The $6.4trn question – as legal advisers jostle for position, can shale gas live up to the hype?

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Jaishree Kalia assesses the big hopes and big risks facing the emerging shale gas industry

Every few years a new sector or niche comes along that promises huge opportunities for law firms that can tactically position themselves. Such hyped sectors often turn out to disappoint, but there is no doubt that the shale gas industry has become the latest – and hottest – touted market.

It’s not hard to see why interest has been piqued. In a little over a decade, shale gas has transformed the energy dynamics of the world’s largest economy, now constituting over 20% of US energy production. Having turned the US into an energy exporter, it is expected to exceed 40% of US energy output by 2035. Continue reading “The $6.4trn question – as legal advisers jostle for position, can shale gas live up to the hype?”

Through the maze

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Complex and controversial, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive has finally emerged, with huge regulatory implications for global funds. Legal Business asks if offshore jurisdictions can chart their way through

In force since 22 July, the EU directive on alternative investment fund managers (AIFMD) marks a huge change to the European private equity and venture capital industry. Developed to regulate hedge funds and private equity and the promotion of alternative investment funds within the EU, the AIFMD is set on advancing the stability and transparency of investment vehicles.

Continue reading “Through the maze”

Legal aid cuts blamed by Tooks Chambers as set announces its dissolution

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Leading civil liberties and human rights set Tooks Chambers has announced today (23 Sept) that it is to wind up its operations as a ‘direct result of government policies on legal aid’, following months of speculation surrounding its future.

In a statement published on its website this afternoon, the 30-year old set, which has been involved in tackling many high profile miscarriages of justice, including currently advising on the Hillsborough inquest, was scathing about the government’s legal aid cuts, saying: ‘The public service we provide is dependent on public funding. 90% of our work is publicly funded. The government policies led by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling are cumulatively devastating the provision of legal services and threatening the rule of law.’ Continue reading “Legal aid cuts blamed by Tooks Chambers as set announces its dissolution”

Dysfunctional, inefficient and expensive: City Law Society responds to MoJ consultation on regulation

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The City of London Law Society (CLLS) has responded to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) call for evidence over concerns around the complexity of the legal services regulatory landscape with claims that it is dysfunctional and will need to be overhauled. The MoJ led by justice minister Helen Grant kick-started the wholesale review in June this year, in a bid to reduce the regulatory burden on the profession.

In its response yesterday (9 September), the CLLS, which represents approximately 15,000 City lawyers, claimed that the current regulatory framework is ‘not ideal’, fails to regulate all sectors of the solicitors’ profession in an appropriate manner, is unnecessarily complex and expensive and that ‘the total cost of regulation is close to getting out of control.’ Continue reading “Dysfunctional, inefficient and expensive: City Law Society responds to MoJ consultation on regulation”

Guest post: A fight to the death- can the Law Society and its regulatory arm continue as now?

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‘My terms of reference include a requirement to propose a framework that promotes the public and consumer interest, promotes competition, promotes innovation and is transparent,’ wrote Sir David Clementi in 2004. ‘I do not believe that the current combination of regulatory and representative powers, in particular within the Law Society and the Bar Council, permit a framework that gets close to meeting this requirement…A key recommendation of this review is that the regulatory and representative functions of front-line regulatory bodies should be clearly split.’ Continue reading “Guest post: A fight to the death- can the Law Society and its regulatory arm continue as now?”

Outrageous fortune – how Ireland’s legal elite has stood up to five punishing years of austerity

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Bought by the Central Bank in 2012 from lender and toxic loans body the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) for an estimated €7m (having been valued at €250m in the boom years), plans to use the tower as the now defunct Anglo Irish’s headquarters were abandoned after the company’s collapse. The grey shell of a building standing idle on North Wall Quay is a fitting reminder of the five-year-long turmoil that has battered the Irish economy both in domestic business and international reputation.

It also symbolises what happened to countless properties nationwide, and resonates with the fear felt by many Irish people that the pre-bust Celtic Tiger years will never surface again. Continue reading “Outrageous fortune – how Ireland’s legal elite has stood up to five punishing years of austerity”

Ropes & Gray lands marquee role in GSK Chinese bribery investigation

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Even in an age in which corporate investigations have become some of the most sought after work for legal advisers, Ropes & Gray has secured a notable role with the US law firm instructed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to lead an investigation into claims that some staff in the pharma giant’s Chinese operations engaged in bribery.

Chinese authorities have arrested four GSK executives, including senior Chinese legal counsel Zhao Hongyan, amid allegations that GSK staff have attempted to bribe doctors to use the company’s medication. Continue reading “Ropes & Gray lands marquee role in GSK Chinese bribery investigation”

Guest post: Abu Qatada – a victory for pragmatism and the rule of law

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Only a matter of weeks ago, politicians were seriously discussing the possibility that the UK might need to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights in order to be rid of Abu Qatada. Yet this weekend we saw him board a plane to Jordan – and no human rights treaties were harmed. It’s a triumph for Theresa May, who deserves credit for a significant achievement. Continue reading “Guest post: Abu Qatada – a victory for pragmatism and the rule of law”

Guest post: Criminalising corporate law – proposed UK fraud penalties take a leaf out of the US sentencing guidelines

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Tough new proposed sentencing guidelines for bribery have been published in a consultation which closes in early October.

The proposals are contained in a document running to 130 pages which deals with proposed sentencing guidelines for fraud, bribery and money laundering offences. Continue reading “Guest post: Criminalising corporate law – proposed UK fraud penalties take a leaf out of the US sentencing guidelines”

In the game – will new rules on success fees see litigators take a gamble?

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Three years after the Jackson review, reforms to litigation costs have finally arrived. But one change in particular, damages-based agreements, has polarised disputes lawyers. Can contingency fees work in mainstream commercial litigation?

When Lord Justice Jackson completed his year-long review of costs in civil litigation in January 2010 he proposed, in his words, ‘a coherent package of interlocking reforms, designed to control costs and promote access to justice’.

Continue reading “In the game – will new rules on success fees see litigators take a gamble?”