Linklaters’ corporate heavyweight Charlie Jacobs and private equity partner Alex Woodward advised US private equity firm Carlyle on the sale of half of its majority stake in roadside recovery service RAC after abandoning plans to exit the company through a London IPO.
The Friday Edit: Wrongdoing in high and low places, the latest on Bingham and cutting edge New Law twaddle
Welcome to the latest instalment of our weekly recap of interesting things that happened in law land this week.
Guest post: Let’s avoid a huge constitutional talkfest – how devolution needs to be handled
The main constitutional business that ought to be on MPs’ minds at the moment is how to deliver the party leaders’ ‘Vow’ to grant ‘extensive new powers’ to the Scottish Parliament. The extent of powers to be transferred, and particularly the extent of power over tax that will be devolved, is far more urgent and important to the future of the UK than ‘English votes for English laws’ (the principle that MPs for English constituencies should decide on proposals only affecting England).
Neutral territory
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Lalive’s Marc Henzelin and Sandrine Giroud examine the key facts on the enforcement of foreign judgments in Switzerland
Ranked among the top five financial centres in the world and top of the Global Innovation Index 2014, with postcard landscapes and a tradition of discretion and stability, Switzerland remains a top destination for companies and wealthy individuals alike to bring their business and wealth. It is therefore unsurprising that enforcement of foreign judgments against assets held in Switzerland is an issue that comes up regularly in the day-to-day practice of international litigators.
BSB enforcement report shows improvements with disciplinary action doubling as body appoints new board members
With the Bar having long been slower to change in a post-Legal Services Act environment compared to its solicitor counterpart, its regulator, the Bar Standards Board, has published its annual report on the body’s enforcement activities noting improved performance. The barristers’ regulator has further shaken up its governance and appointed three new board members.
What’s in store for London’s Commercial Court?
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
White & Case’s head of litigation, John Reynolds, looks at what impact the development of other countries’ specialist commercial courts will have on the future of London as a centre for international dispute resolution
Despite relentless competition, most notably from New York, the choice of English governing law dominates the international contracts market. So says a recent article from the July/August issue of Legal Business with the benefit of opinion from partners at a number of large international firms (including White & Case’s own David Goldberg).
Continue reading “What’s in store for London’s Commercial Court?”
Conditional Fees – who wins?
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Ian Gray, Litigation head at Eversheds, looks back on the firm’s experience of alternative fee arrangements in commercial disputes, explains the lessons learned, and looks ahead to the future of dispute funding
One-off conditional fees
I remember being told around 1998, just prior to the introduction of conditional fees, that the general counsel of one large client was fed up that litigation lawyers did not have any ‘skin in the game’ and that, as a result, they ran cases too far, without a care for the costs. In the years that followed, we did a series of small and large conditional-fee cases. In truth, we had some tough experiences along the way, at times losing more than just some skin.
Financial mis-selling in Ireland and the importance of knowing the consumer
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
John O’Riordan of Dillon Eustace explains what advisers should bear in mind
There has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of claims relating to the alleged mis-selling of financial products to consumers in Ireland. These claims have been varied in their nature but essentially they have a common theme, the sale of an unsuitable financial product to a customer, on the basis of incorrect and/or misleading advice.
Continue reading “Financial mis-selling in Ireland and the importance of knowing the consumer”
A better Judiciary to realise Turkey’s potential
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Mehmet Gün, senior partner at Gün + Partners, examines the difficulties facing the Turkish judiciary and how essential a first-class justice system is to Turkey’s progress
In the 1980s, Turkey undertook significant liberalisation of its national economy. Since then, liberalisation has increasingly become a pivotal part of the international economy. Between the 1980s and 2000, Turkey learnt some very important lessons in the form of economic crises and was saved by International Monetary Fund programmes.
Continue reading “A better Judiciary to realise Turkey’s potential”
Jackson – Light at the end of the tunnel?
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Enyo Law’s Peter Fitzpatrick, Annabel Thomas and Lauren Gash analyse how the Jackson reforms are bedding down a year after they came into force
Over a year has passed since the Jackson reforms came into force in April 2013 under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. Like the Woolf reforms before them, the aim of the reforms was to cut the cost of civil litigation and streamline cases, reducing the use of court time and encouraging early settlement.
Continue reading “Jackson – Light at the end of the tunnel?”
The Disputes Dilemma
MARKET VIEW – INTRODUCTION
Quinn Emanuel’s Ted Greeno weighs up the pros and cons of the different dispute resolution options and offers his insight into which option to pursue
It’s an old chestnut: which is better, litigation or arbitration? This is the third attempt I have had at it. In the first, I wrote an article singing the praises of arbitration over litigation. In the second, I debated for the motion: ‘This house considers that litigation is better than arbitration’, at a Commercial Litigators Forum event. On that occasion, my opponent (now partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan), Stephen Jagusch, used the entirety of his allotted time to quote my article back at me. So I approach this question with caution.
The agony of choice
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Bär & Karrer partners Daniel Hochstrasser and Nadja Jaisli Kull discuss the dos and don’ts to be considered when appointing arbitrators
For all of its emphasis on privacy, procedural flexibility and the reassurance that comes with a widely-adopted enforcement regime in the form of the New York Convention, parties remain attracted to international arbitration for a sometimes-overlooked, but equally important, factor: the ability to select their own decision-makers. In some ways, however, being spoilt for choice can make picking one’s candidate that much more difficult. Do you go for the expensive ‘name’ arbitrator? The Big Law associate tipped for great things but with comparatively few appointments to their name? Or, for counsel and arbitrators of a certain generation, the most unthinkable move of all – a woman?
Better late than never
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
The Honourable Marc Lalonde on Canada’s accession to the ICSID Convention and why it took so long to ratify
Since the end of World War II, Canada has played a role in international affairs well above its relative economic or military power, whether at the United Nations or in other international institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or the G5 (then G7, G10 and G20). It has also pursued the advancement of its economic interests through the signing of some 30 bilateral investment protection treaties (BITs or Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (FIPAs) as they are called in Canada) as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 (NAFTA). And although it may take a few more years before it is ratified, a preliminary agreement has also been reached recently with the European Union on the text of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), well ahead of the US, which is just starting such negotiations. It is also actively participating in the current Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Negotiations.
International relations
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Omni Bridgeway’s Wieger Wielinga gives an overview of the Enforcement of Arbitration Awards against Sovereign entities in Practice
The last decade has shown a sharp increase in investment treaty-based and other international arbitration against sovereign nations, parastatals and other semi-sovereign entities. In the slipstream came an increase in the number of cases in which such sovereigns resisted complying with judgments and arbitration awards, including awards from the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Winning an arbitration award against a sovereign does not necessarily mean that recovery will be successful.
Growing the Litigation Funding Market
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Simon Dluzniak of Bentham IMF discusses Europe’s litigation funding market and compares it with the more mature Australian market the funder has come from
The third-party litigation funding market in this jurisdiction is, relative to Australia, still in its infancy. Hence it is incumbent upon the various stakeholders within the industry to continue to create awareness of the benefits of litigation funding in assisting and shaping its growth. After what appears to have been a fairly positive start, third-party funding (TPF) appears to have suffered a backlash of sorts as a result of a spate of so-called ‘setbacks’, most notably the loss of high-profile funded cases (for example, the Excalibur case) and the collapse of a well-known funder (Argentum).
Covering Every Contingency – Portfolio Funding of Litigation
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Therium’s Neil Purslow examines the different funding options available
Since the introduction of damages-based agreements (DBAs) on 1 April 2013, use of contingency fee arrangements (CFAs) in England and Wales has been very limited, due largely no doubt to the fact that partial DBAs are not permitted and also the flaws in the enabling regulations have created uncertainty as to the efficacy of this new form of agreement. Nevertheless, commercial litigators have shown significant interest in taking litigation risk on their cases in return for a contingency fee upside. While this has, however, been difficult to achieve to date, Therium has now launched a portfolio funding offering which, through using a variation of a typical funding structure, allows law firms to offer contingency fee-based services to their litigation clients,
Continue reading “Covering Every Contingency – Portfolio Funding of Litigation”
Pick your battles
THIRD-PARTY FUNDING
London’s litigation funders are turning their attention to international arbitration. Can this deliver their breakthrough?
No sooner had Excalibur begun to drift from memory than another setback befell the litigation funding industry: the decision in August of the RSM v Saint Lucia majority to award security for costs on account of an unnamed funder’s involvement in the case, the first time such an order had been issued in the context of investment arbitration.
‘I’m a great one for re-inventing myself’: Clifford Chance global COO Amanda Burton steps down
Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance (CC) has confirmed that global chief operating officer Amanda Burton will be stepping down from the role at the end of this year to ‘focus on non-executive board work’.
‘I was impressed by the firm’: Farrer & Co turns to CMS Cameron McKenna financial control chief to boost growth
Private client-focused firm Farrer & Co has made concerted efforts to polish its growth strategy, and has recruited CMS Cameron McKenna‘s head of financial control Julian Eastlake to develop the firm’s financial direction in a bid to optimise profits and sustain the growth of the partnership.
Mergerwatch – discussions crank up a gear as Morgan Lewis and Bingham look set to combine
After months of wrangling, the heavily trailed union between Global 100 firms Bingham McCutchen and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius looks set to go ahead, after a pre-recorded voicemail message from Bingham managing partner Steven Browne informed partners of the proposed union on Friday (19 September).