Boon for City real estate market as Eversheds Sutherland leads on largest-ever UK fund launch

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Boon for City real estate market as Eversheds Sutherland leads on largest-ever UK fund launch

In a major boon to the UK property market, recent changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) have sparked a trend that saw Eversheds Sutherland advise on the largest-ever launch of a UK property fund for Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) in October.

The portfolio, worth over £2.7bn, seeded by the transfer of two existing Royal London property portfolios, includes central London properties in New Bond Street, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street and St Paul’s. With a minimum investment of £50m, it is designed to expose the UK’s commercial real estate market to institutional domestic and foreign investors. Continue reading “Boon for City real estate market as Eversheds Sutherland leads on largest-ever UK fund launch”

Who Represents Who: The Data Behind the Story

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Monarch Airlines entered administration at the start of October, with KPMG directing corporate affairs. As Legal Business reports on which law firms have been instructed to deal with the aftermath, Who Represents Who (www.legal500.com/wrw) data shows which firms have led aviation instructions in the past 12 months, and which have lost a client due to the collapse of the low-cost airline.

Client Intelligence Report: Data View

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Client Intelligence Report: Data View

The LB100: Forex flatters market leaders but most struggle to find their form in another tough year

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The LB100: Forex flatters market leaders but most struggle to find their form in another tough year

LB100 firms weather initial Brexit turbulence but good times remain a distant memory

Flattered by turbulent forex markets, the UK’s largest law firms outperformed smaller rivals in the Legal Business 100 (LB100), as the group weathered economic and political headwinds through 2016/17 to eke out an ultimately indifferent performance. Continue reading “The LB100: Forex flatters market leaders but most struggle to find their form in another tough year”

‘A more modern way’: as litigation bankrollers move into portfolio investment, funding edges further into the disputes mainstream

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‘A more modern way’: as litigation bankrollers move into portfolio investment, funding edges further into the disputes mainstream

Tom Baker charts the evolution of dispute funding from case-by-base institutional backers

Litigation funding has been a growing aspect of the dispute resolution sector for a decade now, but news this summer that two law firms have entered into broader partnerships with funders highlights the emergence of a more fundamental role for such bankrollers.

Continue reading “‘A more modern way’: as litigation bankrollers move into portfolio investment, funding edges further into the disputes mainstream”

As the City elite gets coy on associate salaries, US rivals are winning the battle for young talent

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As the City elite gets coy on associate salaries, US rivals are winning the battle for young talent

Madeleine Farman assesses the impact of another round of pay rises on the City market

As US firms continue to hike associate pay for UK lawyers, members of the City’s legal elite are getting increasingly coy over what they are offering their junior ranks… but are such tactics sustainable in the long run?

Continue reading “As the City elite gets coy on associate salaries, US rivals are winning the battle for young talent”

Bargain hunters and mega deals to the rescue as Europe’s deal market rides out political shocks

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Bargain hunters and mega deals to the rescue as Europe’s deal market rides out political shocks

Marco Cillario finds deal professionals heaving a sigh of relief after a nail-biting end to 2016

Economic and political shocks took their toll on the deal market in the first half of 2017 as activity levels dipped but M&A professionals are sizing up the crucial post-summer period in an unexpectedly upbeat mood thanks to a run of big-ticket bids.

Continue reading “Bargain hunters and mega deals to the rescue as Europe’s deal market rides out political shocks”

‘Collateral damage’: Profession gets a stark wake-up call on tech security in wake of crippling DLA cyber assault

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‘Collateral damage’: Profession gets a stark wake-up call on tech security in wake of crippling DLA cyber assault

Kathryn McCann assesses the impact of the cyber attack on DLA and the wider legal market

For years, the possibility of a major cyber attack on a leading law firm has been discussed. Inevitably, it finally materialised. On 27 June DLA Piper was crippled for days after the global giant’s systems were hit by what the firm terms a ‘particularly sophisticated strain of malware’. (In cyber jargon, malware is malicious software designed to disrupt, damage or gain access to computer systems.) Continue reading “‘Collateral damage’: Profession gets a stark wake-up call on tech security in wake of crippling DLA cyber assault”

Ashurst pulls the plug on ill-fated 2009 move into US finance law with NY restructuring

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Ashurst pulls the plug on ill-fated 2009 move into US finance law with NY restructuring

Five New York-based partners left Ashurst in July for US finance firm Chapman and Cutler, with a sixth partner departing for Allen & Overy (A&O) last month.

Partners Patrick Quill, David Nirenberg, Steven Kopp, Doug Bird and Tom Glushko all left Ashurst, completing the full departure of the ten-partner team the firm hired from McKee Nelson in 2009 to launch a structured finance practice.

Continue reading “Ashurst pulls the plug on ill-fated 2009 move into US finance law with NY restructuring”