The Last Word: Deal perspectives

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With global M&A passing the $5trn mark in 2015, we ask the City’s leading corporate players if last year’s deal boom will carry on through 2016


WALKING THE TALK

‘We expect to see a resurgence in cross-border activity, which we saw in 2015 to a great extent. It’s always a question of whether or not the mega-deals will continue and the middle market typically follows. Some industry sectors we expect to be active like 2015, such as life sciences and energy. Disruption in the market these past few weeks has not gone unnoticed, but going into the year, there’s lots of activity and people talking.’

David Gibbons, global head of corporate, Hogan Lovells

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The Last Word: a year in review

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Manchester, mergers and management merry-go-rounds – 2015 has been as tumultuous a year as any in recent memory. In our annual review, law firm leaders reflect on what has happened and look ahead to 2016

EXCITING TIMES

‘Understandable client nervousness about China and markets generally meant that the busy autumn period got off to a slow start but recovered. Whether that will be sustained into 2016 is hard to call. There is a lot for our clients and the markets to worry about out there. It is also a time of rapid change in the legal world and that means there are lots of new ideas to work on: exciting times.’

Charles Martin, senior partner, Macfarlanes

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The Last Word: The clients’ view

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Interviewed for our annual in-house report, general counsel at leading companies give us their views on diversity, ethics and joining the c-suite

 

LOOKING GOOD

‘When I was a young lawyer, I remember working with an outside counsel and I said to him: “What’s your job versus my job?” He said: “My job is to make you look good.” My thoughts at the time were that there has to be more to it than that, but for firms that have focused on that mission, there’s been an upside for me and them. Those with no clue, who are just looking to build their book of business, have not fared well with me.’

Wanji Walcott, senior vice president, managing counsel, American Express

 

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The Last Word: Fighting your corner

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Our recent International Arbitration Summit in London provoked lively discussion and, ahead of a full report on the debate next month, here is a taster of some of the key points

SELF-AWARENESS REQUIRED

‘The once preoccupying debate about what issues you can arbitrate has become of ever-diminishing relevance in the modern world. Almost all commercial disputes today are now arbitral, with fewer and fewer exceptions.

We need to ask ourselves again and again why users are complaining that modern arbitration is, all too often, failing to fulfil the promise of international arbitration as a flexible and streamlined form of dispute resolution, in which the particular process is tailored to the particular issues in play, in a particular case. We need to ask ourselves why mainstream public opinion is often expressing a very open level of criticism about the legitimacy of investment arbitration, which is inevitably spilling over into the commercial arbitration mainstream.’

Constantine Partasides QC, founder, Three Crowns

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The Last Word: Through the looking glass

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From a successful UK focus to consolidation, LB100 management figures give their reflections on the market

So far so good

‘A number of businesses like us have adopted a strong sector proposition in the UK and that has been welcomed by the market. It reflects a general improvement in the UK economy and those businesses with a strong imprint in the UK market will benefit from that. We have grounds for confidence but the main challenges I see are around the uncertainty that remains at a macro level in a number of economies where we trade. It remains to be seen how clients respond and adapt to the EU referendum in the UK. There is continuing uncertainty in the eurozone, brought about by the position of Greece – I still see that limping along.’

John Cleland, managing partner, Pinsent Masons

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The Last Word: Progress Report

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As part of our Global 100 report, law firm leaders give their assessment on how their firms are performing.

Self-efficiency

‘For us, the last year has been a continuation of a strategy we launched five or six years ago and was refreshed two years ago to provide some differentiation. There’s no doubt the market is better now than then and we’ve had the two mergers during that time. The intense pressure of cost efficiency on the industry has really benefited the firm generally by forcing us to look at the impact revisiting infrastructure can have on a law firm. During the last five years, the firm has saved €100m through its efficiency drive.’

Duncan Weston, managing partner, CMS Cameron McKenna

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The Last Word: The vision thing

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Senior legal figures provide their take on how the market will shape up over the next 25 years


RISE OF THE ACCOUNTANTS

‘The Big Four are challenging and will be one of the competitive threats over the next five years as they have tremendous resource, access to businesses and more sophisticated models than law firms.’

Roger Parker, EMEA managing partner, Reed Smith


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The Last Word: Election fever

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As the UK heads to the polls for the general election, senior legal figures provide their views on the current mood in the City.

TAXING ISSUE

‘There is an undercurrent of disenchantment. People have gone through a period when living standards have been static or have even fallen in real terms. They are upset and worried about the future. They are worried about the future of the economy, the health service and what’s going to happen with education, and why their children can’t afford a house. But saying we will introduce a mansion tax is not the answer.’

David Ereira, finance partner, Linklaters

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The Last Word: Players old and new

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With the publication of our annual Global London report, leading figures at foreign firms in the City assess their performance and how the market is shaping up.

Fair weather

‘In doing offshore, you become quite a good barometer. My sense is that people feel a lot more confident than two years ago – it’s still quite driven by sectors. We’re almost 50% up on where we were at in 2013, mostly from the finance space. Quite perversely, we’ve slimmed down numbers but grown the book of business.’
Jack Boldarin, London managing partner, Walkers

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The Last Word – The Team Elite

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To coincide with the annual launch of our GC Power List, we asked the City’s most experienced private practitioners: what makes an outstanding in-house legal team?

Eyes and ears

‘A good in-house team has the ear of the commercial client, an understanding of its drivers and the strength to speak out when it is going down the wrong path. Teams should ensure they understand the varied approaches to dispute resolution, adopt appropriate methods in different transactional documentation, and consider mediation as a clean and proactive process for disputes at any stage.’
Katie Bradford, head of property litigation, Linklaters

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