Filter This View

  • April 21, 2011 |

    Kickbacks – does the Bribery Act deserve to be mired in controversy?

    "Talk of golf days being banned and arrests at Wimbledon – that was all hype," says Barry Vitou, Pinsent Masons partner and co-author of thebriberyact.com, discussing the much-touted anti-corruption legislation that will finally come into effect later this summer. And the implementation of the Bribery Act has certainly been noticed; arguably not since the Human Rights Act 1998 has a piece of primary legislation with wide implications for companies attracted such sustained political controversy. In the wake of a fierce lobbying campaign from business groups claiming, in one case, that the Act would be like equivalent US legislation "on acid" – leading to extreme claims that even basic corporate hospitality would be banned under the legislation – the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced in January that the Act's implementation would be delayed from its target of April 2011.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2011 | International Edition

    Asset finance - increasingly not for every banking team

    Recent weeks have seen no less than five asset finance partner moves announced, with Berwin Leighton Paisner, Ince & Co, Mayer Brown, and, most notably, Hogan Lovells all moving to strengthen their City practices. While the timing of the appointments is more down to coincidence than any single driver in the market, the moves illustrate the differing approaches to asset finance across large law firms.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2011 |

    Asset finance - increasingly not for every banking team

    Recent weeks have seen no less than five asset finance partner moves announced, with Berwin Leighton Paisner, Ince & Co, Mayer Brown, and, most notably, Hogan Lovells all moving to strengthen their City practices. While the timing of the appointments is more down to coincidence than any single driver in the market, the moves illustrate the differing approaches to asset finance across large law firms.

    1 minute read

  • April 7, 2011 |

    Dealmaker: Dominic Griffiths

    Mayer Brown's finance chief says he's the annoying optimist at the office - and he wears mustard cords...

    1 minute read

  • April 7, 2011 |

    Volume disputes set for huge upheaval as MoJ backs Jackson on civil litigation reform

    Success fees look set to be ushered in for complex commercial cases, ironically just as the Government unveiled reforms expected to severely restrict their widespread use in volume personal injury claims. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) last week revealed its long-awaited proposals for civil litigation reform - confirming that it was to implement most of the blueprint put forward in a report last January by Lord Justice Jackson.

    1 minute read

  • April 5, 2011 |

    Linklaters, A&O and Bird & Bird line up on £7bn Vodafone sell-off

    Linklaters, A&O and Bird & Bird have taken roles on Vodafone's €7.95bn (£7bn) sale of a 44% stake in French mobile phone operator SFR to Vivendi, reports The Am Law Daily. Linklaters M&A partners Marc Loy in Paris and Iain Fenn in London are acting for Vodafone. Fenn has advised Vodafone on a number of previous deals, including its hostile takeover of Germany's Mannesmann in 2000 and the acquisition of a controlling interest in India's Hutchison Essar in 2007.

    1 minute read

  • March 30, 2011 |

    Govt announces July implementation date for new UK anti-bribery laws

    Businesses have just three months to ensure they comply with the Bribery Act, after Justice Secretary Ken Clarke today (30 March) announced that the UK's updated anti-corruption laws will come into force on 1 July. The new guidelines issued earlier today confirm that a business can be held liable if a senior person within the organisation commits a bribery offence. Organisations may also be liable for failing to prevent bribery conducted on their behalf, but only if the person committing the crime performs services connected with the business - this means companies are unlikely to face action because of the actions of suppliers.

    1 minute read

  • March 28, 2011 |

    White & Case boosts London project finance practice with Linklaters hire

    White & Case has bolstered its London project finance practice with the hire of infrastructure and renewable energy partner Caroline Miller Smith from Linklaters, reports The Am Law Daily. Miller Smith will formally join on 6 April, becoming the US firm's thirteenth London project finance partner.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Paying the piper - can law firms' love affair with banks survive a series of tough panel reviews?

    Can City law firms' love affair with leading banks survive a bruising round of adviser reviews? Sofia Lind and Friederike Heine report

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2011 |

    Axa names firms on global panel as tender process ends

    French insurer Axa has finalised its global legal panel after a five-month tender process, with the company appointing at least eight firms to its roster of preferred advisers. Clifford Chance, Hogan Lovells, Clyde & Co and Holman Fenwick Willan have all been reappointed to the panel alongside US firms Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, Dewey & LeBoeuf and Mayer Brown. French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel has also been reappointed.

    1 minute read