Sponsored briefing: Transaction management: Is technology taking over the deal?

Posted on |
Sponsored briefing: Transaction management: Is technology taking over the deal?

If you want the short answer to this question, it’s not yet.

Download Shieldpay’s transaction management eBook.

The adoption of technology by the legal industry has been slow-moving. We first saw new technologies emerge to digitise document storage, data rooms and case management systems. As they have become more or less commonplace, the innovations have provided incremental improvements to the way lawyers work – streamlining, optimising and providing new insight. While the industry is moving in the right direction, we are yet to see technology bring something new to the table; the tools haven’t changed the process entirely nor enabled lawyers to deliver legal services in a totally different manner. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Transaction management: Is technology taking over the deal?”

Life During Law: Simon Beswick

Posted on |
Life During Law: Simon Beswick

I’m one of three brothers. My middle brother David has just retired as partner of Eversheds. Ever since we were young lads he wanted to be a lawyer, so I had that echo going on.

I chose economics, accountancy, politics and law at A-Level. I really enjoyed the politics but also found the law a lot more interesting than the accountancy. I decided off the back of that to do law at uni and that carried on into a career. I believed I’d be a lawyer for no more than two or three years, and use it as a stepping stone to go into business. Continue reading “Life During Law: Simon Beswick”

Sponsored briefing: Why are so many turning their back on a traditional career path?

Posted on |
Sponsored briefing: Why are so many turning their back on a traditional career path?

I am often asked the reason for the success of the revenue share model. Simply put, it’s down to the demand. Attitudes have changed and people want more, that is why these models are seeing so much growth.

Since we started our fee share law firm 11 years ago, the demand for this type of model has significantly increased, not just from lawyers but with demand from clients too. And this has only accelerated with the pandemic when the whole nation began remote working and became aware of the benefits. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Why are so many turning their back on a traditional career path?”

The Legal 500 View: Kind of a big deal: The top L500 firms for corporate/M&A

Posted on | and
The Legal 500 View: Kind of a big deal: The top L500 firms for corporate/M&A

Legal 500 editors Georgina Stanley and Ben Wheway break down the firms which fare best for corporate and M&A around the world

DLA Piper and Eversheds Sutherland have more top-tier corporate and M&A rankings in the UK Legal 500 than any other firms. Continue reading “The Legal 500 View: Kind of a big deal: The top L500 firms for corporate/M&A”

Life During Law: David Patient

Posted on |
Life During Law: David Patient

My father was a consultant obstetrician, his brother was an accountant, but I was rubbish at science and didn’t like maths. I was pushed down this corridor – ‘why don’t you do law?’ I knew absolutely nothing about it and no-one in our family had been a lawyer.

Some of my best friends still are people I met at university. A lot of them have gone off to do other things but one of them who has remained a close friend from the very first evening we met is a senior corporate partner at Allen & Overy, Richard Hough. Really lovely guy. Continue reading “Life During Law: David Patient”

Sponsored briefing: Valuation – the new frontline in restructuring under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020

Posted on |
Sponsored briefing: Valuation – the new frontline in restructuring under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020

In the summer of last year, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) was rushed through the UK Parliament in a five-week period to deal with the expected fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. As the biggest change to the UK’s insolvency and restructuring legalisation in over 20 years, one of the cornerstones of this new legislation is the introduction of the Restructuring Plan. While many of the provisions and the intent of both the Restructuring Plan and the existing Scheme of Arrangement are not dissimilar, what is ground-breaking is the introduction of the Cross-Class Cram-Down mechanism (or CCCD) and the sharp focus this is bringing on evidence as to where value breaks within the capital structure of the company in question. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Valuation – the new frontline in restructuring under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020”

Sponsored briefing: Running a people business

Posted on |
Sponsored briefing: Running a people business

You have been chair of Paul Hastings’ City office since October 2018. What have been your personal highlights of how the firm has developed in London?

Arun Birla (AB): I’ve enjoyed seeing our practices grow, and not just from a client or revenue perspective, but also in other aspects that are particularly important to me – diversity and inclusion, wellness, and on the social mobility front. We’ve built on all those elements – clients, revenues and integrating new partners, alongside what some people might call the softer things, but I don’t like that term. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Running a people business”

Sponsored briefing: Dear ‘Do More With Less’ CEOs. Can We Talk?

Posted on |
Sponsored briefing: Dear ‘Do More With Less’ CEOs. Can We Talk?

Google “do more with less in legal” and many of the top results date back to 2008 and beyond. It is difficult to remember a time when legal budgets were not on the chopping block. Yet there has never been a time when their services were more in demand—from global regulation to cybersecurity to go-to-market strategy.

If organizations are going to complete their long-sought-after digital transformation in as litigious a world as today’s, legal must lead. And they cannot do so armed with nothing. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Dear ‘Do More With Less’ CEOs. Can We Talk?”

The Legal 500 View: The rise of US firms from barbarians at the gate to London’s top tiers

Posted on | and
The Legal 500 View: The rise of US firms from barbarians at the gate to London’s top tiers

A ten-year analysis of Legal 500 data highlights the ever-growing status of top Global London firms in London, as Georgina Stanley and Ben Wheway explain

The ten largest Global London firms have almost tripled their top-tier rankings in the UK Legal 500 over the last ten years, according to data analysis which highlights their increasing penetration at the top end of the City legal market.

The group (full list below*) have increased their combined number of tier one rankings by 186% from 21 to 60 over the last decade. This compares with a 32% increase in top-tier rankings for the ten largest UK firms by revenue, from 158 to 208. Continue reading “The Legal 500 View: The rise of US firms from barbarians at the gate to London’s top tiers”

Life During Law: Anu Balasubramanian

Posted on |
Life During Law: Anu Balasubramanian

I come from a family of lawyers. My father was a lawyer and a judge, and my brother followed in his footsteps and became a lawyer. So there was a lack of original thought on my part. I just went with the flow and followed them into the profession.

I was born and brought up in India. I went to school there and did my first degree there, in history. When I was at university, law was rarely done as an undergraduate degree and that programme has only just been introduced. When I finished my first degree, I followed in my brother’s footsteps and came to the UK to read law. Continue reading “Life During Law: Anu Balasubramanian”