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Risk management and professional indemnity survey 2022: Do the right thing

If the risk management team could be described as a law firm’s conscience, then it follows that the past two years have pricked that conscience to new heights. Of course, Covid-19 has changed the way everyone does business forever and firms are scrambling to align themselves with a new corporate culture that clients are espousing – doing business the right way, not turning a buck at the expense of the planet and taking a genuine interest in maintaining a happy and productive workforce. Our annual risk and professional indemnity report in conjunction with Marsh Specialty reflects these new priorities, with firms understandably preoccupied with reputational risk tied to ethical behaviour under solid environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles, as well as dealing with the new normal of nurturing a workforce that now operates predominantly outside the office. Continue reading “Risk management and professional indemnity survey 2022: Do the right thing”

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The Client profile: easyJet

‘The pandemic hit the airline sector hard and fast. We went from really being in growth mode, preparing forward-looking projects and a successful year in 2020, to very quickly having to ground our fleet almost overnight. We then had to deal with the implications of that for the company, which were severe,’ says Rebecca Mills, deputy general counsel (GC) of easyJet.

For most companies 2020 was a struggle but the airline sector, and easyJet specifically, was hit harder than most. Dealing with grounded flights, plummeting profits and a high-profile data breach, its General Counsel’s Office (GCO) went into overdrive. Continue reading “The Client profile: easyJet”

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Sponsored briefing: Impact of ESG on M&As and financings and trends to watch

Economic decisions over the years have had major impacts on the scarce resources of the planet. Overconsumption and over-production brought the environment to a state of destruction and degradation. Consequently, all these alarming developments have led the academics, analysts, commentators, and scientists to work on the solutions to prevent a catastrophic future. As a result, sustainability has become one of the key considerations in decision-making processes.

Sustainability often consists of interdependencies that exist between environment, society, and economy. These three factors can be referred to as Triple Bottom Line and 3Ps as they may also be called as people, planet and profit. Under this Triple Bottom Line measuring system, unlike the traditional reporting framework, organisational performance is measured using environmental and social dimensions along with economic aspects. These are also important elements to measure the sustainability goals. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Impact of ESG on M&As and financings and trends to watch”

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Sponsored briefing: Q&A with ASC Law’s senior management

What do you consider are the biggest achievements of ASC Law since being founded 21 years ago? (MA, ZC, OB)

Murat Aksu (MA): I think I can speak for all of us in that we are all thrilled, 20 years on, by what we have built. All three of us had been working for large organisations before we started ASC Law, and we all dreamed of starting our own business. And here we are. From just a handful of lawyers in 2001, ASC Law now has more than 70 lawyers, with total staff of some 170. It is now one of the top five largest law firms in Turkey. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Q&A with ASC Law’s senior management”

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Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Aksu Çalıskan Beygo Attorney Partnership

Esentepe Mah. Harman Sok. No. 5, Harmancı Giz Plaza Kat 16, Şişli, İstanbul, Turkey 34394
T: +90 212 284 98 82 | E: [email protected] | www.aschukuk.com

Practice areas: arbitration, banking and finance, capital markets, commercial (including project development and finance), corporate, debt restructuring, labour/employment, litigation, M&A, probate, real estate Continue reading “Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Aksu Çalıskan Beygo Attorney Partnership”

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Keystone hails £400k saving on overheads as revenue rockets 27% and profits soar

Keystone Law has made last year’s 11% uptick in turnover look ordinary by comparison, today (28 April) announcing an eye-catching 27% boost in revenues from £55m to £69.6m.

This rate was bettered by the profitability increase: adjusted profit before tax stood at £9.1m, representing a pacey 52% jump from last year’s £6m figure. Overall, Keystone is in a healthy financial position, boasting zero debt and a strong operating cash conversion of 103%, with cash generated from £10m in operations.

Continue reading “Keystone hails £400k saving on overheads as revenue rockets 27% and profits soar”

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Deals perspectives: Samantha Thompson

I saw a seagull trying to drink a glass of red wine the other day. I was at the House of Lords for an event on ESG governance and standing on the balustrade of the terrace was a massive seagull sticking its beak into a glass of red. It knocked one glass into the Thames and then another. There are so many awful things going on in the world but this kind of thing keeps me amused!

Continue reading “Deals perspectives: Samantha Thompson”

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Deals perspectives: Sylvia Andriessen

In high school I got fascinated by courtrooms, the idea of standing in front of a judge and arguing! I’ve always loved to play with language and debate. I wanted to be in private practice, that was my dream, thinking that I knew what that was, which of course, I didn’t! When you’re so young and idealistic, it was more conceptual, looking for justice, rather than understanding what you really want when you’re 15.

Continue reading “Deals perspectives: Sylvia Andriessen”

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Sponsored briefing: Legal framework for Turkey’s transition to e-mobility has been introduced

Based on the aim of compliance with the objectives of the European Green Deal, Turkey’s e-mobility sector has been experiencing a significant development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector and to accelerate the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable mobility. Therefore, Turkey has recently introduced new regulations and various incentive schemes relating to e-mobility.

In this context, an amendment of the Electricity Market Law Nr. 6446 entered into force on 21 December 2021 that regulates the procedures and principles on e-mobility activities as well as the rights and obligations of the market participants. Furthermore, new regulations on operation licences for electric vehicle charging stations and on installment of charging points in parking areas have been introduced. In addition, regulations that provide the legal framework for the e-scooter sector as a significant part of micro-mobility entered into force. The Turkish government has also adopted incentives for investments in electric vehicle charging stations. As a result of these regulations, it is expected that the number of electric vehicles and the electric vehicle charging stations will significantly increase in Turkey within the following years. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Legal framework for Turkey’s transition to e-mobility has been introduced”

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Sponsored Q&A: Osman Ertürk ÖZEL, LL.M., managing partner, ÖZEL Attorney Consultancy

Given Turkey’s recent economic problems including the currency crash and inflation together with continued problems created by the Covid-19 pandemic, how is this affecting your firm?

The economic recession in Turkey existed a year before the beginning of Covid. Covid has just made this situation obvious. Serious fluctuations in currency along with over 100% inflation rate have deepened the existing economic crisis. This has caused a disruption in all kinds of production in the markets. The fact that banks kept up the markets through loans has greatly disrupted the balance in the market. As a consequence, the case portfolio in our office has shifted to legal procedures such as breach of contract, mediation, litigation and internal arbitration. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Osman Ertürk ÖZEL, LL.M., managing partner, ÖZEL Attorney Consultancy”

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Revolving doors: Keystone makes partner group hire as Morgan Lewis builds in City

Circling candidate

In another batch of strategic recruitment, Keystone Law’s flexible working model has attracted ten new partners, the firm has announced.

The new hires include five corporate specialists: Michael Holter, who counts aviation and e-commerce companies among his clients, and Rupert Weber, who has expertise in investments into and from Africa, arrived from McDermott Will & Emery; Keith Gilbert from Freeths, and Paul Toolan and Stephen Fuller from Ince. Additions in the real estate space include hospitality sector expert Ed John from Howard Kennedy, Amanda Lloyd from Penningtons Manches Cooper, and Minesh Patel from stevensdrake. Private client partner Simon Mackie joined from Irwin Mitchell and insurance expert Ruth Hite arrived from Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance. These additions follow a dozen partner level hires in January.  Continue reading “Revolving doors: Keystone makes partner group hire as Morgan Lewis builds in City”