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Clio launches Experience

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Have you ever wished there was someone who knew exactly what you needed to manage your law firm?

The new Clio experience was created with that idea in mind. Built using the latest technologies, and based on feedback from hundreds of legal professionals like you, it will make your daily administrative tasks go smoother than you ever thought possible.

Join us on October 25 for an exclusive tour of the new Clio experience.

Want to jump right in and try the new Clio experience yourself? Start your free trial now.

The post Clio launches Experience appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.


Khaitan advises on Bajaj Finance deal

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Khaitan advised the lead managers, JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Limited, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited in relation to the qualified institutions placement of up to 26,627,218 equity shares of Bajaj Finance Limited aggregating to approximately INR45,000m.

Bajaj Finance Limited is a non-banking financial company with a diversified loan portfolio across consumer lending, small and medium enterprises lending, and rural lending.

Abhimanyu Bhattacharya (Partner), Thomas George (Associate Partner), Kirti Krishna (Senior Associate), Suman Prabhu (Associate), and Prathiksha Panduranga (Associate) represented the client on the transaction.

The post Khaitan advises on Bajaj Finance deal appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Khaitan advises Air India on jet financing

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Khaitan & Co advised Air India Limited and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC and Mashreq Bank PSC for a bridge financing facility of $105m for the purchase of a Boeing 787-8 series aircraft.  Devidas Banerji (Partner); Ahana Sinha (Principal Associate); Oindrila Bhowmik (Associate) and Juhi Bhat (Associate) acted for the Lenders – First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC and Mashreq Bank PSC

Madhuparna Dasgupta (Principal Associate); Meenakshi Kurpad (Associate) and Praneetha Vasan (Associate) advised Air India Limited.

The post Khaitan advises Air India on jet financing appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Khaitan advises Firstsource on Vertex deal

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Khaitan & Co advised Firstsource Solutions Limited in relation to transfer of “a portion” of its domestic BPO business to Vertex Customer Management India Private Limited on a slump sale basis.

The core transaction team included Ashish Razdan (Partner), Tarunya Krishnan (Principal Associate) and Kumar Kartikeya Prakash (Senior Associate) with assistance from Ritu Shaktawat (Associate Partner) on the Tax aspects and Aditya Patni (Principal Associate), Sanchit Agarwal (Senior Associate), Pavi Jain (Senior Associate) and Praneetha Vasan (Associate) provided the closing assistance.

The post Khaitan advises Firstsource on Vertex deal appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

VdA at Aviation Encounter for the Portuguese-speaking countries

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Marília Frias, Projects – Infrastructures, Energy & Natural Resources practice senior associate, participates as moderator at the 1st International Aviation Encounter for the Portuguese Speaking Countries.

At the LusoAvia, which takes place from October 12 to 14 in Lisbon, the lawyer will moderate the panel “Regulatory Entitites – New Mobility Challenges”.

The post VdA at Aviation Encounter for the Portuguese-speaking countries appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

CryoLife acquires JOTEC

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CryoLife, a leading medical device and tissue processing company focused on cardiac and vascular surgery, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire JOTEC AG for an upfront payment of $225m.  JOTEC is a developer of endovascular stent grafts, and cardiac and vascular surgical grafts, focused on aortic repair.

Walder Wyss AG acted as lead counsel to the private sellers. The team has been co-led by Markus Vischer (Partner, Corporate/M&A) and Urs Gnos (Partner, Corporate/M&A) and further included Boris Räber (Associate, Corporate/M&A), Claudia Weber (Associate, Corporate/M&A), Vera Krüttli (Associate, Corporate/M&A), Michael Kündig(Associate, Corporate/M&A), Mirjam Olah (Associate, Corporate/M&A), Nico Bernhard (Associate, Corporate/M&A), Lukas Wyss (Partner, Banking & Finance), Tervel Stoyanov (Associate, Banking & Finance), Martin Busenhart (Partner, Tax), Janine Corti (Counsel, Tax), Reto Jacobs (Partner, IP&IT) Gion Giger (Managing Associate, IP&IT), Ewa Szczogiel (Junior Associate, Corporate/M&A) and Dominik Wingeier (Trainee, Corporate/M&A).

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Clifford Chance takes Latham Asia TMT head in Singapore

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Clifford Chance has hired technology partner Luke Grubb in Singapore in support of the firm’s strategy to grow its technology practice in the region.

Grubb was previously a partner of Latham & Watkins’ Singapore office, where he headed the US firm’s technology, media and commercial practice in Asia.

He has been involved in technology-related transactions for more than 20 years, and have also advised on intellectual property, data privacy, cyber security, fintech and payment systems.

Recently, he led a team acted for Chinese technology giant Tencent on the acquisition of the exclusive internet rights to ESPN reporting.

Grubb relocated from London to Singapore in 2012 to launch Latham’s outsourcing and IP practice in the city state. Qualified in England and Wales, he had been a partner of Latham for over 14 years.

“Technology is having a transformative effect for our clients across the region and globally, as demonstrated by much of our recent work,” said Geraint Hughes, Clifford Chance Asia Pacific regional managing partner. “The addition of Luke shows our continued commitment to invest to meet the evolving needs of our clients.”

Clifford Chance has been involved in a growing number of technology related transactions in Asia Pacific in recent years, including advising Chinese AI firm SenseTime Group on its $410m investments by private equity funds and institutional investors and Menulog Group on its A$855m acquisition by Just Eat.

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Lo♥︎ing legal life: Why every stressed out lawyer needs a Gong Bath

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This week systemic coach Zita Tulyahikayo and barrister James Pereira QC explain the benefits of sound therapy.

There was a time when The Gong Bath was the preserve of the New Age Hippy Californian Tech Billionaire Guy, quickly followed by movie stars and celebrities. But now finally we mortals of earth have inherited access to the healing wonders of The Gong. Now there are “Sounders” taking their vibrational healing into senior corporate offices from China to Stockholm to Brussels and now London. The vibrational sound of the Gong lowers heart rate, alleviates stress and anxiety, and brings relief to the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder by gently recalibrating our brainwave activity from Beta to Delta to Alpha to Theta, and back again.

As wellbeing rises to the top of the agenda for anyone who intends to have a long, happy, successful life, the door has swung open to a wider range of practises we can use to resource ourselves, maintain balance, strengthen emotional stability and support mental health as we seek to stay on top of our game.

The relationship between brain waves and sound waves

To best support our wellbeing it is important to understand how our brains function. It is a healthy mind that secures the foundation of a healthy body. It was Dr Helen Lavretsky, a psychiatry professor for the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour at the Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA who introduced the use of Sound Therapy for adults with neurological problems.

Our brains display five different types of electrical patterns or ‘brain waves’ across the cortex: Beta, Alpha, Delta, Theta and Gamma. All of these can be seen clearly on an Electroencephalograph (EEG). The EEG is able to detect each brain wave using a sensor on the scalp. The easiest way to understand brain waves is as a continuous spectrum of consciousness; from slow, loud and functional, to fast subtle and complex.

Think of brainwaves as musical notes and depending on what we are thinking, feeling or doing the notes played by the brain changes accordingly. When slower brainwaves are dominant we can feel tired, slow, sluggish, or dreamy. The higher frequencies are dominant when we feel wired, or hyper-alert. Each brain wave has a function and purpose to support our optimal mental functioning.

It is the ability of our brain to be flexible and move through various brain wave functions that plays a significant role in how successful we are in managing stress, focusing on tasks, thinking outside the box and getting a good nights sleep.

Beta brainwaves dominate our normal waking state of consciousness when attention is directed towards cognitive tasks and the outside world. Beta is ‘fast’ activity, present when we are alert, attentive, engaged in problem solving, judgment, decision making, or focused mental activity.

Alpha brainwaves are dominant during quietly flowing thoughts, and in some meditative states. Alpha is ‘the power of now’, being here, in the present. Alpha is the resting state for the brain. Alpha waves aid overall mental coordination, calmness, alertness, mind/body integration and learning.

Delta waves are generated in deep meditation and dreamless sleep. Healing and regeneration are stimulated in this state, hence why a good nights sleep is akin to rebooting a computer, it neatly restores all the operating systems to premium functionality.

Theta brainwaves occur most often in sleep but are also dominant in deep meditation. Theta is our gateway to learning, memory, and intuition. In Theta we are in a dream; vivid imagery, intuition and information beyond our normal conscious awareness. It’s where we hold our ‘stuff’, our fears, troubled history, and nightmares.

Gamma waves are important for higher processing tasks and cognitive function. Learning, memory and information processing involves gamma brain waves.

We all vibrate in accordance with our brain wave activity, and if it is out of balance then so too are we. Sounders use the Gong Bath as a way to restore the equilibrium of our brain wave activity, which in turn reduces stress and creates a deep sense of peace and wellbeing. The Gong Bath is one of the most soothing, relaxing, holistic tools to rejuvenate mind and body. As the equilibrium of your brain wave activity is restored, negative thought patterns are also neutralised and this adds to the growing popularity of the Gong Bath as a simple, effective way to easily restore balance within, enhance one’s sense of wellness and wellbeing. This in turn serves to keep us motivated and inspired to be our best self at all times, even while we sleep

What happens in a Gong Bath?

In the typical Gong Bath setting you will lie down on a comfortable matt with a pillow and a blanket for additional support, warmth and comfort, and then you just relax and listen as the sounds of the Gong wash over you.

After about 20 minutes the endless chatter of the mind stops and your body is able to fully relax as the brain exercises its brain wave flexibility to shift through different states of consciousness. Your body will do what it needs to, for some it may be falling asleep, for others the universal mind takes over and seeks to resolve problems or issues that are too complex for your conscious mind to comprehend.

The sessions usually last about an hour, although people often experience a distortion in time lapse much like being asleep. We can rarely accurately gauge how long we have actually slept for without looking at a clock. Once the bath is over it is generally advised that you drink a good amount of water to support the healing process set in motion by recalibrating brain wave activity.

How can sound support my wellbeing?

Our brain wave profile and how we experience the world are inextricably linked. When our brain waves are out of balance we will experience corresponding problems in our emotional and neuro-physical health. Current research has identified brain wave patterns associated with anxiety disorders, sleep problems, hyper-vigilance, anger, aggression, ADHD, depression, OCD, bi-polar, and panic attacks to name but a few. As a rule of thumb, any process that changes your perception changes your brainwaves. The varied tones of the Gong meet those of your brainwaves and change them and so change your perception. Regular sound therapy can support the release of toxic thought patterns and emotions. The brain’s neuroplasticity means that it is capable of tremendous growth and change no matter how young or old we are.

Time for a Gong bath?

If you are experiencing difficulties in your life then the Gong Bath is a simple way to start supporting yourself. Or if you are just looking for a simple way to de-stress and bring your brain to peak performance, then a Gong Bath might be just what you need. If you would like to experience the Gong Bath for yourself, the Crystal Sound Lounge offers regular sessions in Central London. Feeling shy? Some practitioners hold private sessions.


The authors welcome feedback from anyone concerned with the issues raised in their writing, and are also interested in hearing from anyone with suggestions for future articles. You can reach them at @LifeTherapyZita and @JamesPereiraQC.

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Parkinson’s UK searches for first general counsel

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Parkinson’s UK has begun the search for the charity’s first general counsel and company secretary to support planned growth and strategic development.

The new GC will have a senior role within the charity and report directly to Parkinson’s UK CEO Steve Ford, its chair Mark Goodridge along with the other 10 members on the board of trustees.

The new GC will also be responsible for a three-strong team, including the assistant company secretary and their team of two governance coordinators.

Parkinson’s UK director of organisational development Carolyn Nutkins said: ” The General Counsel will be key to helping us deliver our plans to develop ground-breaking partnerships with leading research organisations, academic institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

“The new role also reflects important changes in the charity sector, including GDPR, to help us ensure we are working efficiently and effectively.”

Parkinson’s UK recently closed its applications for the role of assistant company secretary and expects to appoint a candidate in the near future.

The GC will be focused on company, commercial, IP, data protection and charity law. The role will focus mainly on corporate transactional and commercial matters in the charity.

Mental health charities have been slow in their uptake of legal heads. However last year, Siemens general counsel and company secretary Claire Carless joined St Andrew’s Healthcare. She was tasked with looking to expand its services and mental healthcare provisions.

Nutkins said: “It is a really exciting time for the charity. As we reach a tipping point to find better treatments for Parkinson’s, the General Counsel will play a vital role to help us improve the lives of the 127,000 people affected by Parkinson’s in the UK.”

At present, the charity is the largest funder of research into Parkinson’s disease in Europe, employing more then 480 staff with an annual budget of £37m for 2017.

The charity was founded in February 1969 by Mali Jenkins and currently counts actress Jane Asher, whose brother-in-law was diagnosed with parkinson’s, as its president.

Parkinson’s UK was approached for comment.

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Bakers capital markets head exits for Jefferies Bank in-house role

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Baker McKenzie capital markets head Edward Bibko has left the firm to join Jeffries Bank as EMEA head of investment banks, legal, The Lawyer can reveal.

Jeffries is understood to be a longstanding client for Bakers. Through this move, Bibko will join the wider investment bank’s EMEA legal team.

Bibko was at Bakers for over 17 years and joined from Kirkland & Ellis in 2000, where he was a senior associate. He was named capital markets heads in 2011 and served two terms in the role. He stepped down in June of this year, and has been replaced by London-based partner Adam Farlow.

A Bakers spokesperson said: “We are delighted to confirm that Adam Farlow was appointed the Head of the EMEA Capital Markets Group, effective 1 July. He took over from Edward Bibko whose second term as Head of the EMEA Group ended on 30 June.

“We have valued Edward’s expertise and leadership throughout his time at Baker McKenzie and wish him well with the next phase of his career.”

Meanwhile, Farlow is currently executing the strategy that the capital markets practice had developed under Bibko’s leadership.

“Historically it’s fair to say that we were viewed in the cap markets arena as much more focused on emerging markets and issuer side work,” Farlow told The Lawyer. “We have been working over the last handful of years to maintain our emerging markets credentials which I am glad remain strong but also to focus on Western Europe, building our strength in London.”

Farlow points to Brussels, Stockholm and Italian capital markets seeing an uptick in work, which the firm hopes to replicate in London. The firm has 26 capital markets lawyers in London, and around 200 across the EMEA region.

“We are in the process of growing at the partner level and associate level,” he says. “In that context we have made some hires in the private equity and banking and finance team.”

Jefferies declined to comment.

The post Bakers capital markets head exits for Jefferies Bank in-house role appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Black History Month: Report reveals “worrying” barrier to partnership for women and BMEs

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Linklaters corporate counsel Paulette Mastin has spent her entire career at the magic circle firm and has acted as chair of the Black Solicitor’s Network (BSN) City Group since 2008.

Paulette Mastin
Paulette Mastin

Here, she comments on the main results of the BSN’s 10th Diversity League Table earlier this year, which showed a mixed set of results.

Since the table was launched, these findings show that the significant gains have been made over the last 10 years. What are you looking to achieve in the future?

The profession has seen significant change over the last 10 years in the diversity of law firms and Chambers.

When the Diversity League Table (DLT) was first published, it was hailed as a ground-breaking exercise in providing detailed analysis of leading law firms’ demographic profiles in relation to ethnicity and gender from paralegal to partner. Over the years, its coverage expanded to encompass chambers and other strands of diversity – disability and sexual orientation.

During this period, the DLT has encouraged firms and chambers to promote diversity by profiling and recognising organisations that achieve high levels of diversity among their staff, and those that still have some way to go, but have put in place a variety of initiatives to support diversity, including policies, practices, support networks and other resource commitments.

The DLT has played an important role in raising awareness and issues across the profession, and challenging firms and Chambers to do more.

The DLT 10-year review is a cumulative analysis of data collected from law firms and looks at what has changed over this period. The report reveals that the number of women and ethnic minorities entering the legal profession has increased significantly. However, the levels of attrition as one progresses up the professional ladder are worryingly high, especially when making the last step up to partner.

BSN now has an opportunity to kick-start the next generation of work in this area. The next phase in our programme of research will encompass analysis of diversity and career progression in the legal profession, taking us beyond annual reporting of diversity issues (via the traditional DLT and other surveys) towards identifying and exploring why such issues exist. We will be working in conjunction with The Law Society and research professors on this new programme and are hoping to engage the support of other professional bodies and key stakeholders.

As the gender pay gap in law is described as ‘above average’, how are you working to close the gap on this issue?

The focus of our work at the BSN is equality of access to the legal profession and the retention and promotion of black solicitors.

This mission is pursued through our many initiatives and programmes, including careers workshops, mentoring and sponsorship programme, professional development seminars, the Diversity League Table, the UK Diversity Legal Awards as well as BSN’s involvement in consultations initiated by The Law Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and other government/regulatory bodies in relation to matters affecting BME lawyers.

What work needs to be done to close the gap at partner level?

There is no single approach that all firms could adopt to address and resolve issues of gender and ethnic diversity and equality, particularly within the senior ranks. The findings of DLT 2017 reveal that many firms have implemented diversity policies and practices and still there has been little discernible change in levels of representation at the top of the profession for women and ethnic minorities.

This is happening during a period when more women and ethnic minorities are entering the profession than ever before.  To shift the dial on gender and ethnic diversity, firms can:

  • Demonstrate a clear commitment to gender and BME talent management and progression as a key part of their business and growth strategy that is embedded throughout the organisation at all levels. As well as targeted initiatives (eg sponsorship/ mentoring/ leadership programmes), establish aspirational targets for recruitment, retention and promotion and report against these annually as a measure and driver of diversity success.
  • Encourage conversations, particularly involving key decision-makers, about issues around gender, race and ethnicity and equality as a means of breaking down barriers of structural bias and inequality that pervade organisational culture and stifle innovation and progress.
  • Implement diversity and anti-bias training for all staff, especially those tasked with work allocation, performance appraisals and promotion.

Are there any practice areas that you think need more diversity than others?

DLT 2017 identifies a variety of firm characteristics that are positive for one strand of diversity, but exactly the opposite for the other strand. Notably when considering the pattern of differences across firms according to core areas of practice. The findings reveal the following hierarchy of core practice areas when considering gender diversity (from the most gender-diverse to the least):

  • Employment (including pension and benefits)
  • Real Estate (including construction)
  • Litigation and Dispute Resolution
  • Corporate /Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Banking and Finance

When considering the extent of ethnic diversity, this list runs in exactly the opposite direction.

What this finding illustrates is that there is no single one-size-fits-all approach to addressing diversity issues across these practice areas.  Firm-wide initiatives dedicated to actively nurturing, supporting and progressing diverse talent have their place in addressing and tackling diversity gaps, but it is important to look at the particular circumstances of a given practice area that may be contributing factors.

Are you finding that the imposition of mandatory quotas is unnecessary with firms being more cooperative or prepared to engage in diversity?

There has been a lot of debate on quotas vs. targets as a means of increasing gender and ethnic diversity in the profession.  Given the slow pace of change in the diversification of senior roles within the profession, there is arguably a case for establishing and pursuing diversity targets, provided this is bolstered with a commitment to diverse talent management and engendering a fair and inclusive environment.

What role do the DLT and BSN play when it comes to setting ambitious but realistic targets for firms going forwards?

BSN continually engages with law firms, institutions and professional and regulatory bodies in driving our respective diversity agendas forward. Through initiatives and programmes like the UK Diversity Legal Awards and our careers workshops and mentoring/sponsorship programme we are actively encouraging and influencing greater diversity and inclusion within the sector.

Of importance in the drive to increase diversity within the legal profession is greater transparency around diversity measures and the ability to identify where there are issues and address them.  The DLT has been instrumental in this regard in that it provides a comprehensive analysis of the demographics of many leading law firms and Chambers in the UK across core diversity strands of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disability. Through this publication, law firms are encouraged to share best practice and are able to gauge progress in the recruitment, retention and progression of diverse lawyers. Many firms now compile and publish the diversity statistics of their workforce as part of this trend towards greater transparency.

Which firms/individuals stand out for championing diversity and inclusion?

I would have to commend the exemplary work of winners of the UK Diversity Legal Awards 2016 and others in championing diversity and inclusion in the profession, including the following firms:

Linklaters established a Diversity Action Team in 2013, a group of legal and business services professionals dedicated to helping the firm implement their D&I Recruitment Strategy. The resulting statistical increase in BME graduates recruited to the firm is a visible sign of their efforts.

Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer and Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE launched the Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship, a first of a kind race and social mobility scheme to address the under representation of black and black-mixed-race men from less privileged backgrounds in large commercial law firms.

Latham & Watkins has designed innovative professional development programs (the Diversity Leadership Academy (DLA) and the Women’s Leadership Academy (WLA)) to specifically support the recruitment, retention, promotion and leadership development of women and other diverse lawyers.

BLP is profiled in the DLT 2017 report.  Their Social Inclusion and Ethnicity task-group, in particular their initiative, Race for Change, has seen a dramatic increase in training contract applications from black candidates.

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A&O creates new global eDiscovery role after EY hire

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Allen & Overy (A&O) has recruited its first global head of eDiscovery amid plans to overhaul the firm’s function.

Scott Robson joins the magic circle firm from EY, where he was an executive director in the forensic technology and discovery services group. He was based in the company’s fraud investigation and disputes practice.

Prior to joining EY in 2014, Robson was a senior manager at KPMG for 14 years.

A&O is in the midst of an eDiscovery overhaul, with Robson brought in to oversee the firm’s investment in a new eDiscovery platform.

He will focus on bringing A&O’s function up-to-date with other services currently offered in the market.

His appointment follows another senior appointment earlier in the year – Andrew Caspersonn joined the firm in Sydney from Herbert Smith Freehills as a litigation support manager and eDiscovery manager.

Dispute resolution head and US senior partner Tim House said: “We know that our clients face constant pressure to strike the optimal balance of cost, quality and risk.

“By investing in senior business professionals, such as Scott, and by broadening our resourcing and the tools that we use we are helping them overcome this challenge.”

A&O has been putting an emphasis on its litigation practice over the last 12 months, particularly in IP after a series of hires from Simmons & Simmons.

Few firms are understood to have a global head of eDiscovery, with the magic circle instead making investments in artificial intelligence. Linklaters signed a deal with technology provider RAVN, while Freshfields and Clifford Chance opted for Kira.

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The 60 Second Interview: Legal services need to reinvent themselves

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Gowling WLG partner and head of commercial, employment, pensions and projects Michael Luckman talks about how AI will change the legal profession and about machines outperforming humans, ahead of his session at The Lawyer’s In-house Counsel as Business Partner conference.

Michael Luckman

What does innovation mean when it comes to legal services?

Innovation is a state of mind – the restless urge continually to assess what we do and how we do it in order to do it better. It is also a creative process which needs us to look with fresh eyes at known situations and apply new and different thinking to them.

Many lawyers do not think they are innovative. However, even if they lack the confidence, they absolutely have the critical thinking and problem solving skills to be so. Too often we assume the results need to be quantum leaps equivalent to the proving of the Higgs boson or discovering gravitational waves. Often, it is a small tweak that makes a significant difference.

What is your one big prediction on the future of legal services?

The legal profession collectively undersells its abilities. By instinct and nurture, we define ourselves – we can do this, we cannot do that – and our understandable and ingrained interest in words and minutiae hides or represses our deeper skills to understand and shape the big picture and solve the big problems.

We will have a poor future if we limit ourselves to traditional legal “outputs” as many of these will become commodity or execution only, susceptible to AI or non-legal risk management. Legal services need to reinvent themselves as a recognised real value-add at board level to the businesses they serve, using those critical thinking and problem solving skills – and, yes, perhaps even creativity! – in wider strategic thinking and critical business brain surgery.

We are approaching a time when machines will be able to outperform humans at almost any task. Should lawyers start worrying about proving their worth?

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? In the early 1970s, the thinker Paul Ehrlich predicted imminent world collapse through a Malthusian catastrophe he called the population bomb. He even advocated the abandonment of aid to India which he considered to be on the verge of self-destruction and beyond help.

India is now the world’s sixth biggest economy. Ehrlich engendered a rival theory called cornucopianism (espoused by the economist, Julian Simon) which argued that human ingenuity will always find a way, and so far Julian has won the bet. In the short to medium term I am a cornucopian – in the longer term we are all (including our planet) dead.

I think that AI will change the profession radically, and not just in processing or commodity areas but in judgmental areas too but it will not eliminate it. However, we will need to use our ingenuity to find better ways to add value and that value will not necessarily be traditional. In turn, this will mean the skills we need, the people we recruit and the ways we work will differ markedly.

You are speaking at In-house Counsel as Business Partner on the 6-7 November: how would you describe the event in 3 words?

Motivating, not Brexit.

Tell us two truths and one lie about yourself (in any order)

  • I love celery – I carry a little box of it wherever I go
  • I am entitled to drive sheep over London Bridge
  • I shared a platform with David Cameron on a debate over Brexit

If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done instead?

As a young man I wanted to fly Harriers off aircraft carriers. Now I wish I was a highly respected but not necessarily best-selling author of meaningful fiction. In reality, I’d probably have been writing reports on unimportant things for some organisation and pondering the futility of everything.

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Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners defends Total in multibillion-dollar dispute

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Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners’ Litigation Practice team defended Total in a multibillion-dollar precedent dispute with the Volgograd and Saratov regions’ administrations (Russia), considered by ad hoc arbitrators in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.

In 1992, the French company Elf Neftegaz (which parent, Elf Aquitaine, later became part of TOTAL) and Russian company AOZT Interneft entered into a co-operation agreement regarding prospective exploration and development of hydrocarbon fields in the Volgograd and Saratov Regions (Russia).

in 2009 the Volgograd and Saratov regions’ administrations and OOO Interneft initiated arbitration proceedings against Total, seeking reimbursement of lost profits evaluated at $22bn caused by failure to perform the co-operation Agreement.

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Ireland devotes €4m more to data protection

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It was announced in Budget 2018 that the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) will be allocated an additional €4 million in funding.  This brings the total funding allocation for the ODPC to almost €11.7 million, which represents a 55% increase on the 2017 allocation.

This funding will be essential to the ODPC as it readies itself for the coming into force of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25 May 2018.  The GDPR will place considerable additional supervisory, enforcement and guidance obligations on data protection authorities such as the ODPC.

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White & Case promotes seven to partner in London

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White & Case has made up seven associates to partner in London, out of 31 who have been given the nod across the firm as a whole.

In the UK, Kamilla Azamat (project finance), James Greene (capital markets), James Hardy (banking), Tim Hickman (intellectual property), James Johnson, Steven Worthington (both M&A) and Rebecca Shorter (international arbitration) will take the step up as of 1 January 2018.

Johnson and Greene were trainees in the London office, as was Alexander Malahias, who is promoted in Abu Dhabi.

Executive partner Oliver Brettle said that the promotions – two thirds of which were in London and New York – demonstrated the firm’s commitment to its 2020 strategy, which involves building up those two offices in particularly. “It also shows that we have a strong pipeline of legal talent coming through, and promotion of Alex [Malahias] continues to build the very strong links between London and the Middle East offices,” he said.

Elsewhere, nine associates have been made up in New York, and four have been promoted in Washington DC – the only other office to see more than a couple of promotions.

Only four have been promoted across continental Europe – two in Stockholm and one each in Hamburg and Bratislava – down from 11 last year. There are no promotions in the firm’s Asia offices this year.

White & Case promotions 2018: in full

Americas 

  • Maria Beguiristain, White Collar, Miami
  • Jay Campbell, Trade, Washington DC
  • Matthew Drossos, International Arbitration, Washington DC
  • Frank Hogue, Antitrust, Washington DC
  • Francisco Jijón, International Arbitration, Washington DC
  • Robert Counihan Intellectual Property, New York
  • Ross Elfand, Antitrust, New York
  • James Fogarty, Capital Markets, New York
  • Rebecca Gottlieb, Banking, New York
  • Ash Ilkhani, Capital Markets, New York
  • Ryan Johnson, Intellectual Property, New York
  • Luke Laumann, Mergers & Acquisitions, New York
  • Francis Lupinacci, Mergers & Acquisitions, New York
  • David Suggs, Antitrust, New York
  • Jonathan Hawk, Commercial Litigation, Los Angeles
  • Robert Morrison, Banking Practice, Los Angeles

Europe 

  • Kamilla Azamat, Project Finance, London
  • James Greene, Capital Markets, London
  • James Hardy, Banking, London
  • Tim Hickman, Intellectual Property, London
  • James Johnson, Mergers & Acquisitions, London 
  • Rebecca Shorter, International Arbitration, London
  • Steven Worthington, Mergers & Acquisitions, London
  • Juraj Fuska, Mergers & Acquisitions, Bratislava
  • Matthias Kiesewetter, Mergers & Acquisitions, Hamburg
  • Johan Thiman, Capital Markets, Stockholm
  • Henrik Wireklint, Mergers & Acquisitions, Stockholm

Middle East

  • Alexander Malahias, Project Finance, Abu Dhabi
  • Claire Matheson Kirton, Banking, Dubai
  • Ali Shaikley, Mergers & Acquisitions, Dubai

Africa

  • Quintin du Plessis, Banking, Johannesburg

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Dubai: The gateway to the Middle East for international firms

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For any law firm with international ambitions, an office in the Middle East is a must. And for those regional outposts, learning to coexist while maintaining individuality is just as crucial.

Owing to the trend of firms moving to create more densely concentrated hubs in the major emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, a generation gap is beginning to develop, with new markets opening up and fresh opportunities emerging.

International firms with an office in the Middle East

The West has long benefited from Middle Eastern money investing in markets such as London, Paris and the US. Indeed, according to Savills, London’s real-estate market is thought to have benefited from Middle Eastern investment to the tune of £38bn in 2015.

It is vital to the key European and American firms that they channel this revenue stream into these markets. The World Bank shows that the region’s GDP peaked in 2013 at $3.5trn (£2.1trn). With a stream this vast, business here can be crucial to a firm’s aspirations.

International firms and the Middle East market

  • Just 1% of partners worldwide are in the Middle East.
  • Clyde & Co is the largest international firm in the region by partner headcount, with 38 based in the region. Dubai is the firm’s second-­largest jurisdiction, behind London and ahead of Manchester. Dentons has the second-highest number of partners, with 28, followed in third place by Allen & Overy, with 23.
  • The United Arab Emirates is the eighth most internationally diverse region by law-firm density, with 52 in the Global 200 having an office there.
  • Baker McKenzie and DLA Piper shrank the most in the region over the past year, losing 13 and 15 partners respectively and falling by headcount from 35 to 22 and 33 to 18.

Source: The Lawyer Global 200 2017

Niche market

Dubai has been becoming one of the world’s leading legal hubs for a while and, more recently, has become crucial for deals in Africa. Its importance has grown so much in the past 15 years that Jonathon Davidson, of Dubai-based Davidson & Co, says it now contains one of the highest concentration of British expat lawyers in the world, second only to Hong Kong.

“We don’t do English law – we do local law. That’s what international firms can’t offer.”
Husam Hourani, Al Tamimi

Opportunities for investment and growth here are greater now than ever, particularly in IP and litigation. And this niche market, according to Al Tamimi managing partner Husam Hourani, is what gives smaller Middle Eastern firms an advantage. “We don’t do English law – we do local law,” he says. “That’s what international firms can’t offer. We’ve focused on areas where we have a competitive edge: litigation, for example, now makes up half our revenue. We’ve begun building our business around IP, employment, compliance, education, healthcare, sports and consumer protection. These are niche areas which requires a niche team with a niche understanding.”

New generation

Niche insight has certainly played well for smaller firms in the past, and will continue to do so. Al Tamimi is regarded by many as the strongest firm in the region – international firms speak highly of it and Hourani says they get a good deal from the magic circle, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Slaughter and May. Al Tamimi also has a relationship with Norton Rose Fulbright to do some of its regional banking work, while US firm White & Case is happy to delegate to it most of its regional work.

Founded in 1989 by Essam Al Tamimi, the firm covers nine countries and 17 offices. He is an excellent example of how a new generation of Middle Eastern lawyers works and operates. After receiving his Master of Law from Harvard in 1984, Al Tamimi returned home to develop the firm that bears his name and at which he remains as the senior partner.

The firm’s reputation has been enhanced by advising on deals such as the exporting and financing of the Kuwait National Petroleum Company’s credit agency for the Clean Fuels Project, which was worth £4.8bn.

The region experienced a boom between 2002 and 2007, with big firms racing to plant their flags and vying for the biggest deals. Berwin Leighton Paisner announced its intentions to enter the area in 2005 and Norton Rose Fulbright won the mandate in 2006 to advise Etisalat, when it purchased 26 per cent in Pakistan Telecommunication Company for £1.4bn.

Boom and bust

Middle East - salary increases in the UAE 2015/16When the recession hit, though, the Middle East wasn’t exempt. “The winter of 2007/08 saw the high-end investment market freeze and become a litigious market,” Jonathon Davidson explains. At this point, corporate and commercial work just didn’t exist. Suddenly, litigation firms became very busy acting for quasi-government interest. We happened on a huge stream of work, all connected to the government in some way, which meant it came down the chain, as all the big firms had acted for one side or the other.”

Davidson arrived in Dubai in 1999, while working as an associate with Clyde & Co. He set up his own firm in 2008 and says that, while it initially picked up plenty of the aforementioned litigation work, thanks to larger firms’ conflicts after representing branches of the government in one way or another, its mix is now a 60/40 split between non-contentious property work and corporate/commercial.

In the Robert Half 2016 Salary Guide, the three most
in-demand legal positions were 5-10 years’ PQE real-estate and corporate/ commercial lawyers, particularly those trained in the West

In the Robert Half 2016 Salary Guide, the three most in-demand legal positions were listed as 5-10 years’ PQE real-estate and corporate/commercial lawyers, particularly those trained in the West. However, those trained in the West want Western salaries. In 2015-16, salaries in the UAE rose across the board, with senior partners being paid $275,250 to $395,000 (£223,198 to £320,302) – a 1.1 per cent increase. It was more profitable still to work in-house, with a head of legal seeing their pay range from $269,750 to $416,750 – an increase of 1.8 per cent.

A younger generation and changing world brings with it new opportunities. Davidson says his firm has seen a steady increase in fintech and IP work, and that governments are always looking for ways to profit from new technologies. The issue is that, while this sector is growing, it isn’t the work the region needs. “At present, there isn’t the required level of complex, sophisticated deals,” Davidson says. “The Middle East is reassessing. There’s a lot of political risk, so high-level deals are happening elsewhere in the world. But political risk oscillates.”

It used to be viewed as a cultural faux pas for Emeratis to take their money out of the region. But the younger generation has one of the world’s most developed cities on its doorstep, procures the best education from the most prestigious international universities and is not as interested in the old markets as their seniors.

Attitudinal change

While many firms are closing their Middle East capabilities, the regional firms are thriving. As proof of Dubai’s significance, Al Tamimi has three bases there. “In the past 10 years, we’ve seen changes in both heads of government and in governmental departments,” says Hourani. “Younger people have taken over and this has led to changes in attitudes and expectations. This new generation has a very open-minded, Western-trained, technologically oriented mindset.”

Hadef & Partners managing partner Sadiq Jafar considers theirs a UAE firm – it has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi that employ more than 90 lawyers between them. Fichte & Co is present in the same locations as Hadef but has a considerably smaller headcount, at 15 lawyers and counsel. Hadef has a strong local litigation practice, whereas Fichte & Co is prominent in both litigation and the shipping market.

“There are many Middle Eastern countries in which only local firms operate or there are very few international firms,” says Jafar. “The UAE is an exception, followed by some other Gulf countries. Many don’t have any larger domestic firms – all are relatively small. Saudi Arabia has particular challenges, in that international firms operate in association with local concerns and the relationships change from time to time.”

Hadef advised the Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) public joint-stock company on its first public listing, selling almost 50 per cent of its shares. This led to the creation of the largest dockyard in the region, and the firm continues to work closely with ADSB on a portfolio worth around £840m.

A Middle Eastern Singapore

Data gathered in The Lawyer Global 200 2017 report shows that Dubai is overwhelmingly the international law firm’s home of choice. It has 249 partners based there, compared to second-placed Abu Dhabi, which has 82. Cairo is a distant third, with 47. According to Gowling WLG real estate partner Andrew Thomson, “Dubai’s becoming what it always wanted to be: the Singapore of the Middle East. It has a very international flavour, which is both good and bad. It isn’t representative of the Middle East as a whole.”

The Dubai International Finance Centre is one of the major reasons the emirate has become so dominant. Of course, the promise of zero per cent tax on income and profits for 50 years after being granted a commercial licence is going to be hugely appealing to any business, but it brings fierce competition and firms need an edge.

This year alone, Clifford Chance closed its operations in Qatar on the basis that “there was no longer the same need for a presence on the ground in Doha”, Weil, Gotshal & Manges left Dubai after launching in 2008 and King & Wood Mallesons closed in Riyadh just three years after launching. Herbert Smith Freehills also closed its Qatari offices after poor performance, choosing to consolidate instead in Dubai.

Tale of two cities

Dubai and Doha have both been experiencing an ­economic slowdown since 2014, but Qatar’s nosedive has been much more pronounced since then. Its gross domestic product per capita fell from $86,850 to $59,330 in 2016 – a decrease of 32 per cent. The UAE’s also dropped, but its decline has been more stable: its fall of $44,500 to $37,600 represents a 15 per cent decrease – less than half that of its close neighbour.

While, at £117bn, Qatar may lead the UAE when it comes to gross domestic product per capita, that is less than half of the UAE’s GDP, at £268bn. Compare these numbers and Dubai’s significance as an international legal and trading hub is undeniable. For smaller firms, niche knowledge and the chance to collaborate offer ways into emerging sectors outside the traditional sphere that can and should be capitalised on as Dubai’s strength grows.

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Black History Month: “We need to think about the BAME pay gap”

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As part of The Lawyer’s Black History Month series, Milbank associate Felicia Hanson Ofori-Quaah talks about her career to date.

Tell us a little bit about your role now, and how you got there.

I am a senior associate in the Project and Infrastructure Finance team with Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. I have been with the firm for five and a half years now. My practice is principally focused on financing energy, infrastructure and mining projects in Africa and the Middle East, advising on cross-border, multi-sourced financings involving commercial lenders, export credit agencies and development finance institutions.

Felicia Hanson Ofori-Quaah

I certainly didn’t start my career knowing I wanted to be a Project Finance Lawyer; I actually qualified into the corporate team at Norton Rose (where I completed my training contract) doing mostly M&A in the mining sector. However, as I qualified at the height of the global financial crisis, there weren’t many M&A transactions and I was keen to get as much experience as possible. With the help of my mentor, Mark Bankes, I transitioned into the project finance team and I have not looked back since.

Before I commenced my training contract, I read law at Bristol University and completed my LPC at the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice – you could say I got on the legal bandwagon from university (I received my training contract offer at the end of my second year undergraduate degree) and have not fallen off… yet.

When you were first attempting to enter the legal profession, did you feel any sense of trepidation because of the reputation of the profession as white and middle class? What were your preconceptions and how did they compare to the reality of practice?

The thought never crossed my mind when I was a young student considering law as a career. As a child growing up in Ghana there were really only a handful of career options (doctor, engineer, accountant or lawyer) that were deemed “acceptable”.

As I was more of an artist than a scientist, I decided to pursue a career in law and commenced that journey. In that respect I did not have any preconceptions as such.

When I began my undergraduate degree however, there were only four black undergraduates studying law in my year. It was then that I suppose it occurred to me that there may not be many black people in the profession. That realisation manifested itself on the first day of my training contract – I was the only black trainee in my intake; in fact I was the only black trainee among the entire trainee population in the firm at the time.

Have you ever felt that your identity has hindered you in any way?

That’s an interesting question. I am a woman. I am black. I am a mother. Taken individually, each aspect of my identity is very much underrepresented in senior positions in law, particularly in private practice. As a person who straddles the intersection of race and gender (as well as motherhood), I am certainly conscious of the fact that there may be obstacles (whether intentional or otherwise) which could determine the course of my career.

One of the findings in McKinsey’s 2017 report on Women in the Workplace is that “women of color, particularly black women, face even greater challenges. The intersection of race and gender shape women’s experiences in meaningful ways. Women of color face more obstacles and a steeper path to leadership, from receiving less support from managers to getting promoted more slowly”.

There has been in recent years a lot of discussion surrounding the lack of female partners in law firms, although at a junior level there are a lot more women coming through. That aspect of my identity and the potential challenges that come with it has been receiving a lot of attention. I do not think that there is as much attention given to the fact that there isn’t a great representation of senior black people in the profession so the dialogue in that context is not as advanced as that relating to the lack of female representation.

At this relatively early stage in my career (I do have another 30 or so years to go), I don’t think I can give an accurate assessment as to whether my identity has hindered me in my profession. It is however evident that there is a lack of representation in the legal profession for professionals who have an identity that is similar to mine. It is also difficult to determine at this stage if a single aspect of my identity has the potential to be a hindrance, or if it is the intersectionality of my identity, that presents itself with impediments in my professional life.

There has been a lot of talk about the gender pay gap. Do you think that there is a similar issue for BAME employees?

PwC recently published data on the pay gap amongst its ethnic minority employees, which revealed that its BAME workforce were being paid lower than its other employees. Earlier this year Serena Williams posted an article on “Black Women’s Equal Pay Day” where she suggests that “black women earn 17 per cent less than their white female counterparts and that black women are paid 63 per cent of the dollar men are paid”.

Evidently there is an issue here that needs to be explored further; there needs to be more data in order to determine the nature of the problem and how it can be resolved.

In the context of law firms, there are a number of firms whose remuneration policy for associates is based on the lock step for the first eight years post qualification. In theory, during this period, all associates – male, female, black or white receive the same amount of compensation.

In law firms where associate salaries are not linked to a lock step, it would be interesting to see the results of any data collected and whether it demonstrates that there is a pay gap based on ethnic diversity. Without any real data, it is difficult to make a fair assessment of the existence of an ethnic minority pay gap in law firms.

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McDermott PEP drops as London revenue hits £22.9m, accounts show

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McDermott Will & Emery’s turnover rose by 2.3 per cent to £22.9m in 2016, while average profit per equity partner stood at £348,000, down by 9 per cent from £383,000, LLP accounts show.

This is the highest turnover for the firm in three years, compared to £20.5m in 2015 and £21.9m in 2014.

Net profit stood at £9.8m in 2016, up by 2 per cent from £9.6m, which the firm had maintained flat since 2013.

McDermott london performance
Source: The Lawyer

During the year, the firm’s London office generated a total of £7.75m in billings, up from the previous year’s £7.2m. However, this figure fell short compared to 2014, when the firmg enerated £8.8m in billings.

The LLP was charged £2m by other offices in the network for work during the period, the highest amount in three years.

The Lawyer’s Top 50 US firms in London report released earlier this year estimated McDermott’s turnover to be far higher than the LLPs show, entering the tables at number 37 with revenue figures of $42m.

With an average exchange rate last year of 1.5 per cent, the figure would be closer to the $34m mark, putting the firm closer to Winston & Strawn (with $34m at number 39) and Arnold & Porter ahead of its merger with Kaye Scholer at $33m.

London office managing partner Andrew Vergunst said: “In line with the firm’s 2020 vision, we’ve built out our key practice areas and invested in new practice areas in London to really play to our strengths – and this has taken an investment – both in financial terms, through investment in new partners and building out bench strength in certain practices, and in the time it takes to make that happen.

“What we see today in the market-leading positions of our healthcare, private equity and private client practices in particular are great examples of how this is already paying off.

“Essentially, it’s what’s behind our figures that counts here.  The strategy behind the numbers is key. The McDermott London office is excellently positioned, both in its client markets and in its position in the legal industry.  We will continue to see McDermott consolidate and grow, playing to its strengths and providing first-class work for our clients.”

Earlier this year, The Lawyer reported that McDermott partners put aside $26m (£20.7m) to invest in the firm’s infrastructure after its 2016 global revenue increased by 2 per cent to $908.7m.

This renewed focus will mean further growth in London, which added to its 24-strong partnership with the hire of Simmons & Simmons restructuring and insolvency partner Alan Gar to boost its corporate and transactional team. Since then, the firm has also hired Capsticks partner Sharon Lamb.

To purchase the Top 50 US firms in London report, please contact either Gilberto Esgaio on +44 207 970 4191 or gilberto.esgaio@centaurmedia.com or Letitia Austin on +44 207 970 4662 or letitia.austin@centaurmedia.com.

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Fieldfisher Condor launch highlights booming law firm consultancy market

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Fieldfisher’s announcement last week that it has expanded its Condor automated documentation platform to South Africa serves both as confirmation of the success of this alternative legal services initiative and as a pointer to the emerging market for law firm-related consultancy businesses.

Fieldfisher revealed that it has launched a managed legal services centre in South Africa through a new partnership with legal services provider Cognia Law. This deal follows a similar launch earlier this year with Indian business process outsourcer eClerx.

Fieldfisher launched Condor Alternative Legal Solutions in January 2017 as a way of offering clients a flexible and customisable range of price- and process-efficient services. It is the brain-child of derivatives partner Luke Whitmore and utilises resources both in India and Belfast to produce the documentation.

The services it offers include trading and commercial documentation negotiation outsourcing, large-scale documentation project delivery and technology-assisted solutions including data extraction and analytics, contract automation, AI and robotics.

The firm said that the combination of skills and services enables it to deliver a range of services and skills encompassing legal expertise, contract expertise, project management expertise and processing expertise all within an integrated law firm wrapper.

While Condor is initially focusing on the derivatives and securities financing markets, future plans include expanding its range of services beyond financial services and to offer it to clients across all sectors of the firm.

The firm’s Condor initiative, which is headed by former Ashurst partner Chris Georgiou, is highlighted by Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick in this year’s UK 200: Top 100 report, which includes a focus on law firm consultancy arms following a growing number of launches in recent months (see below).

Chissick said the Condor business had “exploded”, winning a string of new mandates.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if this will be a huge part of our business in a few years,” added Chissick.

Another recent law firm-related consultancy launch is Clyde & Co’s smart contracts consultancy, known as ‘Clyde Code’, which advises insurers and clients in other sectors on all aspects of smart contracts, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.

A Clydes team led by UK insurance and reinsurance partners Lee Bacon and Nigel Brook is operating from London, San Francisco and Dubai in relation to the consultancy and has partnered with blockchain specialist Gary Nuttall, who operates his own financial services sector-focused consultancy.

Clyde & Co’s plan is to tap into the appetite in the insurance sector and offer something new.

“We believe we are the first to do this,” Bacon said. “We’re working mostly 50 to 60 per cent on insurance and reinsurance matters. We believe in the benefits of smart contracts and blockchain tech. If there was a tech made for the insurance market it would be this.”

Click view a PDF version of the Law Firm Consultancies analysis or read an extract of it below.

Shrewd sidetracks

Are law firm consultancy businesses worth the bother? Or to put it another way, are they generating enough revenue to make setting them up worthwhile? Certainly the UK market has seen a proliferation of law firm-linked consultancies in recent years, with a myriad of models targeting a range of sectors.

consultancies
Source: The Lawyer UK 200 2017

Research by The Lawyer for this year’s UK 200 confirms that a significant number of law firms are now offering non-legal consultancy services, either provided in-house off the back of hires or via taking a stake in an existing business or by setting up a partnership with an external consultancy. For the first time, this year’s UK 200 survey has attempted to assess the size of this market. The annual survey included a question which, in contrast to the highly detailed nature of those relating to traditional law firms, simply asked firms to tell us if they operated a consultancy or not.

Twenty-three per cent of this year’s UK 200 firms that responded to the question (144 firms in total) confirmed they had at least one consultancy. Hogan Lovells alone operates four. The responses to the UK 200 show that the biggest proportion (38 per cent) of firms with consultancies are those with a turnover of £200m or more. With 16 firms answering the question in this bracket, that means six are now running some kind of associated consultancy. At the other end of the top 100 ranking, only 13 per cent of firms (five of 39) in the £22m to £50m bracket reported having launched a consultancy. The trend line seems clear: the larger a firm’s turnover, the more likely it is to operate an associated consultancy.

At the other end of the top 100 ranking, only 13 per cent of firms (five of 39) in the £22m to 50m bracket reported having launched a consultancy. The trend line seems clear: the larger a firm’s turnover, the more likely it is to operate an associated consultancy. And this makes sense, as the number one reason cited by most firms for launching these consultancies is that they allow for the provision of a wider range of integrated services to clients (see below). The bigger the firm, the deeper the bench of skills and services.

That said, 23 per cent of the Independents that answered the question (64 firms) said they did have a consultancy, suggesting that a significant minority of firms (15 respondents) in The
Lawyer’s second 100 ranking are actively seeking ways of broadening their range of services to clients and differentiating their practices in the UK legal market’s most crowded
battleground.

From the smallest beginnings

For this year’s report we did not ask firms to provide details about revenue derived from these consultancies, although several did offer this information during interviews. Likewise,we did not ask for headcount, although again some firms did offer this information.

And in those interviews with firms that operate one or more consultancies a relatively consistent picture has emerged. The level of revenue these additional arms are generating suggests that this market remains in its infancy, at best. Rivals from the Big Four accountants or the likes of McKinsey, PA Consulting and Accenture are unlikely to be overly concerned as of now.

“It’s pretty tough going,” admits Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick. “We’re not giving up the day job of legal services just yet.”

Law firms and their consultancies - a list 2017

Indeed, indications are that the majority of these businesses currently measure their revenue in the hundreds of thousands rather than millions, with the hoped-for volume and turnover simply not there, at least not yet. In short, most of these embryonic consultancies currently resemble little more than a nice add on.

For the moment at least, law firms’ consulting arms tend to be small, non-core and relatively tiny in terms of revenue generation.

But while it might be early days, The Lawyer’s research does confirm that a significant number of this year’s top 200 firms now operate some sort of consultancy offering services and
advice in areas other than law. And the range is both growing and surprising.

Services offered by firms include HR, PR and marketing, data protection, regulatory and government issues and technology, notably cyber security. And new entrants to this apparently
burgeoning market are popping up all the time.

Among the most recent is Pinsent Masons’ majority stake in diversity and inclusion consulting firm Brooke Graham this summer, while the firm also recently took a minority stake in Yuzu, an in-house-focused New Law business launched by former Colt general counsel Robin Saphra.

The idea behind these consultancies is simple. They offer law firms the ability to provide a range of integrated and related services that provide clients, in theory at least, with a one-stop shop. They are designed to provide an alternative source of income and, ultimately, create competition with other independent advisers for the advisory fees on a range of non-legal services matters.

As RPC’s director of brand and talent Clint Evans points out, there is currently a multitude of business models out there with no one size that fits all. He argues that the market boils down to
two areas: consultancies that advise on big business change and those that advise on continuous business improvement.

consultancies-2
Source: The Lawyer UK 200 2017

Where Evans thinks law firms might score is in areas where they have a unique grasp on a particular market, or understand the nuances of how lawyers work. At the heart of RPC Consulting is its proprietary software, Tyche, sitting alongside an actuarial consultancy.

“Risk management is possibly best looked at from the perspective of lawyers,” adds Evans. “Ours is a separate offering to insurance clients from legal but it sits nicely in a law firm.”

The big question he believes is whether or not law firms are genuinely reversing some of the Big Four traffic. “It only takes a small business adjustment for the Big Four to take quite a lot of work from law firms,” says Evans. “It’s a lot harder for law firms to make a dent in the Big Four.” That said, Evans insists that the scale of RPC’s ambition is significant. RPC Consulting launched just two years ago but now has a staff of around 70 and a revenue understood to be several million, possibly as much as £10m. Evans believes that in time it could represent around 10 per cent of RPC’s overall
business.

“This will not be a sideshow,” he adds. Similarly, Fieldfisher’s Chissick recognises the need to
develop something that competes with the big consultancies, but concedes his firm so far is “miles away”.

“We’re not competing head-on,” he admits. “For us, it’s primarily still an add-on to legal. It’s early days. I’d say it’s not yet an outstanding success but it’s also by no means a disaster.
Certainly, clients do like the integrated offering. It removes a lot of argy bargy.”

For more information about the content of The Lawyer UK 200: Top 100 report please contact Matt Byrne on 0207 970 4558 or matt.byrne@centaurmedia.com. To purchase any of the UK 200 series please contact either Gilberto Esgaio on +44 207 970 4191 or Gilberto.Esgaio@centaurmedia.com or Letitia Austin on +44 207 970 4662 or letitia.austin@centaurmedia.com.

The post Fieldfisher Condor launch highlights booming law firm consultancy market appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

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