‘Carveouts are here to stay’: green energy deals dominate as major players see signs of a bounceback

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‘Carveouts are here to stay’: green energy deals dominate as major players see signs of a bounceback

Early 2023 has been a tough time for deals. In our 2023 Deals Yearbook, for instance, citing Dealogic, we noted a decline in both the volume and value of deals. Q1 2023 saw just 601 deals totalling $19.6bn in the UK, while globally there were 9,400 deals worth a little under $591bn. This marks the lowest UK Q1 since 2009, and the lowest global Q1 since 2012.

Recent weeks, though, have seen an uptick in multibillion-dollar activity. And, while it is certainly too early to declare that we are out of the woods, the mood among corporate lawyers has lifted: more ‘cautious optimism’ than ‘doom and gloom’. Continue reading “‘Carveouts are here to stay’: green energy deals dominate as major players see signs of a bounceback”

The Last Word: On message

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The Last Word: On message

‘I’m of the view that there’s no such thing as an ESG lawyer. What we can do, by educating the trainees as they come in, is help them to understand ESG, so that it can permeate their practices throughout their careers.’ Rachel Richardson, Macfarlanes

On the back of our third annual ESG report, key decision makers share their perspectives on key issues affecting law firms

Continue reading “The Last Word: On message”

Target on your back – the rise and fall of the ESG lawyer?

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Target on your back – the rise and fall of the ESG lawyer?

A lot can happen in a year, and never more so it appears than in the constantly evolving world of the ESG lawyer. Pretty much a year ago to the day, we launched our inaugural ESG report, firms and lawyers having had the bandwidth afforded by the pandemic to get their heads around what they wanted their ESG image to be. In many ways, 2021 felt like a less cynical time. The industry at large was emerging from a health crisis, and we were conditioned to be kind, good corporate citizens because, let’s face it, who knew what personal and professional hell Covid might have wrought on the people we were dealing with?

Last year – the tricky task of getting firms to name mandates they’d rejected on ESG grounds notwithstanding – most firms we canvassed with our ESG questionnaire were tripping over themselves to show off their credentials. In 2021, 77% of firms questioned responded to our survey. With such an encouraging response, this year we went out to more firms, again approaching the top 25 Legal Business 100 firms, but also the top 25 Global London firms, not just the top ten. Only 52% responded. Continue reading “Target on your back – the rise and fall of the ESG lawyer?”

The Last Word: Best foot forward

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The Last Word: Best foot forward

‘As custodians of the rule of law, we have to question whether we are undermining it in anyway? It’s in the mix for sure. I would expect that it plays on everyone’s minds.’ Sophia Adams Bhatti, Simmons & Simmons

On the back of our second annual ESG report, key decision makers share their views on how well law firms are stepping up to the mark

Continue reading “The Last Word: Best foot forward”

ESG – What is it good for?

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ESG – What is it good for?

When Legal Business rounded off our inaugural ESG report last summer, we concluded that the coronavirus pandemic had given law firm leaders the opportunity to crystallise their stance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) imperatives.

For one thing, partners were not jetting around the world, flying in the face (quite literally) of their carbon footprint reduction targets, yet they still managed to be exceptionally successful. Looking back, it was a time when it was easy to be virtuous. Continue reading “ESG – What is it good for?”