Israel’s regional tensions contrast with optimistic hopes for foreign investment and a burgeoning economy. While war still rages over the border in nearby Syria, Israel’s start-up and hi-tech sector is flourishing. In addition, its nascent natural gas industry finally looks primed for substantial development. Life is good in Israel’s commercial capital Tel Aviv, says Barry …
Historically confined to David vs Goliath claims, a new band of dispute funders are pushing the model into new frontiers. How far can they go? Hedge fund methodology – the process of using hard numbers to make statistical predictions – is not part of a dispute lawyer’s traditional armoury. Yet the same kind of financial …
Continue reading “The bigger short – third party funding bets on new markets and models”
Africa’s economic transformation has made it a key target for globe-trotting private equity houses. Can the continent pay out for the lengthening queue of investors? For the private equity (PE) community, where risk and return are uneasy bedfellows, Africa represents less of a gamble. Given the continent’s increasing political stability and steady economic growth, the …
Continue reading “A safe bet – charting the rise of private equity in Africa”
As contentious work increasingly drives revenues at major City firms, Legal Business canvasses the leading teams to find the new partners setting the disputes agenda. Over the last decade, an undeniable emphasis on contentious skills has occurred among the elite City firms. While seasoned litigators and arbitration specialists still dominate the landscape, firms are working …
Continue reading “Undisputed – the next generation of partners setting the disputes agenda”
While Morocco stands apart as a portal into Africa for foreign investors, neighbour Algeria starts to open up. We ask international law firms to share their experiences of working in the region. In the globalisation race, Casablanca has established an early lead as one of the primary entry points into Africa, along with Johannesburg. It …
Continue reading “Gateways – the lawyer’s view on gaining access to North Africa”
Latham & Watkins doesn’t make strategic missteps. Or at least that appeared to be the case until March, when the firm announced that it will close both its Abu Dhabi and Qatar offices later this year, relocating staff to its Dubai operation. Bill Voge, chair and managing partner of the firm that has been by …
Shimon Peres, the 91-year-old former Israeli president, may not be the most obvious social media fanatic. Yet in 2014 he opened an account on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Facebook, expressing his desire to interact directly with the Chinese people, including its younger generation. The nonagenarian quickly received over 50 million ‘likes’ on his Weibo page. …
Continue reading “Trading Places – Israel’s tech-heavy legal market widens its global reach”
With breaches impossible to stop, companies are focusing on managing the huge risks of a major cyber incident. We teamed up with PwC to gauge the client response. In cyber security circles, it has already become a hoary cliché to claim that there are two types of companies: those that have been breached and those that …
Continue reading “Insight report on cyber security – Anatomy of a breach”
Employment law concerns loom particularly large in the minds of North East companies.
While the economic downturn and subsequent public sector cuts have hit the region harder than most, Northern Ireland’s resilience is very much in evidence.
