It had been long rumoured but the loss that Ashurst clearly wanted to avoid has materialised as it was today (1 October) confirmed that the firm’s former head Charlie Geffen has quit alongside corporate partner Mark Sperotto for a US rival.
Luxembourg controlled management proceedings
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Bonn Steichen & Partners’ head of disputes Fabio Trevisan explores the ‘soft alternative’ to bankruptcy and what it means for both debtors and creditors
Luxembourg law provides for a range of insolvency procedures, of which the most common have as their purpose the winding-up and realisation of the assets of the debtor, namely bankruptcy and judicial liquidation; whereas other insolvency procedures, such as suspension of payments (sursis de paiement), composition with creditors (concordat préventif de faillite) and controlled management (gestion controlée), aim at preserving and/or recovering the business of the debtor. Controlled management (gestion contrôlée) was devised as a less blunt measure than bankruptcy and as a softer alternative to composition with creditors; it permits companies in a temporarily weakened financial state to find a solution while avoiding the harshness and finality of bankruptcy. The controlled management regime is governed by the Grand-Ducal Decree of 24 May 1935, supplementing the legislation on suspension of payments, composition with creditors and bankruptcy.
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Made to measure?
MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION
CMS Cameron McKenna’s Guy Pendell and Lindy Patterson QC assess industry sectory arbitration and the role of the specialist institution
Arbitration is available to resolve almost any dispute between parties capable of giving legal consent. Arbitration is available for religious groups through Beth Din (for the Jewish community) and the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (providing arbitration in accordance with Islamic Sacred Law). Meanwhile, disputes between the NHS and service providers, salary disputes for US National Hockey League players and disputes over sharemilking in New Zealand’s dairy regions can all be determined by specialist arbitration procedures. Continue reading “Made to measure?”
Running the rule
MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION
Shortly before the LCIA’s rule revisions came into effect on 1 October, the institution’s director general Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof met with WilmerHale partner Steven Finizio to discuss how its provisions fit into her vision for the future
Steven Finizio, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr: The growth of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)’s case numbers has been a notable development in recent years. Why are more and more parties now choosing the institution?
Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof, LCIA: Our overriding – and unique – selling point is the balance we strike between a light-touch approach wherever possible and being more directional only when necessary. If parties are able to take care of themselves, as many are, we look to be in their way as little as we can. It’s not a one-size-fits-all style of administration, which is something I experienced as counsel and arbitrator, so it’s interesting now to see the philosophy from the other side. We are also increasingly emphasising the truly international character of the LCIA. This is demonstrated not only by hires such as mine, but by the fact that we are now seeing parties choose non-London seats, which people should not forget is possible. We don’t want the institution to be perceived as being overly pro-London.
Bit between the teeth
MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION
ICSID secretary general Meg Kinnear talks annulment, case administration and the globalisation of treaty arbitration with Baker & McKenzie partners Grant Hanessian and Teddy Baldwin
That more cases were filed at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in 2013 than during the first 24 years of its existence reflects the extent to which treaty arbitration is now arguably the fastest-growing area of international dispute resolution. Notwithstanding criticism from some NGOs that treaty arbitration is biased in favour of investors, the fact is that governments prevail in more than half of all treaty cases, and it is clear that a host state’s ability to attract foreign direct investment is diminished substantially unless it offers a system under which to enforce investors’ rights. Arbitration under the ICSID rules remains by far the most popular for investment treaty disputes because its awards may be enforced without recourse to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention) and because of the strength of the ICSID secretariat and the quality of the arbitrators it appoints. Some users do criticise the length of time it takes ICSID tribunals to render awards – at least 20 of which have been issued five or more years after the filing request. Continue reading “Bit between the teeth”
The Innovator
MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION
What’s next for the institution that pioneered the now-ubiquitous emergency arbitrator provision? WilmerHale partner John Pierce talks to American Arbitration Association senior vice president Richard Naimark to find out
In the context of dispute resolution, ‘US-style’ rarely denotes a positive quality. Be it for the brand of aggressive cross-examination practised in courts from New York to Nevada, or a class action system whose excesses are slammed by European legislators when introducing their own forms of collective redress, American lawyers are seen by many as having much to answer for. Such criticisms are to some extent offset by the influence such practitioners continue to exert on the global stage, with international arbitration being no exception. Indeed, London-headquartered Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer aside, the industry’s busiest players are, to a firm, American. Given this predominance, it is to be expected that US-style practices would bleed into international arbitration – the most unloved and increasingly prevalent of which remains its approach to document production.
Checks and balances
MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION
What’s so great about scrutiny? ICC International Court of Arbitration secretary general Andrea Carlevaris discusses his institution’s calling card with White & Case partner Michael Polkinghorne
There are no bad arbitrators, only inappropriate arbitrators for specific cases. So says ICC International Court of Arbitration secretary general, Andrea Carlevaris, the man charged with registering more than 750 disputes a year at the Paris-headquartered body. Indeed, such is the demand for its services that the court now works through August – ‘a very serious consideration’ in France, John Beechey, the institution’s president, told the audience at an arbitration event in Prague last summer.
Stockholm syndromes
MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION
James Hope of Vinge talks to Annette Magnusson, secretary general at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, about arbitrator diversity, emergency relief and sharing best institutional practices
That Sweden boasts both one of the earliest modern arbitration statutes – predating by two years the English Act of 1889 – and an enviable reputation for resolving East-West disputes as a legacy of its being the venue of choice for Cold War-era parties counts for little in the hyper-competitive world of international arbitration. Indeed, a few essentially superficial differences aside, Annette Magnusson admits that the alphabet soup of institutional rules can be largely indistinguishable. For parties, the question is always a simple one: what do I get in practice? The difference is not what an institution offers, but the way it puts its rules into practice. It is, says Magnusson, who joined the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) in April 2010 from Swedish disputes firm Mannheimer Swartling, the ‘how’ that matters. Continue reading “Stockholm syndromes”
Guest post: The Blind Men & Big Data – what does Big Data mean for law firms?
A few weeks ago I returned from the 37th annual ILTA education conference, which was held this year at the Gaylord Opryland hotel in Nashville.The Gaylord in Nashville is not my favorite venue. It was cobbled together from the original Opryland Hotel when the Gaylord company decided to build conference destinations. It’s difficult to easily get from one area of the structure to another, and easy to get lost, The Gaylord hotels in Dallas and Washington are purpose-built and much more ‘user friendly.’
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‘We will undoubtedly face many challenges’: Shoosmiths commercial head Peter Duff set to take on chairman role after Tubbs’ 12 year reign ends
Shoosmiths chairman Andrew Tubbs is set to step down after 12 years with partner Peter Duff lined up by the firm to take over the role next year.
Looking to the future
MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION
Three Crowns’ Jan Paulsson looks at how little we know about arbitration in the present and what that means for predicting the future
Speculating about the future of international arbitration is a more comfortable activity than speculating about its present, because as long as we are not talking about the near future we will not be proved wrong, or be criticised for not knowing the unknowable. But are we really entitled to assert very much about the future when we in truth know so little about the present? We are indeed reduced to speculating about the present, and it is worth reflecting on the causes and consequences of finding ourselves in such a frustrating (and humbling) predicament.
‘Huge experience of growing a business’: DLA Piper’s Knowles lands chairman role at investment banking firm Zeus Capital
Sir Nigel Knowles, who is set to step down as co-CEO and managing partner at DLA Piper later this year, has been appointed chairman of UK investment banking boutique Zeus Capital.
Guest post: what might the Tory human rights plan be?
Although Tory hostility to human rights law is obvious, there’s been vagueness till now about what actual policy a Conservative government would pursue. For a long time the plan was to draft a ‘British Bill of Rights’ the content of which was unclear – and the idea hasn’t gone away.
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‘A very satisfactory outcome’: Hill Dickinson wins payment in ‘Alexandros T’ case
The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment on the long-running litigation between Starlight Shipping versus Hill Dickinson, a host of insurance companies, and others, allowing defendants Hill Dickinson and insurance services company Charles Taylor Adjusting to recover damages of £225,000 and £100,000 respectively and giving a 60% interim payment.
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82 join the club – eight new partners in City as Kirkland makes up more than Macfarlanes’ entire partnership
In one of the largest global partnership promotion rounds, Kirkland & Ellis has made up eight of its London associates to partner in a round that saw 82 lawyers join the global partnership, including one promotion from of counsel to partner.
Edwards Wildman loses associate quartet to City firms as tensions mount over potential Cooley takeover
Having endured a spate of high profile partner exits during the summer, US firm Edwards Wildman has now seen four associates depart from its London office, and join the ranks of Eversheds, Travers Smith, Pinsent Masons and automobile giant Nissan in recent weeks as uncertainty over Cooley talks continues.
Bingham’s Hong Kong office looks set to close as Akin Gump pounces again
Bingham McCutchen’s Hong Kong office has been put in a precarious position with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld making a two partner hire to take the number of partners joining the firm from Bingham to 28, while remaining capital markets partner Vincent Sum’s future is unclear.
Continue reading “Bingham’s Hong Kong office looks set to close as Akin Gump pounces again”
Revolving doors: OC hires from Bakers in international push while Ashurst and Dentons build European presence
Last week saw LB 100 firms Dentons, Ashurst and Osborne Clarke (OC) expand European offices while Addleshaw Goddard boosted its litigation offering.
Offshore firms join in as Cleary and Clifford Chance lead on Rusal’s $5.15bn debt restructuring
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Clifford Chance picked up the lead roles along with a raft of offshore firms as Russian aluminum giant Rusal carried out a $5.15bn debt restructuring following a slower than expected recovery in the commodities market.
‘Steven has been a tremendous force’: Proskauer turns to KWMSJB’s best-known London M&A lawyer as it shifts focus
Steven Davis, who led SJ Berwin’s City corporate team before its $1bn Sino-Australian merger, is set to leave the firm for Proskauer Rose, whose own merger plans with SJ Berwin collapsed before the City firm looked eastwards for growth.