Emily Bernstein is an experienced private banker at Investec who specialises in supporting legal leaders and senior lawyers. Here, she tackles the unique financial challenges facing senior legal professionals Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Ask the private banker to senior lawyers”
The potential for reputational damage from ongoing litigation is increasingly recognised across the legal sector. Even where the value of a dispute going through court may be relatively small, the reputational damage that can result from the hearings – particularly at trial – can be vastly greater. It is therefore vital to have a comprehensive strategy in place to manage any media attention that the case may receive, both to put the client’s narrative forward and to parry any talking points floated by the other side.
While it may seem advantageous to seek to minimise media attention at all costs during hearings that are likely to go poorly, this can often backfire. Seeking to push forward the client’s position and narrative only during positive parts of a case, and otherwise largely not engaging with the media, can cause long-term issues for credibility when working with those journalists relying on the parties for information around a case. Litigation is a contact sport both in the courtroom and in the press, and it is vital to have a team of experts advocating for you in both arenas. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The importance of maintaining a constructive media relationship throughout litigation”
VanLoman partners Marc Oostenbroek and Gabriël van Gelder explore the advantages and disadvantages of structures for employee participation commonly used in the Netherlands
Participation structures are an often-used method to bind employees/managers to the company and to share the value increase realised. In the Netherlands generally four kinds of participation structures are used: stock options; stock appreciation rights (SARs); shares; and carried interest. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: A brief overview of Dutch alternatives for participation structures”
THE WHAT AND WHY OF DORA
The EU’s financial sector is counting down towards a major legal document aimed at addressing cyber security concerns within this sector. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The Digital Operational Resilience Act: the next chapter for cyber resilience in the EU financial sector”
Can you tell us a little bit about your career and how you ended up at Walkers?
When I graduated from University College Dublin in 2001 with a business and law degree I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. A friend in university had started working in a finance role within a fund administrator and he told me that if I joined and stayed for three months that he would get a €500 referral bonus. I joined. He got the referral bonus (which he didn’t share with me incidentally) and subsequently left to become a primary school teacher. Ironically, I have remained in the funds industry ever since. My legal career began a couple of years later with one of the leading domestic firms in Dublin, where I was earmarked for their investment funds group when I finished my traineeship. In 2011, I moved to London and joined the global asset management firm, PIMCO. I stayed in London with PIMCO for almost seven years before returning to Ireland in 2018 when I joined Walkers. During my time in London I completed an MBA at London Business School and briefly considered the idea of moving out of a legal role but ultimately stuck with a career in the legal profession. I feel that I have made the right choice and enjoy working in the funds industry in Ireland. Last year, I was elected to the Council of Irish Funds (the asset management and investment funds industry association here) and recently have been appointed to the role of vice chair of the association and consequently will assume the role of chair next year. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Nicholas Blake-Knox – partner and head of Walkers’ asset management and investment funds group in Ireland”
Lisa Broderick of DAC Beachcroft examines the key problems and priorities for Irish clients, as well as the firm’s recent international growth and adaptations post-Covid
DACB Dublin is part of DAC Beachcroft LLP, an international law firm with over 2,800 professionals and a legal network advising across the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and North America. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Challenges and strategies in a competitive market”
What are some of the challenges and opportunities you foresee for the investment funds industry in Ireland, and how is Dechert positioned to navigate them?
Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: In conversation with Dechert Dublin’s managing partner – the case for a global law firm”
Introduction
The Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 (the Act) was signed into law on 9 March 2023 and provides for the introduction of Ireland’s IAF, which represents a significant development in Ireland’s regulatory landscape. The Act’s origins can be traced back to the Central Bank’s 2017 recommendation for enhancing senior individuals’ accountability within regulated financial service providers (RFSPs). It aligns with international efforts to mitigate misconduct risks and addresses cultural failings identified in RFSPs during the 2008 financial crisis. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: What you need to know: Ireland’s Individual Accountability Framework (IAF)”
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Limited version Continue reading “Access your pdf edition of LB magazine – issue 316”
Eversheds Sutherland has announced several new appointments to its senior leadership team across its practice groups and business services teams.
Succeeding Paul Worth, who is retiring at the end of December following 21 years at the firm, Mark Davenport will take on the role of litigation and dispute management practice group head. Davenport led the commercial dispute resolution team for the last three years. Taking on Davenport’s role as head of CDR is Lisa Barge, the former head of real estate litigation, whose boots will in turn be filled by Will Densham. Continue reading “‘Ambition, confidence and opportunity’: Eversheds selects new members of its senior leadership team”
TLT, Latham & Watkins and Compass Group were among the major winners at the 2023 Legal Business Awards, which welcomed more than 800 guests to the Grosvenor House hotel on 19 September.
Hosted by actor, writer, and producer Sally Phillips (pictured, below), the evening saw TLT crowned Law Firm of the Year, with judges particularly impressed by its stellar performance over the past few years, with a strong financial performance in 2021/22 underpinned by key client wins. Continue reading “TLT, Latham and Compass Group among the big winners at 26th Legal Business Awards”
In celebration of Black History Month, Cleary partner Naomi Tarawali shared her perspectives on her legal career during a recent conversation with Legal Business. Continue reading “Black History Month Q&A: Naomi Tarawali, Cleary Gottlieb”
After completing her studies in Japan’s picturesque Northern city of Hokkaido, Mina Hoshizawa began her legal career with Freshfields’s Tokyo office before moving in-house. Now a compliance manager in German healthcare behemoth Bayer’s Law, Patents & Compliance section, she manages other compliance professionals and supports them in their goals and objectives. Joe Boswell caught up with Mina on our last trip to Japan and asked her to reflect on her career so far, her professional passions and the advice she would give to her younger self.
GC: First, can you talk through your career path in your own words?
MH: I passed the bar exam when in university. After graduation , I went through the legal training for about eighteen months. After qualification, I spent about two and a half years at the Tokyo office of Freshfields. I was involved in due diligence work in M&A deals, corporate secretary matters, and so on: basically a normal junior associate. Eleven years ago, I left the firm to be closer to the business side of things. At Bayer, I started my career as an in-house lawyer for its Crop Science business, sitting in its Leadership
Team. I gradually switched gear to the compliance field and am now compliance manager, looking after Bayer in Japan as a whole.
GC: So you started off at a major international law firm. How did you find the culture there compared to working as an in-house counsel?
MH: Well, as you can easily imagine, they’re extremely hardworking and very professional in Freshfields. Bayer offers, a healthier work-life balance, I would say.
Having said that, what I learned in Freshfields really is the basis of who I am today. Of course, as an in-house lawyer you have to do hundreds of things besides core legal work, but at the same time I am also responsible for checking – for instance – a compliance investigation report that needs to be accurate. This is a matter that could cause future litigation, requiring very careful handling. So, whenever I am in charge of finalising a particularly tough document, the fundamental legal skill and attention to detail that I learned at Freshfields is really useful.
GC: What is your greatest passion when it comes to your life as an in-house lawyer?
MH: Doing things professionally at all times is important. But I am also passionate about how my team is effectively working with the business and how I can help them to really enjoy their work. I take time to think: are they really happy to work at Bayer, and in this team? Do they feel that they are really contributing to Bayer’s compliance culture? And so on. Lawyers can tend to be more focused on being detail-oriented and perfectly correct at all times, but I am more into developing my team.
GC: What are the main things you try to prioritise as a leader?
MH: I try not to act or look perfect, and make sure to seek support from my team members, especially because I have less experience in the pharmaceutical industry than them. I show my vulnerability and then, from there, we can build relationships with each other and they can open up what they are struggling with, which helps everyone. In short, I do not pretend to be perfect as a leader, and admit my own weaknesses to my team.
GC: Have you seen the legal community in Japan change over the course of your time working as an in-house counsel?
MH: Well, it is definitely changing, there is no doubt about that. The number of in-house lawyers who are qualified in Japan and around the world is growing. One of the potentially biggest changes would be that a few years ago, it was common that in-house lawyers would first experience private practice legal work for a few years or even up to ten years before moving in-house. But now quite a lot of first year, newly- qualified lawyers directly join in-house legal teams in Japan directly. This is caused by two things: firstly, a growing number prefer to be in-house lawyers; and secondly, because there are not enough positions available even if they wanted to join law firms.
I learned a lot when I was at Freshfields, and I recommend that everyone should have at least one year of experience in private practice. I think unless you are in a big company, which already has a number of qualified lawyers, it will be challenging for newly qualified lawyers to learn how to be a first-class in-house counsel in Japan.
GC: As a ‘Rising star’ in the profession, what tips would you give to other young Japanese people who want a career in the in-house legal and compliance world?
MH: If opportunity allows, I recommend joining a law firm first even if you plan to be an in-house counsel later. This is because I learned a lot about being professional at the law firm.
GC: What about the advice you would give a younger version of yourself? Say, when you were just finishing University.
MH: Well, I may advise my younger self to be more open to leaving Japan for a few years to work somewhere else. That would have opened up more understanding on other cultures and other perspectives. This would be a big plus for an in-house lawyer working in an international company like Bayer.
London fraud specialist Andy McGregor has become the first partner to leave Allen & Overy since partners voted in favour of its merger with Shearman & Sterling last week. A Legal 500 leading individual for civil fraud in London, McGregor is particularly experienced in banking litigation. He moves to disputes boutique Enyo Law after eighteen months at A&O, which he joined from RPC in May 2022.
Kirkland & Ellis has seen another partner depart its London office with the move of IP litigator Katie Coltart to Linklaters. Coltart joined Kirkland as a partner in 2018, and previously spent six years at A&O, where she qualified in 2011. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Two out, two in at Kirkland, as A&O sees first exit following merger approval”
In celebration of Black History Month, V&E partner Miguel Colebrook shared his perspectives on his legal career during a recent conversation with Legal Business.
Continue reading “Black History Month Q&A: Miguel Colebrook, Vinson & Elkins”
1. Can you provide an overview of the current employment law landscape in Bahrain, highlighting any recent legislative changes or notable court cases?
The current employment law landscape in Bahrain is predominantly governed by the Labour Law. It is important to note that there have been no recent legislative changes to this law as of the current date. Continue reading “Q&A: Hassan Radhi & Associates”
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Shearman & Sterling are set to go ahead with their transatlantic merger, after partners at both firms voted overwhelmingly in favour of the union, with support from more than 99% of votes cast at each firm.
Longstanding Weil Gotshal & Manges London managing partner Mike Francies is set to step down after more than 20 years in the role. Francies, who joined Weil from Clifford Chance in 1998 and started leading the office two years later, will retire at the end of 2024.
Public M&A partner David Avery-Gee and private equity partner Jonathan Wood will work alongside Francies as co-managing partners for a transition period starting in January 2024. Continue reading “Weil set for new London leadership as longstanding office head Mike Francies prepares to step down”
Following the announcement of its move to a new office space at 8 Bishopsgate, Legal Business spoke to King & Spalding London managing partner Tom Sprange KC (pictured) about the move, the firm’s expansion plans and cracking the private equity market.
‘I can’t emphasise enough how important the new office is to us, on a strategic, symbolic, practical, and professional level. The firm launched in London in 2003 with a handful of people in rented office space so announcing a new state-of-the-art office is a perfect way to not only mark our 20th anniversary but also to secure the foundations for further growth over the next two decades and beyond,’ Sprange responded when asked about the rationale behind the move. Continue reading “‘We opted for ambition’: King & Spalding’s Tom Sprange KC on the firm’s London move and expansion plans”
