The Last Word: Done deals

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With confidence in the M&A market slowly returning, the City M&A elite reflects on a positive year and give their prognosis for deal activity in 2015.

Fragile confidence

‘With the value of M&A activity hitting $3.7trn for 2014 and M&A activity increasing in almost every sector of the economy, confidence returned in spades last year and was the result of strategies adopted by companies since the financial crisis.

‘I expect the high value of deals to continue in 2015, but a combination of factors – including the general election in May, the price of oil and the effect of geopolitical risks on business confidence – make me wary of predicting another record year.’

David Patient, managing partner, Travers Smith

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The Last Word – Reflections and looking ahead

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Senior figures provide personal perspectives on a changing industry for our 250th edition

Working with Salz

‘I worked for Anthony as an associate. In order of descending seniority, Phil Richards, me and Will Lawes were his “bag carriers”. It was an exciting time. During the 1980s our M&A team were the new kids on the block and the firm was undergoing a reputational transition from a traditional Bank of England adviser to a push-the-envelope transactional adviser. By the 1990s, Freshfields was the go-to firm.

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The Last Word – Hot property

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Renewed interest from international investors leading to increased deal flow means real estate practices are back in favour again. We ask leading practitioners about the future of this volatile market

 

Solemn vows

‘We’ve treated real estate like a marriage – in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer. We haven’t reneged on our responsibilities, so when potential new clients talk to existing ones about our relationship, they hear the same thing – that we’re a committed and consistent team that has continued to deliver.’

Leona Ahmed, real estate divisional managing partner, Addleshaw Goddard

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The Last Word – The client’s view

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Interviewed for our annual in-house report, general counsel (GCs) at leading companies give us their views on panels, pricing, regulation and diversity

Law across borders

‘We are going to see a lot more cross-border, multinational transactions that involve an in-depth legal scope well beyond the UK Companies Act. In-house lawyers, especially at the GC level, even if they just manage a local UK business, are going to see a lot more cross-border transactions and complexity. In my experience, law firms in the UK, especially in the South East and London, are much more flexible and open about the discussion on alternative billing than firms in New York.’

Bill Mordan, senior vice president and group GC, Reckitt Benckiser

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The last word – strategic recruitment

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From disastrous due diligence to delusions of grandeur, leaders from LB100 firms and senior recruitment specialists give their take on making lateral hires work.

Bigger picture

‘Be patient and think long term. Moving firms isn’t easy for anyone. It never works out exactly how you’d planned it and the client market can shift significantly, but if the character fit, quality, strategic fit and business fit were right at the outset, then it should come good in the long term. In the meantime, the profit-sharing system needs the flexibility to accommodate this.  Continue reading “The last word – strategic recruitment”

The last word – the state of law firm leadership

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With a spate of executive elections taking place recently, we ask the c-suite at leading City firms how management has changed over the last five years


CONSENSUS APPROACH

‘The command and control structure doesn’t generally work in law firms. Nonetheless, the last five years have seen a greater acceptance from partners for the need to operate more tightly and collectively. Partnerships will always have mixed feelings about their leadership. Leading a law firm is about managing ambiguity, ambivalence and disparate viewpoints.

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The Last Word – English Law

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With the popularity of English law a key issue in the global legal market, we ask partners for their take on the exportability of UK law and how it stacks up against New York law.

Early adoption

‘Where parties adopt a law other than their own and look for a law with application for an international contract, English law is popular by quite some margin followed by New York law. It’s particularly increasing in use in South America. One important aspect of that is the role of the Commercial Court in London in continuing to develop and adapt the law to changing circumstances.

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The Last Word: A year in review

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Aside from bad knitwear and excessive alcohol consumption, Christmas is a time for reflection as well as looking ahead. With this in mind, we asked some senior law firm figures for their thoughts. Rose-tinted spectacles are optional.

Striking the balance

‘Much of our focus this year has inevitably been on integration and on being instructed because of capabilities created as a result of our merger. We have done very well in both areas and the sheer number of so-called synergy mandates has been a real highlight. Against an improving but still uncertain economic backdrop in 2013, our financial performance has been satisfactory. Continue reading “The Last Word: A year in review”

The Last Word: India

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With a slowing economy and the political landscape unsettled, we ask leading international partners with noted Indian practices for their prognosis on the country and whether tougher times will shake up the local legal market

Policy paralysis

‘It is the understatement of the year to say that India has been having problems.

At the beginning of the year there was policy paralysis; there were taxation problems which caused a negative reaction and the budget wasn’t well received. The growth rate is slowing down and inflation Continue reading “The Last Word: India”