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Sponsored briefing: Gender equity becomes key focus

Herbert Smith Freehills

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has quadrupled the number of female partners in its London corporate team since 2017, with women comprising 45% of all new partners joining the team since then.

‘We knew we had a problem and we knew it was business critical to fix it,’ says Mike Flockhart, HSF’s London-based global co-head of corporate. Mike credits his fellow global co-head, Melbourne-based Carolyn Pugsley, as an important catalyst for change. ‘Carolyn brought different perspectives to the global leadership team, and was inspirational to a generation of female talent who were looking for leadership. Here we had a successful female partner, managing a career and family and being very authentic about her experience.’ Mike also notes the role that senior male leaders like James Palmer and Stephen Wilkinson played: ‘They were uncompromising about the need to change, and the need to prioritise the development and support of female talent.’ Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Gender equity becomes key focus”

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Sponsored briefing: The influence of diversity in M&A

Emma Danks, partner and co-head of Taylor Wessing’s international corporate group shares her experience on how the M&A industry has evolved, the greater awareness of diversity and inclusion in private equity and the rising profile of female founders in the venture capital world

The three areas of M&A, private equity and venture capital are typically perceived as being among the toughest working cultures and one of the most competitive industries in the business world. With the client base being historically predominantly male, there was a perception that it was more difficult for new talent, and more diverse talent, to break through. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The influence of diversity in M&A”

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Sponsored briefing: Addressing the gender imbalance

We ask three of DLA Piper’s female M&A stars some of the most pressing questions currently facing women in the sector. Partners Tracey Renshaw, Laura Marcelli, and Victoria Rhodes answer below

In your opinion, what specific factors contribute to the under-representation of senior women in M&A, and what steps can be taken to address this imbalance? Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Addressing the gender imbalance”

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Sponsored briefing: Simons Muirhead Burton: M&A capabilities

From its civil liberties roots, Simons Muirhead Burton (SMB) has grown over the last 50 years into a full-service law firm based in London’s West End. The firm is renowned for its leadership in many areas, with our corporate M&A team making a significant impact when it comes to advising sellers/buyers across diverse sectors ranging from media and technology, to creative agencies, the hospitality, manufacturing, retail and professional services industries.

We are unique in that we act for both entrepreneurs and start-ups, mature businesses seeking funding, growth and sale, and for family offices, private equity investors and multinational companies. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Simons Muirhead Burton: M&A capabilities”

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Sponsored Q&A: Michal Berkner, senior M&A partner at Cooley in London

Michal Berkner is one of the most distinguished M&A lawyers in Europe, advising on some of the region’s most complex and strategic cross-border transactions in life sciences and tech. She joined Cooley’s London office in 2018 from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where she had practised in M&A for more than 20 years.

Michal’s clients include strategic buyers and sellers and investors in public and private companies ranging in value from multiple millions to billions of dollars. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Michal Berkner, senior M&A partner at Cooley in London”

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The in-house debate: Time for a quick Chat(GPT)?

Nathalie Tidman, Legal Business: How much access do you have to the board? How intrinsic are you to the decision-making processes of your business?

Aurea Garrido, Warner Bros. Discovery News & Sports: My team sits with the business. For me, a decisive factor was being part of the executive committee, which I have been for three or four years now. I needed to be part of something; not just advising on technical legal issues. Not everyone is as lucky. I know lawyers who have more senior positions than me in the same industry who don’t get access to the exec team or the board. Continue reading “The in-house debate: Time for a quick Chat(GPT)?”

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‘The busiest two months I’ve had for a long time’ – interview with Sidley London team following recent private equity push

Following Sidley’s hire of private equity specialists Ramy Wahbeh and Kaisa Kuusk from Paul Weiss in June, Legal Business caught up with Wahbeh along with London managing partner Tom Thesing, and partner and management committee chair Yvette Ostolaza, to discuss the recent expansion in the City.

So far this year, the firm has made a push to hire in the private equity space, recruiting seven partners in London including Wahbeh and Kuusk who both brought with them experience acting for large private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on European and global deals.  Continue reading “‘The busiest two months I’ve had for a long time’ – interview with Sidley London team following recent private equity push”

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Revolving Doors: Kirkland, Shearman and Latham hire in New York

Despite the sluggish summer hiring season, it has been busy in New York. After losing several partners to Paul Weiss, Kirkland announced it had appointed partner Adam Shapiro to its debt finance group. He brings with him a wealth of experience in restructuring, leveraged finance and syndicated lending, having served at Simpson Thacher for 16 years.

Shearman & Sterling announced it has rehired Alejandro Gordano as a capital markets partner for its Latin America group also in New York. He joins from Linklaters, where he spent over three years as counsel, having previously served as counsel at Shearman for two years starting in 2016. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Kirkland, Shearman and Latham hire in New York”

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Sponsored Q&A: Deloitte Legal

1. What are the main tax laws and regulations that businesses and individuals need to comply with in Uruguay?

Main Uruguayan tax laws are comprised within the Tax Law Code and the Tax Office Compilation, where are defined and regulated the main applicable taxes for businesses and individuals. In this sense, such compilation comprehends the corporate income tax, resident income tax, non-resident income tax, value added tax (VAT) and the net worth tax. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Deloitte Legal”

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A shoo-in: Hogan Lovells partners prepare to back CEO Zaldivar for a second term

Miguel Zaldivar

The board of Hogan Lovells has given its unanimous recommendation for Miguel Zaldivar (pictured) to be re-elected as the firm’s chief executive for another four-year term, starting on 1 July 2024.  The move will be subject to a partner vote, which closes at the end of August.

Succeeding Steve Immelt, Zaldivar assumed the role of the firm’s CEO on 1 July 2020, after previously serving as the regional CEO for Asia Pacific-Middle East, based in Hong Kong. Continue reading “A shoo-in: Hogan Lovells partners prepare to back CEO Zaldivar for a second term”

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DWF’s private equity buyout: Selling the family silver or the opportunity of a lifetime?

Hope floats

In July, the board of DWF Group Plc confirmed market reports that it was planning to delist from the London Stock Exchange in a buyout by private equity firm Inflexion. Having floated in 2019, the fanfare of a record £95m IPO and a valuation of £366m to make DWF the UK’s largest listed law firm has arguably not lived up to the hype.

In the four years since, the firm’s fortunes have been chequered, with its highest valuation recorded just before the pandemic hit at 141.4 pence per share in February 2020, with a drop to 90 pence per share in March 2020 and an all-time low in June 2020 of 53 pence per share. Continue reading “DWF’s private equity buyout: Selling the family silver or the opportunity of a lifetime?”

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Sponsored Q&A: Liedekerke

1. What are the key tax laws and regulations in Belgium that individuals and businesses should be familiar with?1. What are the key tax laws and regulations in Belgium that individuals and businesses should be familiar with?

The Belgian tax regime is essentially based on the Income Tax Code 1992 (ITC92) and the Royal Decree implementing the ITC92. Income taxes are in principle levied on (i) the total worldwide income of Belgian tax resident individuals and companies (ie, personal income tax and corporate income tax) unless domestic law or tax treaties provide for reductions or exemptions, and (ii) the Belgian sourced-income of non-resident individuals and companies (non-resident taxation). Taxation typically occurs on a net basis, ie, after the deduction of expenses. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Liedekerke”

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Sponsored Q&A: AndPartners

1. What is the core philosophy or guiding principle of your law firm?

We have six keywords governing the overall philosophy of our firm:

a. SUSTAINABILITY: What makes a business sustainable? In our opinion, respect and regard toward all the resources that contribute to it: the firm’s professionals, whose growth and appreciation we foster; the work environment, made up of environmentally sustainable materials; the taxpayer, with whom we want to build a trust-based relationship; the institutions, with whom we want to have transparent discussions.

b. NETWORKING: Dialogue and discussion are the basis of our ‘networking’. Earnest, transparent, and solid personal relationships to work well, fully respecting know-how and rules. We work as a team creating positive synergies to foster the growth of our profession, of the national, European, and worldwide context.

c. INNOVATION: We are on a path of continuous evolution. Keeping an open mind is the way to innovate and improve our personal and professional relationships. We keep up with technology to improve our work and our clients’.

d. GROWTH: 360-degree growth and understanding: growth for the client and for the economy around us, professional growth by focusing on continuing education and on appreciating our professionals.

e. ESG: Environmental social governance: we deal with internal relationships by appreciating from time to time whoever has the right skills for the best possible result; we support our clients’ propensity towards ESG criteria; we respect the environment with environmentally sustainable choices; we devote part of our time to socially useful endeavours.

f. COMMITMENT: It’s obvious for a tax and law firm to strive for utmost commitment. We’ve chosen this principle to remind us of this, to clearly see that commitment does not just consist in doing our job well, but in doing so by ensuring that all our inspiring principles are still valid.

Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: AndPartners”

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Sponsored Q&A: Dentons (Bolivia)

1. Can you provide an overview of the current tax laws and regulations in Bolivia?

Bolivia operates a territorial tax system based on the principle of source taxing income generated by individuals and/or legal entities arising from goods and assets located or used economically within its territory and from any activity carried out in the country, regardless of the nationality and/or residence of the parties involved or where the contracts were entered into.

A corporate income tax taxes entities incorporated or carrying businesses in its territory, including subsidiaries/branches of foreign entities. No personal income tax exists as such for individuals; thus, they are subject to a complementary tax on the value added tax on any income obtained as employees and/or as direct taxpayers.

The tax legislation has not experienced significant changes and has not evolved since its last major reform in 1986. For that matter, an integral reform is essential not only to amend existing flaws and inconsistencies in the norms, but to adapt them to new realities of industrialisation, technology, digitalisation and entrepreneurship. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Dentons (Bolivia)”

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Firm profile: KPMG

About KPMG’s dispute resolution team

Our KPMG dispute resolution team has extensive experience assisting organisations resolving tax disputes, while maintaining an effective working relationship with tax authorities.

Tax law can be complex and uncertain and with each new development in the tax environment, the context for resolving
tax disputes changes. For companies, this could result in a position of conflict that requires strategy and expertise
to navigate. Continue reading “Firm profile: KPMG”

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Tax perspectives: Dan Neidle

Why did you decide to become a lawyer and – why tax?

I studied physics at university because I thought I was brilliant at maths. Then I hit the wall of my maths ability about two weeks into the degree so I decided I wanted to be a crusading criminal barrister. I then made the mistake of doing a mini-pupillage and, seeing how the criminal law impacts people’s lives, decided it wasn’t for me. Complete respect to people who can do that, but I can’t. Continue reading “Tax perspectives: Dan Neidle”