briefcase

Skadden, Fried Frank, Kirkland and Debevoise have all taken lead advisory roles as BlackRock announced on Friday (12 January) that it will buy Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for an eye-watering $12.5bn. The transaction will give BlackRock a total of $150bn in infrastructure assets, rocketing it to the top tier of infra funds.

The transaction sees BlackRock acquire 100% of GIP’s business and assets, which include Gatwick, London City, and Edinburgh airports as well as the Port of Melbourne and a raft of LNG assets around the world. The total deal value includes $3bn in cash and 12 million in BlackRock shares, with around 30% of the total consideration deferred, expected to be issued in approximately five years ‘subject to the satisfaction of certain post-closing events’. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Global 100 advisers take centre stage on BlackRock-GIP $12.5bn mega deal”

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‘A timely reminder’: SDT issues joint highest-ever fine in anti-money laundering crackdown

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has fined Clyde & Co £500,000 and former partner Edward Mills-Webb £11,900 following a slew of anti-money laundering breaches.

At a hearing that took place last week (9-11 January), the SDT considered a statement of facts and admissions agreed by the parties, ultimately finding all allegations to be proved. The SDT ordered Clyde & Co to pay a £500,000 fine, as well as contributing to the SRA’s £128,197.48 costs. Meanwhile, Mills-Webb was ordered to pay a £11,900 fine and contribute towards the SRA’s £54,941.77 costs. Continue reading “‘A timely reminder’: SDT issues joint highest-ever fine in anti-money laundering crackdown”

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Reasons to be cheerful: the hustle is back for 2024

Whether it is the prospect of another few weeks still left of winter, many law firm leaders seem to have started the year under an uncharacteristic cloud of despondency.

Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the other reasons why even the peppiest of senior partners might appear noticeably dispirited. The US contingent at least will be frantically number-crunching ahead of financial results coming out and, after the year that most transactional practices have had, the task will be about as enviable as filling out your tax returns. That said, early indications of double-digit growth from Milbank and Hogan Lovells may well prove those fears unfounded. Continue reading “Reasons to be cheerful: the hustle is back for 2024”

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Revolving doors: Linklaters makes bold US play as new year recruitment picks up

Defying its US strategy critics, Linklaters’ New York office began the week with the hire of a six-lawyer M&A team from Shearman & Sterling. Led by Legal 500 Hall of Famer for $1bn-plus M&A deals, George Casey, the team also includes partners Heiko Schiwek and Gregory Gewirtz.

Casey, who had been global managing partner at Shearman from 2018, joins Linklaters as its global co-chair of corporate. Key mandates for Casey include Celanese’s $11bn all-cash acquisition of most of DuPont’s mobility and materials business in 2022, and DuPont and Dow Chemical’s $130bn merger in 2015. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Linklaters makes bold US play as new year recruitment picks up”

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Sponsored briefing: Mitigating the risks of the current economic climate

Oktay Şener, managing partner of Aksan Law Firm, examines how his team has reacted to the changing Turkish legal market

How are the recent economic problems, including the currency crash and inflation, affecting your firm?

Experiencing difficulties is quite normal in the current economic climate and unfortunately, we also witness the reflections of this issue among our clients. However, our country’s economic history and past have accustomed us to such ups and downs. At Aksan, in line with the precautions we have taken after Covid, we have been discussing, contemplating and implementing measures related to this situation for a while now.
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Sponsored briefing: The licensing process in the Turkish electricity generation market

Dr Ata Torun of Hansu Attorney Partnership provides an overview of the procedure for gaining a licence to generate electricity in Türkiye

General overview of the Turkish electricity market

The energy sector in Türkiye continues to develop in accordance with decarbonisation objectives driven by national and international dynamics. In this context, the number of generation facilities based on renewable energy sources has increased significantly in recent years. Most recently, Türkiye’s National Energy Plan announced in 2023 aims to increase clean energy and energy efficiency within the scope of sustainability. In addition to the integration of renewable energy resources into the electricity system, investments in the energy sector have gained significant momentum with recent regulations on the storage of generated electricity. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The licensing process in the Turkish electricity generation market”

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Sponsored briefing: Looking to the future

Mehmet Selim Yavuz and Murat Uyanık of Yavuz Uyanık Attorney Partnership discuss how the legal market has been affected by the country’s economic climate and their expectations for areas of growth

Given Türkiye’s current economic problems including the devaluation of the currency and high inflation, how has this been affecting your firm throughout 2023 and into 2024?

Our attorney partnership has managed to grow in a delicate manner during 2023 which could be defined as one of the most economically devastating years. The exchange rate and inflation crises caused by the interest cuts of the Central Bank of Türkiye had significantly damaged Turkish Lira which deeply affected the purchasing power of our employees. We unfortunately needed to revise our rates and we adjusted our ongoing arrangements with our clients. New business opportunities have also emerged as economic problems have affected contractual relationships, which later turned into legal proceedings. Therefore, it could be stated that even with macroeconomic conditions we managed to grow our business. Unfortunately, the year 2023 did not start very well for the Turkish people and economy. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Looking to the future”

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Sponsored briefing: The fate of employment contracts in M&A transactions under Turkish law

M. Efser Karayel-Keßler of Matur & Ökten & Karayel Keßler explores the legislation affecting employment relationships when a company’s legal structure changes and where this means employees face unequal treatment

Changes to the legal structure of companies regularly have an impact on employment relationships. These usually lead to changes in employment conditions, dismissals or early retirements , or cause a change in the identity or form of the employer. This particularly applies to asset deals, mergers, demergers and company-type changes. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The fate of employment contracts in M&A transactions under Turkish law”

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Sponsored briefing: Legal nature of representations and warranties in share transfer agreements

Evrim Uygur Yamaner and İrem Özbay of Gled Partners consider seller liability in providing representations and warranties when transferring shares

In merger and acquisition (M&A) share transfer agreements, it is common to include statements and representations assuring that there are no encumbrances on the shares and that the company was properly established, legally compliant and possesses required permits and licences.
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Sponsored briefing: The increasing number of enforcement and bankruptcy cases in Türkiye in recent years

Using statistical data, Egemenoğlu Hukuk Bürosu reflects upon bankruptcy in Türkiye, and looks to the effective measures available for present businesses

In recent years, the liquidity shortage in the markets, the unexpectedly high increase in raw material costs, the sudden fluctuations in exchange rates and the problems arising from the deterioration of the supply and demand balance have caused serious economic difficulties for citizens and companies in our country. As a result of this situation, many companies are struggling under the financial burden of debt. As a result of deteriorating cash flows and financial structures, companies are experiencing difficulty in paying their debts, and are subsequently encountering enforcement proceedings, and even the risk of bankruptcy. Recent negative progress in the economy has also led to an increase in the number of execution and bankruptcy files. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The increasing number of enforcement and bankruptcy cases in Türkiye in recent years”

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Sponsored briefing: Artificial intelligence generated content and copyright, creativity and authorship issues

Gökçe Ergün, Çağla Yargıç and Yaren Türe of Kılınç Law & Consulting report on how Turkish law views AI-generated content in the context of authorship and copyright

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools that, in simple terms, bring algorithm-based machine learning to mind, have started generating unpredictable outputs, especially with the advancement of cutting-edge systems like generative AI contributing to technological advancement. AI can generate content across a wide spectrum, ranging from texts to images, music to videos. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Artificial intelligence generated content and copyright, creativity and authorship issues”

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Sponsored briefing: Criminal liability of company directors

Mustafa Tırtır and Muharrem Kazak of Mustafa Tırtır Law Firm set out recent Supreme Court case law on liability for crimes committed during company activity

In the event of a criminal offence during the activities of a company, legal entities are not subject to criminal sanctions. Natural persons authorised to represent and bind the company are held criminally liable.
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