The Advocates General of the European Court of Justice have argued that more work needs to be done before a single European patents court replaces national jurisdiction in the EU. More than 20 years after it was mooted, a unified patent litigation system is still being debated. If you thought patent lawyers were mild-mannered boffins, …
Mourant Ozannes’ merger this summer created another large fish in the global offshore pond. Firms now have to focus on clients from new economies to stay ahead It was nearly a decade in the making. Jersey and Guernsey titans Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes announced their merger earlier this year but, for market …
Over the course of the past decade renewable energy has become a mainstream part of the energy sector. With investment flooding into projects across Europe, domestic and international firms are connecting with a new revenue stream In renewable energy the emphasis is on thinking big. From the chain of offshore wind farms forming around Britain’s …
Reckless ambition, inept management and greed: a case study in how not to run a law firm In February 2009, this magazine published a cover feature charting Halliwells’ dramatic fall from grace. Entitled ‘The Flight of Icarus’ (see LB191), it revealed how, through what proved to be a fatal combination of reckless ambition, ineptitude and …
The private equity dealmakers of the boom years have been shifted off the front pages. As the market shows signs of recovery, the US firms are challenging the established order As private equity comes blinking into the light after a torrid couple of years, advisers are grappling with a new market, where leverage is a …
As legal aid comes under the strain of budget cuts, pro bono work by commercial law firms is helping paper over some of the cracks, playing a critical role in helping to close the justice gap It’s a scene far removed from Canary Wharf. In the offices of a small legal aid firm in Acton, …
With the market recovering slowly, Ashurst’s new-look corporate management team has its work cut out. The duo not only has to build and retain market share, but also restore some much-needed morale to the firm’s transactional team. In City parlance, Stephen Lloyd and Simon Beddow could be said to be buying at the bottom of …
As little as five years ago, the consensus was that Ireland was a mature legal market. In a failed experiment, UK firm Masons (legacy firm of Pinsent Masons) had packed in its projects and construction boutique after a mere six years, citing fierce market competition. Certainly, despite the construction boom, the Irish legal market was …
International firms in Romania don’t just face a weakened economy, they also face stiff competition from a host of major domestic rivals. Legal Business analyses a market in flux Entering a new jurisdiction is never easy. On top of the start-up costs, the need to establish a strong team of local lawyers and a solid …
The downturn in Portugal’s economy means that overseas markets, including Africa and Brazil, have become an even more valuable source of work for the country’s law firms Since Portuguese sailors began exploring the West Coast of Africa almost 600 years ago, the country has forged a reputation for venturing into new, overseas territories. Today, the …
