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Bookshelf: Page 23 Corporate law as a progressive force in society

Guru Talk: PaGe 12

Bounty hunters Paying large amounts of money to whistleblowers

is commonplace in the US, but should other countries follow suit?

The Voice: PaGe 13

out of africaThe Arab Spring: a new era for business TalkinG PoinTs: PaGe 14

The innovatorsAhead of the game in the land of ABS

12 october 2012 issue 14

EUrozonE €10.00. UK: £7.99. USA: US$13.00. UAE: AED49.00. SoUTh AfriCA: zAr99.00. CAnADA: C$15.00. BAhrAin: BD5.00. AUSTrAliA: A$15.00

euroPe: PaGe 6

Scotland: costliest legal aid in Europe asia: PaGe 9

Seoul: green light for foreign firms

corPoraTe counsel: PaGe 16

Why law firms face the sack ManaGeMenT sPeak: PaGe 17

Maternity coaching makes its mark

2 The global legal Post 12 october 2012 www.globallegalpost.com

Shoosmiths has hosted a record-breaking World Services Group 10th Annual Conference.

More than 160 delegates visited London from law firms and other professional services organisations worldwide to discuss key issues, forge new partnerships, meet old friends and make new ones.

World Services Group has 150 member firms in more than 117 countries, maximising business opportunities through cooperation and knowledge exchange.

It’s been an honour to act as host.

See you all at Rio 2013.

w www.shoosmiths.co.ukw www.worldservicesgroup.com

THANK YOU

10TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 10TH ANNUAL CONFERENCEANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012

WSG_Global_Legal_Post_AfterEvent.indd 1 04/09/2012 16:44:50

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www.globallegalpost.com The global legal Post 12 october 2012 3

Shoosmiths has hosted a record-breaking World Services Group 10th Annual Conference.

More than 160 delegates visited London from law firms and other professional services organisations worldwide to discuss key issues, forge new partnerships, meet old friends and make new ones.

World Services Group has 150 member firms in more than 117 countries, maximising business opportunities through cooperation and knowledge exchange.

It’s been an honour to act as host.

See you all at Rio 2013.

w www.shoosmiths.co.ukw www.worldservicesgroup.com

THANK YOU

10TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 10TH ANNUAL CONFERENCEANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012

WSG_Global_Legal_Post_AfterEvent.indd 1 04/09/2012 16:44:50

At a glance

financial regulations and euro trigger ‘uncertainty’legal professionals working in the financial sector cite uncertainty caused by regulatory changes and instability of the euro as their biggest challenges.

speaking at a forum this week hosted by DMJ recruitment and london law firm Macfarlanes, lawyers blamed legislative amendments for causing widespread confusion, with the alternative investment Fund Managers Directive (aiFMD) singled out as a main source of uncertainty.

Beatriz Meldrum, general counsel at london-headquartered fund edoma Partners, told the meeting: ‘We know where the flags are but don’t have the answers. ultimately investors may end up picking up the costs.’

The future of the euro was also a cause for concern, with Ms Meldrum adding: ‘it is the uncertainty that is killing us.’

law leaders accused of big firm biasa local legal profession leader has criticised the law council of australia (lca) for allegedly supporting the interests of the country’s large firms over reform issues.

Frank Moore, president of the law society of Tasmania, said the council had prioritised national and international firms over local players and ignored the views of representative law bodies in Queensland, Western australia, south australia and Tasmania – which rejected the extension of the national legal Profession reform (nlPr) scheme to their states.

US firm revives non-lawyer investment casenew York-based law firm Jacoby & Meyers has resurrected a challenge against a state rule preventing law firms from seeking investment from non-lawyers, claiming the prohibition is unconstitutional.

according to a report from The Wall street Journal, lawyers at the firm maintain the current rule violates the First amendment, and breaks equality protection and due process rights under the 14th amendment.

The firm saw its first appeal dismissed by a district court in March, with Judge lewis kaplan citing a lack of standing to bring the claims against new York’s judicial system. however, commentators point out that a challenge to that ruling was inevitable, as the firm has already formed a limited liability company with the expectation of being allowed to accept outside investments.

reed Smith opens Singapore officePittsburgh-based international law firm reed smith has opened its fourth asian office, adding singapore to its already existing presence in hong kong, Beijing and shanghai.

The office will be headed by Gautam Bhattacharyya, who will relocate from london. new partners Barry stimpson and simon sloane (joining from holman Fenwick Willan) as well as Philip antcliffe (joining from citigroup) and an additional lawyer from the firm’s london office will also relocate.

The firm is currently in the process of adding several associates in the local market.

Scots law firms finalise £38m tie-upBurness and Paull & Williamsons are set to create the biggest all-scottish legal merger, forming a firm with an estimated turnover of around £38 million.

The firms say the deal – which will create one of the largest firms in scotland with more than 400 staff, including 60 partners – contrasts positively with other recent merger activity, which has seen McGrigors lose its independence and other ‘big four’ firms abort english tie-ups, reports the herald scotland.

Burness chairman Philip rodney, who will lead the merged firm from 1 December, said the merger would create a firm with established offices of similar size in aberdeen, edinburgh and Glasgow.

Baker & McKenzie sets sights on Peruus law firm Baker & Mckenzie is to expand its presence in south america by merging with a lima-based practice. it will become the first global player to launch an office in Peru, says the chicago-based firm.

The deal with estudio echecoper will be Baker’s 15th office in latin america and its 72nd worldwide.

expansion in Peru will be seen as recognition of the potential importance of the rapidly growing economies in the ‘andean Three’ – Peru, chile, and colombia – which many predict will grow faster than Brazil and Mexico over the next five years. recently, the three nations have developed close free-trade ties and have merged their stock exchanges to encourage investment.

Courage needed to change law firm structuresleading law firms must take drastic action to remain competitive in the rapidly changing english legal profession, a panel of specialists meeting in london has advised.

The debate, based on the work of us legal sector guru Mitch kowalski, suggested that lawyers must have the courage to make changes at their firms that will ‘re-imagine’ structure and processes.

Mr kowalski told the meeting – organised by recently launched legal practice riverview law – that most established law firms have not changed since their creation, comparing them to software that is still running at ‘law 1.0’.

‘law firm 1.0 is not about long-term vision,’ Mr kowalski said. ‘it’s about keeping the ship afloat.’

he added that law firm leaders must have the courage to make sweeping changes to reach ‘law firm 2.0’, possibly ditching the partnership model in favour of a corporate design so ‘the firm is greater than the sum of its parts’.

iBA extends economic development collaborationThe international Bar association (iBa) and the organisation for economic co-operation and Development (oecD) have announced an extension to their relationship devoted to improving legal frameworks, expertise and development.

The two plan to target sectors including employment, energy, environment and natural resources, financial services, trade and the rule of law. The iBa will assist in training initiatives and drafting guidelines for the G20 high-level Principles on Financial consumer Protection and contribute to the oecD policy-making process.

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Lima: rapidly growing importance

Singapore: venue for Reed Smith

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from the editor

The international Bar association needed to have a good annual conference last week, and it did. The pressure was on because slightly more than a year earlier, its 2011 event in Dubai was beset with controversy that all but overshadowed the meat of the organisation’s premier gathering.

Following much ballyhoo over the Dubai venue – during which senior iBa figures hailed the Gulf region as joining the global legal profession fold – the emirate’s hard-line authorities threatened to cancel the whole show only weeks before the curtain was scheduled to rise. The reason? several conference sessions – for example, those on gender and sexual orientation issues, assessment of capital punishment in various jurisdictions and human rights matters generally – offended the sensitivities of Dubai’s ruling sheiks, for whom concepts of free speech are, shall we say, still evolving.

after some eleventh-hour negotiations, a compromise was struck and the conference went ahead, although not without some grumbling and much unwanted publicity.

Recuperationarguably, there’s no better place to go for a spot of wound-licking and recuperation than Dublin. The irish love a party and even in straightened economic times, they are prepared to put on good show.

and as our commentator writes this week (see page 12), a range of highly relevant issues to the modern global legal profession were intellectually debated without any threat of interference. indeed, if anything, the irish government would probably have been happy for the iBa to do, and talk about, anything – provided the 5,000 delegates and their guests spent as liberally as possible in the local hotels and hostelries.

The iBa is an odd beast – part professional networking body, part social club, part human rights campaigning organisation. on the one hand, it has its fair share of old-stager members who treat

the organisation as an almost personal fiefdom. But, on the other, it retains an influential global reputation that affords it a degree of influence in the corridors of some international governments.

For example, earlier this week, the association announced a deal that sees it form an enhanced working relationship with the organisation for economic co-operation and Development (oecD). That Paris-based body is a high-powered talking shop, representing, effectively, the richest countries in the world.

according to an iBa statement, the two bodies will now collaborate ‘on improving legal frameworks,

expertise, and development across a number of sectors’, including employment, energy, environment and natural resources, financial services, migration, trade and investment, and the rule of law and democratic values.

favourable feesDublin itself will have been sweeping up the plastic cups, getting the spilt red wine out of the carpet and generally tidying up after the party left town. its top-flight business law firms will have relished the opportunity to reinforce their position of being perched between the us, the uk and europe, highlighting their common law training, while likewise pointing out to international clients that their fee rates measure up extremely favourably when compared to london’s magic circle, or even top 20 firms.

next year, the iBa’s annual bash will be in Boston, which, for many americans, might as well be in ireland. For as long as almost anyone who has anything to do with the organisation can remember, the iBa has touted each successive annual conference as being better attended than its predecessor. With organisers claiming that more than 5,000 lawyers crammed onto the banks of the liffey last week, the city on the charles river has a high hurdle to jump.

international respect

Jonathan Ames, editor-in-chief

Et cetera

ottawa-based lawyer Jordan furlong, partner with global consulting firm edge International, discusses law firm profits on the Law21 blog‘Many law firms believe their “expenses problem” is all about cutting costs to preserve profit in the face of declining revenue. it’s not. it’s a concrete sign of the growing misalignment between law firms’ lawyer-intensive workflow models and the market’s emerging requirement for a better use of resources in the delivery of legal services.

‘The “expenses problem” can’t be solved by making deeper workforce cuts or by playing around with outsourcing and automation. it can only be solved by recognising that firms must be configured differently in order to deliver legal services profitably.

‘Business is down for law firms, and it will stay down for a while. But when it comes back

(and remember, it always does), it will look different and behave differently than it did before. Your firm must be ready for that. if you have an expenses problem today, prepare to change the way you do business tomorrow.’

Robert Pozen, a senior lecturer at harvard Business school, considers work-place efficiency and billable hours in The New York Times‘it’s an unfortunate reality that efficiency often goes unrewarded in the workplace. i had that feeling a lot when i was a partner in a Washington law firm. Because of my expertise, i could often answer a client’s questions quickly, saving both of us time. But because my firm billed by the hour, as most law firms do, my efficiency worked against me.

‘From the law firm’s perspective, billing by the hour has a certain appeal: it shifts risk from the firm to the client in case the work takes longer

than expected. But from a client’s perspective, it doesn’t work so well. it gives lawyers an incentive to overstaff and to over-research cases. and for me, hourly billing was a raw deal. i ran the risk of being underpaid because i answered questions too quickly and billed a smaller number of hours.’

Richard hinton, business development director at Us-based consultancy Decision Insight Information group, looks at the introduction of the new handbook of england’s solicitors Regulation authority in a blog on the Legal Futures website‘The new regime may feel intimidating, but the new standards and requirements ensure that, for the great many, it serves to reinforce the quality they already demonstrate with their clients, with the operation of their practice and the calibre of their staff.

‘so, if the sra come a-knocking, you have four weeks to comply with an investigation – and it’s all about evidence of processes being demonstrably in place and followed by all. could you be ready? There are also far more rigorous reporting requirements that must be implemented by January 2013.’

The applications manager at global law firm Dla Piper, Jason Plant, blogs about mid-tier regional law firms opening small offices in london‘The legal iT revolution and innovation in business process within law firms, in my view, will remain a talking point in conferences while there is no movement in simple innovative cost savings. however, maybe these regional upstart neighbours shaking up the london mid-tier will finally be the start of the revolution we’ve talked about since 2008?

The best of opinion and comments from around the world’s legal media


LOD allows you to flex the size of your legal team just when you need to

LAW IS CHANGING

Global view: The Americas

California – litigationsNR Denton accused of compliance filing error

a former client has accused anglo-us law firm snr Denton of a serious filing slip up, potentially making the firm liable for a $7 million mortgage-backed securities deal that turned sour.

The National law Journal reports that california’s impac secured assets issued proceedings last week alleging that snr Denton acted too slowly in correcting a 2007 securities and exchange commission filing – a delay which, impac claims, led to a citigroup lawsuit against the company.

The suit centres on lawyer richard simonds, who was instructed by impac in 2007, when he was at now-dissolved Thacher Proffitt & Wood, to file sec documents regarding the sale of mortgage-backed securities. The claim alleges that Mr simonds – not named as a defendant in impac’s action – failed to include a provision on debt securities.

The alleged mistake was not noticed until January 2010, when impac discovered an unrelated sec filing error and asked Mr simonds – now at snr Denton – to check the 2007 filing.

The suit then alleges that Mr simonds and snr Denton discovered the 2007 mistake and, in March 2010, alerted impac.

in april 2010, Mr simonds and snr Denton advised impac to amend the filing, which they did.

however, citigroup bought around $7m in impac’s mortgage-backed securities in March 2010 and – because of the sec filing mistake – allegedly lost millions of dollars. citigroup sued impac in May 2011, winning summary judgment in May 2012 on most of its claims.

according to The National Law Journal report, impac’s lawsuit

against snr seeks indemnity against citigroup’s claims and a declaration that the law firm is responsible to citigroup.

an snr Denton spokesman said: ‘We stand behind the advice and counsel provided in this matter and look forward to a successful resolution of the case.’ impac’s representative, Mark eisenhut – a partner at californian law firm call & Jensen – declined to comment.

US – intellectual propertyauthorities open anti-piracy war chest

More than $2.4 million will be allocated to 13 us jurisdictions to fight theft of intellectual property, after attorney General eric holder stressed that protection from piracy is vital to the nation’s economy.

according to a report from law.com’s Corporate Counsel magazine, the Department of Justice said the funds will be used to enforce, investigate, prosecute and prevent intellectual property crimes.

Mr holder said: ‘These new investments are coming at a critical time. as our country continues to recover from once-in-a-generation economic challenges, the need to defend iP rights – and to protect americans from iP theft – has never been more urgent.’

over the past three years the us Justice Department has granted more than $10m to 34 law enforcement agencies in the war against iP theft. The new cash injection is aimed primarily at creating new police department positions with specific iP investigation focus. enforcement and prosecutor training schemes will also be developed.

‘iP theft is not a victimless crime,’ Mr holder added. ‘it can devastate lives and business as well as undermine our nation’s financial stability, jeopardise the health of our citizens and even threaten our national security.’ >

lawyers at the top 20 us law firms have given us President Barack obama almost twice as much in campaign donations as they have to his republican election rival,

Mitt romney.law.com reports that Mr obama has received $1.9

million from law firms, with his biggest backers at Dla Piper stumping up a whopping $345,000 in direct donations.

lawyers at kirkland & ellis – based in Mr obama’s hometown of chicago – are Mr romney’s main supporters, chipping in $338,000 to his overall lawyer donation tally of just over $1m.

in fact, kirkland was just one of five of the top 20 firms where employees gave more in direct contributions to Mr romney than to the president. The others were los angeles-founded Gibson Dunn & crutcher, Philadelphia-based Morgan lewis & Bockius and new York

firms White & case and Weil Gotshal & Manges.kirkland also took the accolade of giving the

largest amount of direct donations in total, with its lawyers slipping $118,000 to the president as well. a spokesperson for kirkland declined to comment on the firm’s hefty donations.

under federal election laws, individuals may donate $2,500 per candidate per election.

Meanwhile, a Montana judge who sent a racially charged email about President obama is set to take so-called senior status next year.

Judge richard cebull, a judge in the District court of Montana, is currently the subject of a misconduct

review after he forwarded to friends an email sent to him by his brother. he will take senior status in March 2013.

The blog of legal Times reports that the move will allow Judge cebull to vacate his seat while still hearing some cases.

US – politics

’Big law’ backs obama with $2m fighting fund

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Barack Obama: funding boost

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Global view: The Americas

New York – bankingMortgage securities claim hits JP Morgan

authorities in new York are suing one of the us’s biggest banks for allegedly defrauding investors who lost more than $20 billion during the country’s housing boom

Manhattan banking corporation JP Morgan chase is being sued by the new York attorney General over charges relating to mortgage-backed securities sold by new York investment bank Bear stearns, which was acquired by JP Morgan in a fire sale in March 2008. JP Morgan has confirmed it will contest the allegations.

according to The guardian newspaper in london, the civil suit – filed by new York attorney General eric schneiderman – contends that Bear stearns and its lending unit eMc Mortgage defrauded investors who purchased mortgage securities packaged by the companies from 2005 to 2007.

The firms allegedly distorted the quality of the loans in the securities, and ignored evidence of broad defects.

unlike other mortgage crisis cases, the JP Morgan suit does not focus on a particular deal, but institution-wide improper practices affecting numerous deals.

a spokesman for Mr schneiderman declined to comment on the case, but JP Morgan spokesman Joseph evangelisti said: ‘We’re disappointed that the new York aG decided to pursue its civil action without ever offering us an opportunity to rebut the claims and without developing a full record – instead relying on recycled claims already made by private plaintiffs.’

Gerald silk, a lawyer at new York’s Bernstein litowitz Berger & Grossmann, commented: ‘The government’s action represents a complete validation of the cases brought by investors who were duped by the fraudulent sale of mortgage-backed securities by JP Morgan, WaMu and Bear stearns.’

US – legal profession

firms face autumn lawsuit spreeautumn has begun with a bang for several major us law firms, as they face high-profile litigation in courtrooms across the country.

among those on the defensive are atlanta-based king & spalding, which is being sued in california by an expert witness who claims the firm blamed a bankrupt former client for its failure to pay invoices in connection with a huge international Trade commission case, reports The am law Daily.

also in court is newark’s Mccarter & english – which is being sued in a royalties row by the actor who played a childhood bully in A Christmas Story – and snr Denton, which is in the dock over an allegedly botched securities and exchange commission filing.

Meanwhile, numerous firms are involved in offensive action, including san Francisco-founded Gordon & rees, which has sued aquatic conservatory ocean embassy in Florida over $577,161 the firm says it is owed by its former client.

elsewhere, new York’s Pillsbury Winthrop shaw Pittman and san Francisco’s orrick herrington & sutcliffe have filed a suit against the city of san Francisco regarding what the plaintiffs allege are unfair payroll taxes on partner profits.

others firms gearing up for litigation include Dla Piper’s action against former client David Thurman over $189,372 in allegedly unpaid bills and Quinn emanuel urquhart & sullivan’s suit against Yoshio nakano and his company, the international Poker Players association, over allegedly unpaid bills connected to trademark-related work.

New York – corruption

White-collar crime expert admits $10m frauda high-flying Manhattan-based white-collar crime defence lawyer pleaded guilty earlier this week to pilfering more than $10 million from his firm’s clients and squandering the cash in strip clubs and up-

market restaurants.

according to a report in The Wall street Journal, former crowell & Moring lawyer Douglas arntsen,34, began working for the firm in February 2007 and started embezzling money from the investment fund Doina capital in 2009.

To cover the shortfalls, he began stealing from regal real estate the following year. he then used the funds to pay for ‘expensive restaurants, sporting events and strip clubs,’ according to prosecutors.

a regal real estate employee confronted arntsen in september 2011 about the missing funds, which he confessed to stealing. he then resigned from the firm and fled to hong kong where he was arrested and extradited to the us.

arntsen was ordered to pay $9.8 million in restitution to crowell & Moring and $967,501 to Doina capital. Three other lawsuits brought by real estate companies, claiming the lawyer stole funds from their accounts, were settled but not publicly disclosed.

arntsen pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny and one count of fraud; he is scheduled to be sentenced on 17 october.

‘We regret the harm caused by Douglas arntsen to our clients and our firm and are pleased Mr arntsen has acknowledged his crimes with a guilty plea,’ said ellen Dwyer, cromwell & Moring’s managing partner.

US – technology

apple faces raft of IP infringement claimselectronics giant apple has been targeted in two separate lawsuits by its long-time rival samsung for allegedly infringing patents with its recently released iPhone 5 device.

south korea’s samsung – slapped a few weeks ago with a huge $1.5 billion jury verdict in california after losing a patent battle to apple – claims the iPhone 5 infringes two standard patents and six feature patents, covering actions such as synchronising photos, music, and video files across several devices, and a method to capture and send video over the internet, reports law.com’s Corporate Council magazine.

according to the report, samsung has added its latest claims to a separate patent infringement lawsuit filed in april, which accuses apple of several other patent violations. That case is expected to go to trial in March 2014.

‘as soon as the iPhone 5 was available for purchase, samsung began its investigation of the product,’ the company said. ‘We have always preferred to compete in the marketplace with our innovative products, rather than in a courtroom.

‘however, apple continues to take aggressive legal action that will restrict market competition. under these circumstances, we have little recourse but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights.’

The additional action was announced just as a federal judge dissolved a three-month-old ban on sales of samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 device in the us – another side-show in the battle with apple.

US – sport

lawyers score as Nfl referees reach agreementunion officials representing american football players are considering legal action over health and safety on the pitch following a deal ending strike action that saw inexperienced officials controversially take

control of nFl matchesrecent us media reports suggest that the national Football league

players’ union is considering legal action over the health and safety issues that replacement referees are said to be creating on the field.

The less experienced officials had already caused outrage following a number of botched decisions, reports The am law Daily.

The new eight-year deal over employment conditions will put regular officials back into the game.

new York-based Proskauer rose partner robert Batterman represented the league in its talks with the referees association, along with nFl general counsel Jeffrey Pash and in-house counsel David Gardi. The referees turned to named partner Michael arnold of kansas city-based firm arnold newbold Winter & Jackson.


Global view: Europe

England – recruitment

legal sector hiring boosts london job figures

The legal services sector provided the biggest increase in professional and financial employment in london in the first six months of 2012, accounting for 3.3 per cent of the 666,400 positions on offer, a survey

released last week reveals.Management consulting and accountancy saw a combined growth

of 0.4 per cent, while, within financial services, the insurance sector experienced the biggest decline at 2.3 per cent, followed by banking at 1.6 per cent and fund management at 0.8 per cent.

The report – Thecityuk’s london employment survey – found there was a net increase of 2,700 jobs in the first half of the year, propelled by a 1.5 per cent growth in professional services. The increase offset a 0.5 per cent decrease in financial services employment over the same period.

overall, the survey showed that 2012 growth was slower than expected, but overall london headcount had remained stable.

‘The financial and professional services sector is critical to the uk economy and london is the number one financial centre in the world,’ said chris cummings, chief executive of Thecityuk.

‘however, we can’t afford to be complacent. The job market is still sluggish and london is facing competition from other financial centres, including those in asia and the us. We need to do all we can to ensure london remains attractive to talented employees as a place to work, and that firms are able to compete against their peers in the us and Far east.’

England – legal profession

aa to crack legal market as shake-up gathers paceBritain’s biggest motoring organisation will be the latest group to break into the legal services market, as reports last week said the aa has applied for an alternative business structure licence.

The announcement comes only a day after lifestyle business saga revealed its licence application, and coincides with a move by one of america’s biggest cut-price legal services businesses into the uk market.

The flurry of activity around england’s evolving post-legal services act world will further strengthen existing views that the consumer end of the country’s legal market is on the verge of a revolution that could seriously impact on high street law firms.

according to london-based newspaper legal Week, the aa – which already offers members some legal document services via

an arrangement with the law firm cogent law – is considering expanding into property and employment advice. a spokesman for the organisation told the newspaper: ‘While we have no immediate plans to provide additional services, the licence would open up some exciting opportunities.’

The aa announcement was followed by reports that a major us legal brand is to push into the uk market.

The law gazette newspaper reported that rocket lawyer – which provides clients with online legal services as well as referrals to panel firms in the us – will launch in the uk next month.

The company’s corporate vice president, Mark edwards, told The Law Gazette that rocket lawyer was aiming at ‘unlocking the bottom end of the market that’s not currently being served’. The newspaper reports that, in the us, the five-year-old, san Francisco-based rocket lawyer has some 3 million monthly visitors to its website. • Meanwhile, a senior us lawyer has slated england’s aBs revolution, describing it as embedding an ‘inherent conflict of interest’ between law firms and clients.

The Law Gazette reports on remarks made by William robinson, a former president of the american Bar association, who was speaking at this week’s international Bar association annual conference in Dublin.

according to the report, Mr robinson told iBa delegates: ‘There is a strong sense that in the aBs approach there is an inherent conflict of interest. investors invest to make money and, as we say, he or she who has the gold makes the golden rule. They don’t bring a higher quality of practice or integrity.’

EU – legislation

Call for sharper medical device regulationGreater supervision over medical devices produced and used throughout the eu is urgently needed, according to the european commission, which released a package of proposals last week.

according to Brussels, the current regulatory regime – which has been in place for more than 20 years – is not keeping pace with recent medical developments.

Michael Gavey, an intellectual property and regulator partner at international law firm simmons & simmons, said: ‘There has been heightened public awareness recently of safety issues due to the silicone breast implant scandal and problems with metal on metal hip replacements, which has undoubtedly damaged confidence in the industry.’

several changes are proposed: the extension of regulations over implants for aesthetic purposes, more stringent supervision of independent assessment bodies by national regulators, and >

The uk’s top 100 law firms have experienced their slowest quarterly income growth for nearly two years, according to a recent survey by

professional services consultancy Deloitte.The quarterly survey reports that the top 100

firms by revenue showed an average rise in fee income of 3.8 per cent in the three months ending 31 July, compared to the same period last year, reports legal Week newspaper. This represents the slowest year-on-year quarterly growth since January 2011.

The top 10 firms suffered heavily, with just a 1.7 per cent rise, while the figure stood at 2 per cent for firms ranked 11 to 25. From 25 to 50, the figure rose considerably to 4.5 per cent.

Deloitte professional services partner Jeremy Black commented: ‘There isn’t much M&a activity, which is probably why smaller firms have been performing better – the [lower-ranked firms] cover areas of work that are more mixed, while the larger firms that focus more on transactional work have taken a hit.’

simmons & simmons senior partner colin Passmore said: ‘The market remains tough and it’s a comfort to be reminded that

everyone faces the same challenges to win work. The fact that larger firms are growing the least isn’t too surprising – the bigger the firm, the more mouths to feed.’

Meanwhile, uk law firm expenses have risen at a faster pace than revenues over the past five years according to further research, which supports similarly disappointing recent figures from the us.

The research – conducted by The lawyer newspaper – analysed the top 50 uk firms outside the magic circle and discounted recent entrants. it found that, during the past five years, the average cost per lawyer (cPl) increased by 20 per cent from £199,000 to £236,000. however, there has been only a 12.8 per cent rise in revenue per lawyer (rPl), from an average £289,000 to £326,000.

But, somewhat encouragingly, the survey also revealed the growth in cPl is slowing, rising just 6.8 per cent over the past two years. Meanwhile, rPl held steady at 12.8 per cent.

last month’s survey of us firms by Wells Fargo’s legal specialty Group revealed that, despite average revenues rising by 3 per cent in the first half of 2012, overall profits fell by 0.7 per cent.

UK – legal profession

Top firms feel the pinch


Global view: Europe

better traceability of devices through the supply chain in the case of a recall.

however, the regime must continue to encourage innovation in the medical device industry, added Mr Gavey, especially given that fresh regulations and extra costs will be shouldered by manufacturers and distributors.

‘industry associations have already raised concerns over the proposed scrutiny procedures and the costs of traceability requirements,’ he said.

UK – corruption

Business leaders happy to flout anti-bribery lawssignificant numbers of British executives are prepared to flout recently introduced anti-corruption laws on the grounds that the tough economic climate merits risk taking and that the authorities are unlikely to

prosecute offenders, research released this week has found. Two-fifths of uk businesses surveyed by a us-based consultancy

said current economic conditions encouraged potential breaches of the Bribery act 2010. and more than a quarter are confident that even if the authorities were aware of breaches, ministers would not encourage them to pursue prosecution.

The survey – conducted by Florida-based researchers FTi consulting – also identified a high degree of boardroom ambivalence towards the legislation. it said that 25 per cent of board-level employees claimed they might breach the act to win business.

But, despite what appears to be significant levels of disregard for the legislation, a considerable majority of respondents – 63 per cent – said the act would eventually have a positive effect on the prospects for British business.

commenting on the survey, FTi researcher John higgins said: ‘While most leaders want ethical business practice, many organisations still face the challenge of managing a hard core of risk takers – and we see evidence of the disproportionate damage they cause in the news every week.’


firms fret over increasing fee pressureMounting pressure from clients to slash fees is the greatest risk to law firm probability, more than half of uk practices have told researches in a survey published this week.

legal profession researchers sweet & Maxwell found that 58 per cent of finance directors at top 100 firms say that pressure from clients to discount fees will pose a high risk to profitability, up from 54 per cent in 2011.

other factors highlighted include the continued slowdown in corporate work – ranked a high risk by 54 per cent of firms (46 per cent in 2011), and, more surprisingly, increased competition created by the legal services act, which is rated as a high risk by 19 per cent of respondents.

More than 40 per cent of the firms surveyed added that they view cost overruns on fixed fee work as a high risk to profitability.


’housekeeping’ drive sweeps out 439 partners

More than 400 partners shuffled out through the exit doors of the uk’s top-20 law firms in the last 12 months, as firms continued to impose ‘good housekeeping’ measures in the face of a continuing

tough economic climate. ashurst and sJ Berwin were among the firms towards the top end

of partner exit rates, with the former losing 24 from its ranks of 217 partners – an 11 per cent drop.

The top 20 firms saw 439 partners leave in total. While some former partners may have stayed on with their firms in consultancy roles, the research – conducted by legal Week newspaper – showed that 342 (78 per cent) were listed on the companies house register as resigning from their firm’s uk limited liability partnerships during

the financial year running from 1 May 2011 to 30 april 2012 and leaving their firms altogether.

Wim Dejonghe, the managing partner of magic circle firm allen & overy, told the newspaper: ‘Greater financial and operational discipline is definitely necessary to remain competitive in a low-growth environment. For us, it’s been a question of balancing the need for growth in the global network with continued focus on good housekeeping.’

Meanwhile, a report by accountancy and advisory firm Wilkins kennedy says the number of law firm partners has shrunk for the first time since 2008.

Scotland – state funding

lawyers top europe’s legal aid pay chartscritics have lambasted scottish legal aid as being ‘out of control’ after lawyers in the jurisdiction collected £161 million public fees in 2010.

according to The Daily Record newspaper, the haul by scotland’s legal aid practitioners was more than £60m more than that of their counterparts in italy – a country 12 times the size – a european commission report has revealed.

according to the research from the european commission for the efficiency of Justice, legal aid in scotland cost around £31 for each citizen in 2010, while in italy the figure stood at just £1.50 per person.

in countries with a population closer to that of scotland, the differences were even more stark, with Denmark – which has a population of 5.6m compared to scotland’s 5.2m – paying its lawyers just £70m overall.

The study also found that only an extremely small proportion of lawyers in scotland received any disciplinary measures. Just three were struck off and 13 reprimanded in scotland in 2010, while Denmark took action against 309 lawyers, with six struck off and 145 fined. The commission report – which looked at 47 criminal justice systems across the continent – found that the cost per person of legal aid in scotland was third-highest, behind only northern ireland and england and Wales.

The scottish legal aid Board countered demands for reform following the report’s publication: ‘across europe, there are substantial differences between judicial systems and very different approaches to the provision of legal aid and its cost. The scottish system is highly regarded internationally for the efforts made to ensure access to justice.’

Poland – regional law firms

Wolf Theiss expands eastern europe empireVienna-based law firm Wolf Theiss has acquired the Polish subsidiary of German firm Beiten Burkhardt in a move that expands the austrian firm’s regional network, it was announced last week.

Wolf Theiss – which already has a strong presence in central and eastern europe – will begin operations at the new base, known as Wolf Theiss Warsaw, from the beginning of next year.

The two firms are set to continue their co-operative efforts on a project-by-project basis, but will also maintain ties with other collaborative law firms throughout the region.

‘We are very excited about this opportunity as Warsaw will complete our footprint in central and southeastern europe and makes us the largest integrated law firm in the region,’ commented Wolf Theiss Managing Partner erik steger.

‘We see Warsaw as a strategic location, given the growth prospects of the Polish economy, and believe it will provide significant opportunities and services for a wide variety of cee/see companies and international investors.’

Beiten Burkhardt managing partner Frank obermann added: ‘We will concentrate in the future on our presence in the cis in Moscow, st Petersburg and kiev. With regards to Poland we will continue to support the interests of our clients working in co-operation with Wolf Theiss.’

The deal sees Wolf Theiss expand its network to 14 offices across the region, with 340 lawyers employed.


Global view: Asia/oceania

China – criminal justicesentence highlights ‘harsh’ legal environment

a lawyer imprisoned for 18 months after being detained in a ‘clean up’ in the chinese city of chongqing has lashed out at ‘prejudice and inequality’ he claims is rife in the country.

Beijing-based li Zhuang led a ‘smash black’ campaign during which thousands of people were said to have been thrown in prison without fair trials.

But subsequently, police chief Wang lijun has been sentenced for defection, taking bribes, bending the law for ‘selfish needs’ and abuse of power after standing trial last week in chengdu.

Mr Wang is also linked to Gu kailai, whose murder of British businessman neil heywood Mr Wang helped to cover up reports The australian newspaper.

Mr li maintains that Mr Wang’s abuse of legal process is typical of the chinese approach as a whole to the law, which shows little respect for due process.

‘Thousands of innocent people and cases need to be rehabilitated,’ said Mr li, who still has not recovered a practising licence after his arrest in 2009 for his alleged involvement with organised crime in chongqing.

another lawyer, Ma Ziaopeng, told the newspaper: ‘Though the legal environment is harsh in china, i still believe that the majority of lawyers in china have a desire to work for justice, and the majority of lawyers believe li Zhuang was innocent.’

Australia – legal profession

Queensland ditches national regulation schemeQueensland has walked away from plans for a national regulation scheme for australia’s legal profession amid concerns over increased costs and bureaucracy.

The government of the ‘sunshine state’ said that the national legal Profession reforms were ‘unnecessary’, while Queensland attorney General Jarrod Bleijie added that ‘the cost of setting up this board is also vague and would be passed on to the participating states.’

australian news network nineMsn reported Mr Bleijie, who is also the Justice Minister, as saying: ‘approximately 85 per cent of Queensland solicitors are sole practitioners and they have nothing to gain from these reforms other than increased costs.’

Meanwhile, Western australia’s longest serving sitting family court judge, Justice carolyn Martin, has died aged 59 following a battle with cancer.

The West australian newspaper reports that Justice Martin was the state’s first female stipendiary magistrate when appointed in 1985 and the first woman to be appointed a judge of the state’s family court bench in 1996.

Wa Family court chief Judge stephen Thackray said Justice Martin was an astute judge with ‘a quick mind and ready wit’, who would be greatly missed.

The law society of Western australia said Justice Martin was greatly respected for her legal skills and tireless work ethic, reports Big Pond

News. Wa law society president christopher kendall said: ‘This is an enormous loss to the court and to the legal profession as a whole.’

Australia – government

gleeson takes on oz solicitor-general roleJustin Gleeson is australia’s new acting solicitor-general, taking the post until a permanent appointment is made next year.

australian news network NineMsN reports that attorney General nicola roxon appointed new south Wales-based Mr Gleeson because of his expertise in public and constitutional law.

Mr Gleeson – who was admitted as a barrister in 1989 and made senior counsel in 2000 – will begin his new role on 15 october.

Meanwhile, current solicitor-general stephen Gageler will succeed Justice William Gummow in the high court later this month.

India – regulation

allen & overy cuts local alliancelondon-based magic circle firm allen & overy and indian law firm Trilegal have parted ways, declaring the ‘lack of progress’ in the liberalisation of the indian legal market as causing the split.

When the relationship between the firms began in 2008, hopes were high that reforms allowing foreign practices to enter india’s market were in the works. however, the country remains closed to overseas lawyers, who are not even allowed to have offices in the country, reports law.com.

The move follows a similar break between magic circle firm clifford chance and Mumbai-based aZB & Partners, which started a relationship in 2009, but split at the beginning of last year.

in a statement, allen & overy and Trilegal said: ‘The lack of progress towards legal sector liberalisation in india has led both firms to conclude their existing arrangement is restricting their ability fully to exploit the growing opportunities in india.’

Jonathan Brayne, the london-based head of allen & overy’s india practice, pointed out that the break up was amicable. ‘We have the highest opinion of Trilegal and we look forward to continuing to work with them when the opportunity presents itself,’ he said.

Nepal – lawyers

Magic circle lawyer killed in air crasha recently qualified lawyer at london-based magic circle law firm allen & overy was among those killed in last week’s aeroplane crash in nepal.

Ben ogden, 27, was one of 19 dead as the flight plunged into a river shortly after taking off from the country’s

capital, kathmandu. he had been on a post-qualification trekking holiday in the everest region, having been scheduled to begin work at a&o’s london employment department.

The lawyer newspaper published a statement from the firm, describing Mr odgen as ‘an excellent lawyer’, who was ‘a very popular member of the firm’.

us law firms Paul hastings and cohen & Gresser were approved last week to open offices in south korea following authorisation from the country’s Ministry

of Justice.los angeles-based Paul hastings and new York

player cohen & Gresser are the fourth and fifth firms to gain official approval, following london magic circle firm clifford chance, Boston’s ropes & Gray and los angeles-headquartered sheppard Mullin richter & hampton.

according to a report in asian legal Business, Paul hastings will

deploy Jong han kim to head the firm’s office, while cohen & Gresser will field partner sc son as its local head.

in addition, the publication says 17 other law firms have applied to open south korean offices – or are rumoured to have done so: clifford chance, cohen & Grasser, Paul hastings, ropes & Gray, sheppard Mullin richter & hampton, cleary Gottlieb steen & hamilton, covington & Burling,

Dla Piper, h. Park & associates, k&l Gates, McDermott Will & emery, Mckenna long & aldridge, o’Melveny & Myers, simpson Thacher & Bartlett, squire sanders, herbert smith and linklaters.

South Korea – practice rights

Seoul flashes green light to US firms


Global view: Africa/Middle East

UAE – global law firmshogan lovells to close abu Dhabi branch

anglo-us law firm hogan lovells is closing its doors in abu Dhabi and transferring work to its Dubai office by the end of this year.

The practice is currently in talks with the abu Dhabi office’s five partners, three associates and counsel to determine where they will be based after the closure, but it is likely that some will transfer to Dubai, reports london-based newspaper legal Week.

in addition to its Dubai practice, hogan lovells also has two offices in saudi arabia with a focus on corporate and commercial practice.

a spokesman for the firm said it had ‘opted for Dubai as it has a slightly larger footprint, with more partners and associates in that office. By and large you are starting to see Dubai as the stronger regional hub.’

hogan lovells decision flies in the face of much conventional wisdom in the region, which has seen the uae capital as the heart of government and oil and gas-related work in this part of the Persian Gulf.

The development comes after reports of sidley austin’s appointment of Matthew cahill to its london branch. Mr cahill is moving from clifford chance’s abu Dhabi office, where he has worked since 2011.

Saudi Arabia – finance

authorities crack down on market abusecapital markets regulators in saudi arabia have fired a warning shot to institutions undertaking securities business in the country despite not being authorised or exempt.

a briefing note from the local office of london-based magic circle law firm clifford chance quotes the saudi arabian capital Market authority (cMa) as saying the warning ‘reflects the legal position provided by the laws and regulations governing the securities industry’ in the jurisdiction.

The on-shore regulatory model will make sure that an entity carrying out any securities activity must be licensed by the cMa or be exempt, as defined in the securities business regulations.

under article 6 of those rules, a breach of the requirement may result in a fine or even imprisonment. any agreement or contract made in relation to a security transaction conducted by an unauthorised person will also become void.

The rule tightening is accompanied by a cMa call to saudi securities investors to deal only with authorised persons.

UAE – bankingabu Dhabi bank sues Dubai prince’s business

The abu Dhabi commercial Bank has filed a legal claim against Dubai’s Zabeel investments, which is owned by the crown prince of Dubai, hamdan bin Mohammed al-Maktoum.

The recently filed case is claiming £66 million from Zabeel – which once had stakes in sony – for allegedly failing to meet repayment obligations, reports the Reuters news agency.

according to the report, Zabeel owes some $1.6bn to local banks. Talks on restructuring the debt came to a standstill in January. one source close to the matter said: ‘it’s about time. People can’t let things linger like this; a decision regarding the debt and restructuring had to be made.’

The case represents the latest legal action taken against Dubai entities after three foreign banks, including royal Bank of scotland, filed proceedings against Dubai Group – which is owned by Dubai’s ruler, sheikh Mohammed bin rashid al-Maktoum – last month.

state-owned Dubai real estate has taken over management of Zabeel and will lead new debt discussions, sources claim. officials at the business are yet to comment.

South Africa – insolvency

liquidations plummet in wake of reformed lawliquidations in south africa have decreased by more than 10 per cent for the first eight months of 2012 compared to the year before, following the recent introduction of updated business rescue laws.

The laws – which came into effect last year as part of the 2008 companies act – help avoid job losses and liquidation by giving businesses protection against creditors, allowing for time to reorganise and restructure.

The figures, released by statistics sa this week, also show a year-on-year decrease of 20.2 per cent in august.

adam harris, director of the litigation department at south african corporate law firm Bowman Gilfillan, commented: ‘The decrease in the number of liquidations in august 2012 was due to voluntary liquidations declining by 110.

‘in contrast, compulsory liquidations increased by 49 over the period. lower voluntary liquidations suggest that the business rescue procedure is taking hold in the economy and that there has been an increase in the number of companies seeking assistance.’

a 77-year-old south african doctor is to appear in an abu Dhabi court next week to discover his fate in a manslaughter trial that western observers say illustrates on-

going concerns over Gulf region justice systems.cyril karabus – a cancer and blood disorder

specialist who has worked at several globally renowned hospitals – was arrested in august as he spent 10 hours in transit in Dubai between canada and south africa, having attended his son’s wedding. authorities in the united arab emirates allege that his failure 10 years ago to give a blood transfusion to a three-year-old patient ultimately resulted in the girl’s death.

he was initially convicted in absentia of murder, but his lawyers have recently had that finding overruled. however, he now faces manslaughter charges and has been refused bail.

Dr karabus denies the allegations and maintains that the first he heard of the charges and the decade-old initial conviction was when police hauled him from an airline queue at Dubai airport several weeks ago as he attempted to board a flight to south africa.

according to a report yesterday in south african newspaper The globe and Mail, neither Dr karabus nor Toronto-based interhealth –

the company that employed him during his stint at abu Dhabi’s sheikh khalifa Medical city – was aware that an emirati court had sentenced him to three and a half years in prison.

‘My reports from people who were in the court were that the man appears to be broken. he was hunched. he was shackled. he appears to have his spirit broken... Yet the man has not done anything wrong.’

according to a report in the abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper, Dr krabus’s local lawyer,

khalfan al kaabi, maintained that documents relied on by the prosecution had been tampered with or were incomplete.

There has been mounting concern among the international legal profession and human rights campaigners over the transparency and fairness of the uae’s justice system and those throughout the Gulf region. at the beginning of last month, a us businessman fighting corruption charges in Dubai was reported to have been moved to a secret location outside the emirate’s formal prison system.

according the associated Press, his local lawyer, James Jatras, maintained the uae authorities refused to provide details of his client’s health or where he was being held.

UAE – human rights

Concern over fairness as doctor battles manslaughter charges

Abu Dhabi: questions over justice


www.winston.com

Winston & Strawn: Into Africa

Doing the deals

france: investing in the futureParis-based global law firm Gide loyrette nouel advised siparex, a leading French private equity investment specialist, on the launch of its venture capital fund siparex MidMarket iii.

The fund, which held a first closing at €90 million, has a long-term objective to raise €150m.

Dedicated to financing the domestic and international growth of up-and-coming mid-cap companies, this French simplified-procedure, fonds commun de placements à risques (FCPR) has collected the commitments of French and foreign institutional investors and family offices alike.

siparex was advised by Gide’s investment funds team, including partner stéphane Puel, Julien Vandenbussche and caroline herrgott.

germany: big offering insurance and investments group Talanx was advised by German law firm hengeler Mueller on its now successfully completed initial public offering following a listing of shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The iPo is the largest in Germany since March 2010, with a gross issue volume of more than €500 million.

The hengeler Mueller team, led by partners reinhold ernst and Maximilian schiessl, advised Talanx together with new York law firm simpson Thacher, which advised on the us private placement.

spain: supermarket sweepleading spanish global law firm uría Menéndez advised Distribuidora internacional de alimentación (Dia) on its acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares in schlecker, unipersonal (schlecker spain).

The deal, which will see Dia indirectly assume the operation of schlecker Portugal, values schlecker spain at €70.5 million.

schlecker specialises in the retail discounting of household, beauty and health-related products. Dia will add schlecker spain’s 1,127 shops and three distribution centres, as well as 41 shops and one distribution centre in Portugal, to its network. as a result, the supermarket will have a network of more than 4,000 shops and 21 warehouses in spain in addition to 600 shops and four warehouses in Portugal.

Partner ramiro rivera led the uría Menéndez team advising on the transaction.

Japan: good to talkWashington Dc-based firm akin Gump advised Japanese telecommunications company eaccess on its purchase by rival softbank for $2.6 billion.

The deal sees softbank – Japan’s third-ranked carrier – absorb fourth-ranked eaccess, resulting in a combined user base of more than 34 million. The merged company is valued at more than $5 billion.

corporate partner Gregory Puff, head of akin Gump’s hong kong office and the firm’s asia practice, led the team on the deal.

Uk: performance countsanglo-us law firm Dla Piper advised london specialist investor Tawa on the sale of kX reinsurance company and oX reinsurance company to catalina uk holdings.

The sale includes 100 per of the shares in oX, which is wholly owned by kX re. The total consideration will be a minimum of $28 million in cash and could reach $30m, depending on the financial performance of kX re between now and completion. The transaction

also involved the retention by Tawa of a significant reinsurance debt book of kX re.

Partner Pk Paran and senior associate amar Maan led the Dla Piper team.

switzerland: snap, crackle and popGerman law firm Gleiss lutz advised swiss agrochemical group syngenta on its submission, via its subsidiary syngenta crop Protection, to initiate a takeover bid for the Belgian agro-biotech company Devgen.

Devgen is a global leader in hybrid rice, but also specialises in crop protection and insect control. syngenta has offered €16 for each Devgen share, representing a total consideration of around €403 million.

Gleiss lutz, which regularly advises syngenta in international mergers and acquisition transactions, fielded a team led by partner Patrick kaffiné.

The BiG Deal

UK: fit for a king

The Dubai and london offices of global law firm norton rose advised a syndicate of Middle eastern banks led by aBc international on a senior shariah-compliant facility to king’s reach estates – a joint venture between london developer ciT and Jadwa investment – for the redevelopment and refurbishment of the kings reach Tower on london’s south bank.

The financing comprised a £100 million facility and a £145m mezzanine tranche provided by saudi arabia’s Mohammed al subeai & sons investment.

The norton rose team was led by Dubai-based Mohammed Paracha. senior associate Martin Botik advised on the banking aspects with assistance from Thomas lindley. london-based partners Wasim khan, chris hill and John challoner advised on property, construction and tax aspects respectively.

king & spalding advised the mezzanine financiers and Jones Day advised ciT. isle of Man advice was provided by appleby acting for the senior banks and cains acting for ciT and the mezzanine financiers. appleby and Mourant ozannes provided cayman islands law advice and al Tamimi riyadh advised the senior banks in relation to saudi law aspects.

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Guru talk

The international Bar association – which held its annual conference in Dublin last week – is a melting pot of nationalities, languages, styles, and legal systems. The record turnout in ireland of more than 5,000 delegates is perhaps, more than anything, a reflection of the global economy and the financial crisis – a reminder that the impact of regulatory dereliction does not confine itself to geographic boundaries.

even on the way to the conference centre, a taxi driver pointed out the headquarters of the agency charged with picking up the pieces of the country’s property crash and dealing with troubled real estate assets.

at a meeting of the iBa’s anti-corruption section, money laundering, the us Foreign corrupt Practices act, uk anti-bribery legislation and compliance enforcement with anti-corruption laws in africa were all hotly debated.

‘The crimes are international, the victims are international, the float money is international, but the laws are not,’ argued uk lawyer Brian spiro of london-based Bcl Burton copeland.

The melding of different legal systems or calls for uniformity of laws were constant topics. Delegates at a meeting of the antitrust section clashed over the application of us laws and the jurisdiction’s contingency fee system, whereby lawyers can be paid based on the level of damages recovered. one lawyer from a us national law firm probed european colleagues over whether they could take a contingency interest in cases they refer to us lawyers who file suits in america. There was no clear response from a panel of uk, irish and Polish members.

Bounty hunterssimilarly, delegates at another session debated whether other countries should adopt the us practice of paying bounties to whistleblowers. currently three us laws provide for bounties to be paid to individuals or entities providing information leading to the recovery of government money.

The internal revenue’s code allows the Treasury Department to pay individuals who provide information enabling the government to collect unpaid taxes. The False claims act provides for bounties to be paid to those who have brought suit in the name of the government against entities or individuals that have filed or caused to be filed false statements causing the payout of monies which – in whole or in part – came from the government.

The Dodd-Frank amendments provide for the payment of bounties to those whose original information or analysis enables the securities and exchange commission to collect sanctions against those that have violated securities laws including the Foreign corrupt Practices act, which proscribes the bribery of foreign government officials by companies trading their stock on us exchanges.

Delegates also wrestled with the vexed issues of whether being environmentally conscious and treating workers fairly are not just matters of moral

responsibility, but also legal obligation. For multinationals incorporated in the us, at least some aspects of corporate responsibility may be mandated by the laws of a foreign nation under the sometimes forgotten doctrine of ultra vires. examine the articles of incorporation for numerous multinationals and there will be language restricting the company to endeavours that are legal.

While some nations struggle to enforce compliance with their laws, foreign regulations should not be considered irrelevant and compliance by large

corporations should not be optional. one can argue corporate directors have a duty to ensure their companies comply with local and foreign laws. accordingly, enforcement of these duties can improve the impact that corporations have on stakeholders worldwide, including consumers, workers and the local environment.

Political issuesunderstandably, much of the iBa conference focussed on issues of specific interest to global lawyers and their firms, but broader political matters also fell in the spotlight. There is perhaps no bigger forthcoming geo-political event than the us presidential election, and the iBa provided a platform for an interesting development.

keynote speaker and nobel Prize winning economics professor Joseph stiglitz announced his support for the re-election of Barack obama, in a speech that also called for additional regulation of the banking and financial services sectors. ‘The first fiscal stimulus worked, but it was too small,’ he told delegates. ‘We need another; we cannot afford not to do another stimulus.’

Prof stiglitz’s support for Mr obama came as a surprise response to a question from a British lawyer. ‘clearly obama is better,’ he said. ‘When compared to the alternative there is no choice.’ But Prof stiglitz also said that Mr obama could have done ‘more with the restructuring of home mortgages’.

he went on to compare the conduct of the banks to gambling, which is why ‘regulation is so important’. While Prof stiglitz urged more regulation, he expressed concern that political gridlock may preclude timely government intervention. ‘People say they believe in free markets, but one person’s freedom is the right not to be injured by others,’ said Prof stiglitz.

he commented that the ‘disparity in income brought about by the economic crisis means there will be a disparity in political clout’. and he urged iBa members to respond by making sure there will always be access to justice for those without the economic means.

For sheer volume of participants, nationalities and subjects covered, the iBa conference stands alone. as one continental european lawyer summarised over lunch in Dublin: ‘i don’t know any other organisation where you can have the opportunity to meet lawyers from all over the world. it’s an opportunity to network and learn about systems of law that could come to our country.’

A global legal villageMore than 5,000 lawyers descended on the irish capital last week.

it wasn’t all parties and networking lunches, maintains reuben Guttman, a wide range of serious issues also received a chewing over

Reuben Guttman is head of the False Claims Act

practice at New York and Washington DC-based

litigation boutique Grant & Eisenhofer

Dublin: provided the backdrop for the world’s lawyers

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www.globallegalpost.com� The Global Legal Post��12�October�2012��13

The�Voice

The MENA region in general, and Tunisia in particular, are open for business. The economic and legal environment is coping well following the Arab Spring, which has heralded a new era, and UK investors and their lawyers are encouraged to co-operate, but not colonise. Those were the clear messages coming out at an event – North Africa in Focus: The View from Tunis – that took place last week.

The gathering featured a galaxy of local businesses and political stars and companies and law firms were given a high-flying perspective on the area.

The British Ambassador to Tunisia, Christopher O’Connor, emphasised how important it was to rebuild trust in the region. He said that not only must foreign investors rebuild their trust in the people and institutions, but the domestic business communities must also work towards restored trust and confidence in their own national governments, a point echoed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia.

One of the key complaints about Tunisa was the government’s lack of transparency since the fall of the Ben Ali regime. At a session moderated by Nicholas Tse of Brown Rudnick, high-profile speakers debated this issue with Ahmad Al Karam, director-general of Amen Bank, Jaafar Khatteche, chairman of Tunisia’s Banque National Agricole and Maher Kallel of the Poulina Group on the panel.

The government’s failure to prepare a draft constitution and to agree on a road map for elections, despite having continually promised to do so over recent months, received particular criticism.

Circling vulturesVulture funds, which see private companies trying to profiteer from the debts of some of the world’s poorest countries by buying up debts from poor companies and litigating to recover the full amount, came under the spotlight at the event.

The African Legal Support Facility, which provides assistance to Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) facing claims from these funds, is seeking to build up know-how and expertise within reputable law firms in the region.

There are good investors and, as we know from the vulture fund cases, there are bad investors. The task for those of us interested in the development of the region is to attract good investors with the right economic and legal conditions, but to deter the bad investors by educating local governments on how to avoid these funds in the first place and to work with them in defending against the vultures.

Dispute resolution is another area which is growing in the region. Hicham Zegrary, of the Moroccan

Financial Board, described the creation of the Casablanca Finance City (CFC), which aims to make Casablanca a business hub for the region and leading financial centre in North and West Africa. Like the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), it will have a standing arbitral body – able to resolve disputes according to international standards and principles. An oft-cited complaint of international arbitration is the domination of most tribunals by western European and North American arbitrators, often to the exclusion of arbitrators from other parts of the world, particularly Africa.

This point was addressed by Sami Hourebi of the ICC, who provided an overview of the ICC’s statistics relevant to the continent. It was agreed that more needs to be done to develop and encourage a larger pool of talented and experienced African arbitrators.

Arbitration and assetsAnother complaint of international arbitration is that it has become too slow and too expensive. Early adoption of mediation and other forms of ADR, which have risen to prominence in Europe relatively recently, need be considered.

Expropriation and other risks to investments were actively debated, with a number of animated questions from the floor about new laws introduced to cancel investments supported by members of the Ben Ali government. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a level of confusion about how to treat contracts entered into by a regime that is now considered corrupt.

Asset-tracing and asset-recovery also came under the spotlight. One of the core themes coming out of the discussions from participants including Paul-Gully-Hart of Schellenberg Wittmer in Geneva and Andrew Durrant of FTI in London, was the need for pragmatism in finding and recovering assets dissipated by corrupt regimes.

An example given was the need to provide amnesties to certain former members of those regimes in return for information on the whereabouts of assets.

The prospects for business in the MENA region, and indeed across African, are obvious. There is much good work that international law firms can do on the continent. Relationships with good local firms are key. What comes across loud and clear from events like this is that we will be greeted with a warm welcome if we come in a spirit of

cooperation, but not if we seek to colonise. The event was organised by Brown Rudnick in

association with the International Chamber of Commerce, the Tunisian Bar Association and the Law Firm Network, in Tunis on 4 and 5 October.

Attendees included the African Development Bank, Petrofac, Africinvest and several oil, banking and public sector organisations from Morocco, Libya and UAE.

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Talking points

in the extended run-up to implementation of the most controversial elements of england’s legal services act 2007, much of the country’s law firm élite were dismissive of the legislation’s potential impact on their business models.

Global law firms were rich enough not to require external investment and focused enough not to need to bring in non-lawyer partners.

now that the legislation is live – and amid an unanticipated rush of applications for alternative business structure licences – that analysis doesn’t appear to be quite so confident. While so far no global firm has announced a bid for a licence, there is nonetheless a perceptible shift in mood, with senior partners at top firms at least acknowledging that the legislation is likely to change the nature of the english legal profession.

likewise, us bar authorities have ratcheted up their negative rhetoric regarding external investment, possibly a sign that they fear the inevitable. indeed, only a few days ago, new York-based Jacoby & Meyers resurrected a challenge against a state rule preventing law firms from seeking investment from non-lawyers, claiming the prohibition is unconstitutional.

and some of the partners at arguably the world’s biggest law firm by number of lawyers – anglo-us behemoth Dla Piper, which has 77 offices in 31 countries – clearly take the view that aBss and new models of practice are unavoidable, and, indeed, potentially very lucrative.

at the end of last winter, the firm’s joint chief executive and managing partner, sir nigel knowles, announced that Dla Piper was taking a share of lawVest, the parent company to an innovative new legal practice called riverview law.

There were subsequent reports that not all the partners at the global firm were happy when it emerged that sir nigel and several other partners had also made personal investments in the business.

internal scuffles aside, riverview law – which blends solicitors and barristers and offers business clients fixed fee deals – appears to be a

time and resolve. once they’ve worked out what they want from the market and a plan to execute that, then there is nobody out there to stop them. how many people walk through the doors of the co-op each week? Those are all potential customers for its legal services.

If the aBs model will primarily target private consumer clients, why is it

Game changersriverview law is still waiting for its alternative business structure licence, but the firm is already carving a reputation for innovation in the evolving English legal landscape. Jonathan Ames meets the two driving

forces behind the organisation, who warn the rest of the players that the market is changing for goodbusiness on a mission. under chief executive karl chapman it has already launched a service in new York and claims to be on the verge of merging with another, so far unnamed, english practice.

Before implementation of the legal services act, many – especially those at the business law end of the english legal profession – were dismissive of the idea that alternative business structures would make a serious impact. Were they wrong?Nigel knowles: although it has taken 10 years, from people thinking about the act to writing it to implementation, now all systems are go. There will soon be many changes and a new normal as a result.

in the period of turbulence that we are in – partly fuelled by the financial crisis, but definitely fuelled by the legal services act – there will be a re-ordering of the legal market. certain people will rise in that process and some people will fall away. But it is it all there to be grabbed, for those who get it right.

The aBs rules will attract market entrants

that initially will be likely to target domestic private clients – for example, wills, probate, residential conveyancing work. But they will also tackle the small and medium-sized enterprise end of the business market.

in the new environment, sMes will be able to get much better support on a retainer-based arrangement that will be very cost effective.

aBss will also bring some refreshing re-engineering to high-value, low-volume commodity legal work. What will allow them to do this is that they will be structured completely differently – they will have far fewer equity partners, they will have lots of paralegals and junior lawyers, they will have a high dependency on technology, most of the advice will be given online; they won’t occupy city-centre locations, but out of town locations.

The Co-operative supermarket has already been granted an aBs licence, and other large retailers are waiting for regulatory authorisation. how much of a threat will they present to england’s traditional legal profession?Nk: These people have got resource,

‘How many people walk through

the doors of the Co-op each week?

Those are all potential customers for its

legal services’

cVSir nigel Knowles,

joint chief executive and managing partner

of DlA Piper. sir nigel has been managing

partner since 1996 and, during that time, has led its growth from a regional uk law firm to what is now the world’s largest. Globally,

Dla Piper has a turnover in excess of £1 billion.

Career historyhe joined Yorkshire firm

Broomheads as a trainee in 1978 and became a partner only

six years later, specialising in corporate finance, private equity

and mergers and acquisitions. By 1990, he was appointed head

of the commercial group at post-merger Dibb lupton Broomhead,

becoming managing partner in 1996.

since that time, he has led the practice through several mergers,

culminating in a three-way transatlantic deal that created

the current firm.


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Talking points

relevant to Dla Piper? Why have some of the partners at the firm invested in a new aBs firm in waiting?Nk: We are simply taking a strategic stake in riverview. We don’t influence it or manage it; we are shareholders. it gives us a foot in the new camp with a dynamic offering.

also, the work that riverview law is looking to do and is doing is not work that Dla Piper is doing – so there is a perfect match. if a client realises that we don’t do that type of work any more, we can introduce them to riverview, which can take its own view. and when we are preparing large tenders for corporates that are looking to outsource commodity work that we can’t do competitively, we can do a joint venture with rV

or introduce the client to them. The arrangement gives more strategic options, but we are not forsaking our strong local client base.

We now have in our midst an offering that will be relevant to sMes, some of our smaller clients that have been with the firm for 20 years but for whom we are not appropriate now, as we are a firm with aspirations to be the leading global business law firm.

Nonetheless, it has been reported that your firm’s involvement with this project has caused some concern among Dla partners. have you made mistakes internally in the way this deal has been handled – or are some people always going to be uneasy with such a new model?Nk: aBss and businesses arising out of the provision of the lsa are here to stay. There is no point in being in denial and pretending it is not happening. Businesses have got to adjust to a different competitive landscape. and, as far as Dla Piper is concerned, riverview is not in the least threatening.

The international legal services market has been a huge success story for a coterie of Us and english law firms over the past 15 to 20 years. But there are signs of difficulties at least in some regions of the world. are you worried that the international market could contract significantly?Nk: There has been a paradigm shift in the way in which buyers of legal services buy those services. in general terms, consolidation in the international market is just about to start. The magic circle firms are the global élite, then there are global business law firms, and the super-niche and the more general niche.

But there are still a lot of firms out there that have not made up their minds or not addressed what they are going to do and they will be the subject of consolidation. some may cease to exist; some may merge and sort themselves out.

i am very relieved that Dla Piper made as much progress as it did before the crisis, because the crisis has allowed us to use our differentiation to continue to attract business and take market share. right now, i would

hate to be the managing partner of a firm based just in london, with an exclusive london cost base and with no business outside of london or anywhere else in the world – with my only selling point being that i might charge less than other firms. That would be fatal.

Riverview law itself has already made moves internationally with the opening of an outpost in New York. What is the rationale behind that?karl Chapman: our current us strategy is to provide a route into the english justice system for us corporations and us law firms.

We are providing that direct route on a fixed-price, absolute cost-certainty basis. and there is a lot of demand for it. i don’t think it would be surprising if, after a while, we saw us law firms working in partnership with us. and we will open in other parts of the world, creating a roadmap into the english justice system.

Back in england, how has the traditional legal profession reacted to your launch?kC: We are currently not having any problem recruiting lawyers domestically – there is definitely an oversupply.

invariably every general counsel with whom we sit down for discussions is having an internal debate over whether to expand the in-house legal team. Why do they consider doing so? Because they are dissatisfied with law firms and their pricing models – and we say there is

an alternative, which we call legal advisory outsourcing.

We ask general counsel: what type of legal advice is crucial to your business and your sector that you will never outsource? and then ask yourself, how do i source advice for the rest? We say to Gcs – give us all your employment work, all your commercial contract work,

or intellectual property work, or commercial property leases…

The use and perspective the market has on the word ‘commodity’ is interesting. commodity adds up to billions of pounds a year in the uk market. it is not a small amount of money and we can do it much more efficiently and effectively.

cV Karl Chapman,

chief executive of riverview law

read law at Birmingham university before joining

Guinness Mahon investment Management in 1985 as a unit trust

fund manager.he left in 1989 to launch

recruitment and training consultancy crT Group, which

grew to a market capitalisation of more than £600 million.

in 2001 he left to set up resources outsourcing business adviserPlus Business solutions.he founded lawVest in June 2011.

‘Invariably every general counsel with whom we sit

down for discussions is having an internal debate

over whether to expand the in-house legal team’

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Corporate counsel round-up

In-house counsel under firein-house lawyers are being increasingly targeted by lawsuits and prosecutors, according to the former vice president and general counsel of British multinational pharmaceutical company Glaxosmithkline.

lauren stevens was indicted in 2010 on four counts of making false statements to the us Food and Drug administration, only to

be acquitted by a judge who said she ‘never should have been prosecuted’.

in a post on The Wall street Journal’s blog, she says in-house lawyers should ensure all their work is above board, as the authorities will be monitoring them closely. ‘i know that sometimes it feels as though we have a target on our back,’ she said.

Ms stevens gave several clear points on

how best to avoid law suits. ‘When hiring an outside law firm, make sure they know all the facts – and also make sure the other parties know you have hired outside counsel… Be very careful what you say during correspondence with adverse parties.’

$700m fine for pharma giantchicago-based healthcare company abbot laboratories has been hit with the second-largest criminal fine for a single drug, after marketing Depakote for uses that had not been approved.

Judge samuel Wilson of the Western District of Virginia dished out a $500 million criminal fine, a forfeiture of $198.5m, and a $1.5m award to the Virginia Medicaid Fraud control unit, reports the blog of legal Times.

Depakote was promoted as being able to control behavioural disturbances in dementia patients and to treat schizophrenia. however, according to the Justice Department, these uses were not approved by the us Food and Drug administration.

The fines follow abbott’s guilty plea to a criminal misdemeanour charge regarding the mis-branding last May. abbott also entered a civil settlement agreement under which it agreed to pay $800m to the federal government and several states to resolve claims that its practices caused false claims to be submitted to government healthcare programmes.

high fees main reason law firms sackedPrice is the main reason for ending relationships with law firms, say in-house counsel at leading blue-chip companies, according to a survey released this week.

The research – undertaken by uk market research firm acritas and reported by The american lawyer – found that unhappy clients tended to bunch together their reasons for firing a firm into four clear categories. With 21 per cent, costs formed the biggest slice of the pie, while lack of expertise wasn’t far behind on 18 per cent. some 15 per cent cited poor service as a reason for firing a law firm, while the departure of a key lawyer was mentioned by 11 per cent.

The companies – of whom 20 per cent reported revenues of more than $6 billion, and another 40 per cent reported more than $1bn in turnover – were frank with their answers, with some of the in-house lawyers

clearly unhappy with the services received. around 30 per cent of the in-house

lawyers had ditched a firm within the past year, with reasons ranging from ‘they were doing a bad job: no results and a lot of invoices,’ to ‘poor service; lots of delay; when challenged, they were completely up front and just said [they] don’t have enough resources, which is pretty astonishing for an international law firm.’

one of the more worrying issues for law firms was the inability to maintain a relationship when the partner handling a client left the practice. one in-house lawyer said: ‘i find that often, when partners leave, those firms neglect to contact clients to say we still want your business and we have signed a new relationship manager. They tend not to correspond with you. Yet the partner who leaves always contacts you from the new firm.’

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Governance

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global lawyer.indd 1 12/03/2012 12:08

Management speak

law firms should be dedicated to fostering an inclusive, vibrant work environment – not least because doing so generates positive and creative solutions for clients.

To strive towards that goal, my law firm has developed several employee networks to support and encourage all forms of diversity, one being ‘Women@Weil’, a global network of employees focusing on mentoring, networking, pro-bono initiatives and business development.

as part of Weil’s family-friendly benefits programme, the firm offers employees several family-related initiatives, including a specialist provider to assist with all aspects of parenting, including emergency childcare, recruiting/hiring nannies, child-minders and nurseries. This service is provided to all employees, with the cost borne by the firm.

Confidential sessionsan issue particularly close to my heart is the firm’s maternity coaching initiative, launched in summer 2009, which grew out of feedback from women who were going on, or returning from, maternity leave. They had highlighted the fact that becoming a working mother, particularly for the first time, was daunting.

i was one of the first women to receive the coaching on the birth of my second child – and found a marked difference between that experience and returning to work the first time. having spoken with other women in the office who have had the coaching, there is an equally positive view of the initiative.

During the coaching, we arrange individual confidential sessions at the firm’s expense. employees meet separately with around three coaches and choose the one with whom they have the best rapport.

all coaches are qualified psychologists, counsellors, and/or have relevant experience in human resources and/or law. and the majority are mothers themselves –

The final sessions help the employee to readjust into the office. returning can be a difficult experience, as perspectives of working life may have changed.

indeed, a loss of confidence can be one of the biggest challenges in the return to work. The coaching helps with this, as the final sessions focus on aims, achievements and the transition back to work.

My firm recognises the diverse needs of its employees, in particular the need sometimes to change responsibilities of both work and personal lives. it operates a flexible working policy, which is open both to mothers returning from maternity leave as well as other employees more widely.

some mothers choose to return to existing roles, while some prefer a different role or working pattern. coaches help them move back to their roles and make sure their new working patterns function well.

sounding boardThe feedback on our initiative demonstrates why it is so important – the changes and upheaval to working and personal lives women undergo when they have children cannot be underestimated.

as one Weil london associate said following her maternity leave: ‘i was initially sceptical and didn’t appreciate the potential benefits [of maternity coaching]. however, i really clicked with my maternity coach and found the sessions a useful tool in helping me navigate a totally unfamiliar experience. [My coach] provided an independent and objective sounding board that forced me to focus and structure my thoughts on what i wanted from maternity leave and the process of returning to work. articulating those thoughts, and thinking about my plans in more detail in response to [the coach’s] questions, was invaluable to me making the transition from work to mother and back again as smooth as possible.’

Bringing up babylawyers as employers need to take maternity leave seriously, argues Sarah Priestley,

highlighting an innovative project taking place at her own global law firm

Sarah Priestley is a corporate tax partner at the London office of New York-based law firm Weil

which means they can relate directly to the experiences involved.

There are usually between three and five sessions. The first two are typically held before maternity leave, helping the employee to plan a smooth transition by communicating with colleagues and clients, and setting aims for desired achievements from maternity leave, as well as discussing a possible date for returning to work.

IsolatingThe session conducted during maternity leave can be essential to keep track of goals and aims. Maternity leave can be isolating as there is little contact with the working world.

This session helps employees think about returning to work, while also ensuring they enjoy their time with a new baby. The session explores any concerns around the status of the employee’s work role, as well as helping with questions such as: will i be able to concentrate if i leave my baby? What are the possible childcare options? Will i be able to show i am committed while working flexibly?

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George Pinkham has been appointed head of sJ Berwin’s hong kong office as the firm looks to focus on expanding its presence in asia. The london-based firm plans to build on its existing practices in hong kong and shanghai, focusing on private equity, corporate, litigation and dispute resolution work.

Mr Pinkham has taken leading roles for the firm before, having founded the Paris office in 2001 and also participated as a member of the firm’s strategy committee for 10 years.

Global people

UKsteve Wardlaw has returned to the london office of houston law firm Baker Botts.

Mr Wardlaw, who had spent seven years in the firm’s Moscow outpost, returns as partner in charge of the global law firm’s office in the uk capital.

Magic circle firm linklaters has appointed Paul Wilson as head of its london construction practice. Mr Wilson, currently at global rival Dla Piper, will join the firm as counsel in november. he began his career at linklaters, gaining expertise in major real estate construction projects.

Boston-headquartered Brown rudnick has secured Tuvi keinan as a partner in its london real estate and restructuring office. Mr keinan has experience in cross-border restructuring and finance, and has previously worked with high net-worth individuals, private equity and hedge funds. he joins from new York-based global financial services business Morgan stanley, where he was head of european real estate restructuring.

simmons & simmons has followed up the recruitment of banking partners ross Miller and richard cook with the announcement that of helen hancock will join the london-based partnership in December. With more than 20 years’ experience in advising on transactional banking and capital markets work, Ms hancock specialises in corporate banking, property, project and acquisition finance. she joins from Bristol-based law firm Burges salmon, where she was director of banking. Ms hancock was previously a partner at simmons & simmons between 1995 and 2005. she will be based in the firm’s Bristol office.

hong Kong

Tuvi Keinan

chicago-headquartered Winston & strawn has recruited Joe Tirado to be co-chairman of its international arbitration practice. Mr Tirado – formally of norton rose, where he was head of international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution – will join the firm’s london office.

Dutch law firm Boekel has bolstered its london office with three partner appointments: kris ruijters (corporate/mergers and acquisition), angelique Thiele (banking and finance) and eugenie nunes (employment). The firm’s london office opened in 2010.

regional law firm harrison clark has launched a licensing and regulatory service, led by partner heath Thomas. Mr Thomas, who only recently joined the firm, specialises in licensing and gaming, and is a recognised expert in applications under the licensing act 2003, Gambling act 2005 and associated legislation.

nigel Dickenson is set to boost the financial services and products team at the london office of global franchised firm cMs, following his move from magic circle practice allen & overy. Mr Dickenson specialises in a range of derivative transactions, focusing on ‘over-the-counter’ derivatives, structured products and structured finance. his appointment follows the promotion of Michael cavers to partner in May and brings the total number of derivatives and structured product partners at cMs in london to four.

london technology and media law firm olswang has appointed outsourcing specialist craig rattray as a partner. he joins from global law firm Berwin leighton Paisner. Mr rattray is the firm’s fourth technology appointment this year following the arrivals of ian Ferguson, ross Mckean and Martin hammer.

EuropePittsburgh-based international law firm reed smith has launched a strategic alliance with Greek firm Papapolitis & Papapolitis. The deal follows two years of close, informal work between the firms. They will now concentrate on the large projects and transactions anticipated in Greece as a result of the economic situation and ongoing structural reforms.

corporate restructurings expert andrea sparano is to join the Milan office of simmons & simmons. With more than 20 years’ experience in corporate restructurings, workouts and insolvency, Mr sparana moves from law and chartered accountancy firm D&s De Dominicis & sparano, where he was a founding partner.

Previously, he was a partner at legal and accountancy firm Tani & associates.

Paris-based firm BcW & associés has announced the arrival of Patrick Glebocki as a partner in its strasbourg office. Mr Glebocki will manage the office – which opened in 2011 – while also taking charge of the firm’s tax practice.

northern european law firm roschier has appointed håkan sterner as intellectual property and life sciences counsel. he will be based in the firm’s stockholm office.

The move strengthens the firm’s expertise in multi-jurisdictional patent litigation, patent strategies, licensing, compliance and regulatory work related to the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining roschier, Mr sterner had worked as in-house counsel for astraZeneca for 14 years.

German law firm luther has bumped up its Berlin and stuttgart offices with the recruitment of Jörg alshut and armin Weinand. Mr alshut joins the Berlin office as a partner in the intellectual property and technology team, while Mr Weinand joins the stuttgart office as a partner in the corporate law department.

ohio-founded squire sanders has boosted its Prague labour and employment practice with the lateral hire of partner and former head of employment at Baker & Mckenzie, karin konstantinovová. Ms konstantinovová is regarded as one of the leading employment lawyers in the czech republic, having advised local and multinational clients on a range of matters under czech and eu law over the past 15 years.

she joins the global legal practice with colleague hana Machýčková, also from Baker & Mckenzie.

Washington Dc-based law firm covington & Burling has announced the hiring of leading european public affairs advisor Paul adamson. Mr adamson joins the firm’s Brussels office as it senior policy advisor and will work closely with the global government affairs team alongside former ambassador Jean De ruyt, who

Andrea Sparano

George Pinkham


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Global people

served as Belgium’s permanent representative to the eu.

Multinational law firm salans has promoted igor ostrowski to its partnership. he will take over as head of the practice’s central and eastern european intellectual property, technology and telecommunications department. a high-profile lawyer in Poland, Mr ostrowski spent 15 years in private practice before switching to the Polish Ministry of administration and Digitisation, where he served as deputy minister. he was also a member of a team that provided advice to the Polish prime minister.

USPeter kalis has been unanimously elected to a fifth term as chairman and global managing partner of Pittsburgh-headquartered law firm k&l Gates.

Mr kalis – who has served as the firm’s head since 1997, when it was known as kirkpatrick & lockhart – will continue in the role until at least February 2017.

‘Pete’s visionary role in creating a truly integrated global platform, combined with his strong commitment to europe as part of that platform, have been, and will continue to be, the source of inspiration, encouragement, energy, and success for the entire european practice of this great law firm,’ said Martin lane, europe managing partner.

elsewhere, k&l Gates has added hugh Matsubayashi to its seattle office as a partner in its intellectual property procurement and portfolio management practice.

Mr Matsubayashi joins from neuroVista corporation, where he was vice president of legal affairs and intellectual property.

GlobalWashington Dc-based firm covington & Burling has elected 15 lawyers to its partnership. The new partners are: robert amaee, white collar criminal defence in london; eric carlson, anti-

bribery, and shaoyu chen, food and drug law, both in Beijing; christopher eppich, intellectual property litigation in san Diego; ingrid rechtin, corporate and Winslow Taub, patent litigation, both in san Francisco. and in Washington itself: Michael Fanelli, antitrust, white collar investigations and litigation; holly Fechner (Washington), government affairs; Jonathan Gimblett, international arbitration and antitrust law; rukesh korde, commercial litigation; Mark Mosier, appellate litigation; chris Pistilli, litigation; Michael riella, corporate and securities; simone ross, litigation; Peter swanson, litigation and intellectual property.

leading international law firm Maples and calder has added six funds partners to its cayman islands office: heidi de Vries, Julian ashworth, sheryl Dean, David Marshall, Philip Millward and Gwyneth rees. The lawyers join another recently arrived partner, Tim clipstone, who started at the firm’s British Virgin islands office in June.

Asialondon law firm olswang has beefed up its technology and sourcing practice with the appointment of two partners to its singapore and london offices.

after an initial period in london, ian Ferguson will be joining olswang’s asian base in singapore.

he arrives from new York-based firm Pillsbury Winthrop shaw Pittman, and has expertise in outsourcing transactions, advising both suppliers and customers.

ross Mckean will join olswang’s london team early next month after 16 years at Baker & Mckenzie’s office in the uk capital. Mr Mckean specialises in non-contentious and contentious iT, outsourcing, communications and telecommunications projects.

The moves follow the addition of green technology and renewables partner Martin hammer to the firm’s German team in May.


Blagging the blogs

The stress testlaw firm partners may cite the pressure of bringing in business and keeping clients happy as crucial causes of their stress levels being alarmingly high.

however, a four-year research project conducted by harvard kennedy school’s Decision science laboratory, stanford university and the university of california has found that those in leadership positions are significantly less stressed than those further down the chain.

Vivia chen – chief blogger at The Careerist website – isn’t surprised one bit.

‘in a law firm context, at least, associates are expected to be at the beck and call of the partners they work for,’ writes Ms chen. ‘i know it’s a cliché, but i think it’s still true that when partners ask you to jump, the only acceptable response is, “how high”.’

Confusion over banBarrister and author Tim kevan has discussed the implications of the 1 april 2013 referral fee ban for english solicitors in his latest post on the legal Terrier blog.

‘how are they going to respond?’ asks Mr kevan. ‘now that’s the multi-million dollar

question, which unfortunately as yet has no clear answer due to the sad fact that the solicitors regulation authority (sra), who will be policing the ban, still haven’t provided any detailed guidance on the subject.’

Despite the lack of guidance and vague indications of what the ban may entail, Mr kevan suggests four potential scenarios.

First, rather than buying cases, solicitors’ firms will have to do their own marketing, possibly even on the high street.

alternative business structures may be a potential way around the ban – something the sra noted in its discussion paper – although the authority may impose extra conditions through a licensing system.

another point addressed by the sra was the possibility of solicitors joining forces for promotion purposes. again, the regulator said it would not prevent this.

But the main problem centres on marketing companies, where the lines between referring cases and simple marketing will be blurred.

Mr kevan suggests that the language used so far ‘is sufficiently ambiguous not only to cause massive uncertainty but

to potentially sow the seeds of all sorts of problems for the future.’

Dangers of soupFollowing up on a series of hot drinks litigation, nick Farr, an associate at south carolina law firm Gallivan White & Boyd, posts that if a consumer orders a beverage to be served hot, no legal action should ensue as the restaurant meets the consumer’s expectation.

however, in Wisconsin an eight-year-old girl is suing the Beloit Turner school District over burns sustained from a spilt cup of soup.

she alleges that the school district and its canteen staff were ‘negligent in serving a substance at an unsafe temperature’ and ‘negligent in failing to properly instruct its students on how to carry the unsafe substance.

‘as an initial matter, this case is clearly distinguishable from many of its hot beverage predecessors,’ says Mr Farr. ‘First, the plaintiff is a minor and doesn’t share the same degree of culpability for assuming the risk of her food choice (if she actually had one). second, she was required to transport the hot soup on a lunch tray through the cafeteria – a scenario that can

lead to spills. as a result, this case could find itself in the hands of a jury. obviously, the school has some duty to look out for the safety of students. But how far should that duty extend?’

keep a lid on itFollowing an editorial piece from The Washington Times which stated ‘Princess kate needs to remember there is no privacy, so keep your top on’, Daniel solove – the John Marshall harlan research Professor of law at George Washington university law school – has contended that this view is plain wrong.

‘These sentiments are the typical reactions to media invasions of privacy – people should expect no privacy whenever they are outside the confines of their homes. i contend that this view isn’t correct both descriptively and normatively,’ says Mr solove – also a senior policy advisor at hogan lovells – in a post on the linkedIn website

he goes on to assert that, while liability for photographing kate Middleton would be far from clear in some jurisdictions, in the eu she has a much stronger claim.

The Barometer in association witha Berwin Leighton Paisner innovation

Should law firms give equity shares to all staff and not just

qualified lawyers?uk law firm eversheds is reported to be considering giving stakes in the firm to all non-partner legal and support staff. such a move could see staff being able to buy shares or receive them for good performance. it is a bold move should it happen and one which would help move barriers between partners and their subordinates in law firms. The great legal public have, however, overwhelmingly rejected taking similar steps in their law firms. our survey reveals that most partners in law firms would never consider offering equity to non-qualified staff.

A wander through the global legal profession’s blogosphere

Plan to increase legally qualified staff

Is your legal department increasing or decreasing its legal team

in the next 12 months?Forecasts for the global economy – and especially those of the us and europe – predict low growth or stagnation at best and, in many cases, continued recession. But there is often as much, if not more, work to be done in a downturn – particularly as areas such as regulation and litigation increase for companies. Pay packets for general counsel and other senior in-house lawyers are reported to be shrinking. it is no surprise to find legal departments are taking a cautious view on recruitment as evidenced by the results of our research which reveals little inclination to increase the lawyer count.

Consider offering equity shares to non-qualified staff

73.9%never consider offering equity shares to non-qualified staff

65.8% Are making no

changes to their numbers

Plan to decrease legally qualified staff

18.4%

15.8%26.1%

http://ww.lod.co.uk


hot gossip

You hum it ...The early favourite for Britain’s X Factor, lucy spraggan, has sought legal advice after a number of cover versions of her songs appeared for sale on the iTunes media platform.

The sun newspaper reports that X Factor rules prevent contestants from releasing any original material online during the competition. however, after Ms spraggan caught the attention of competition judges with her original music – including Last Night and Beer Fear – fan-made versions began to appear on iTunes billed as ‘tributes’.

Ms spraggan said: ‘it’s disappointing to see other people making money off the back of my music. i just want to assure people i don’t endorse these recordings in any way and thank fans for their continued support.’

Not a wild cata journalist at uk television network iTV has won undisclosed damages from daily tabloid newspaper The Sun after an article implied she was involved with youthful singer harry styles.

caroline Whitmore accepted undisclosed damages, an apology and payment of her legal costs from news Group newspapers, reports the BBc.

Mrs Whitmore, who is in her early 30s, made the complaint after an article was published in the newspaper in July entitled ‘harry and cougar no 3’.

The article – which followed an interview by Mrs Whitmore with Mr styles’ band, one Direction, in which the 18-year-old kissed her on either cheek – led to Ms Whitmore becoming the subject of abuse on social media network Twitter.

speaking in london’s high court on Thursday, advocate Julia Varley told Mr Justice Tugendhat that in referring to Ms Whitmore as a ‘cougar’ and linking her to Mr styles, some

readers might infer she had behaved inappropriately by pursuing a relationship with a younger man.

‘such reading was particularly damaging and distressing to Mrs Whitmore, since she has been with her husband for 17 years and married for the last two,’ said Ms Varley.

started with a kissa homosexual couple from new Jersey is suing a campaign group that used their image in a mail-shot against a local colorado politician who supported civil unions.

in the photo, Brian edwards and Tom Privitere are shown holding hands while facing each other and kissing, with a new York city skyline as a backdrop, reports The huffington Post.

however, the pair learnt in June that the photo had been used in a political campaign in a state far from their home.

Virginia-based Public advocate of the united states – which describes itself as opposing abortion rights, same-sex marriage and ‘so-called gay

rights’ – used the picture during a primary election involving colorado state senator Jean White, one of a handful of republicans who supported a local civil unions bill.

The mailer, which replaced the Manhattan skyline with a snowy background, read: ‘state senator Jean White’s idea of “Family Values?”.’ Ms White lost the republican primary vote.

‘This case is about the defilement of a beautiful moment,’ the couple’s lawyers – from civil rights organisation southern Poverty law centre -- told the BBc.

The photographer who took the photo is also a plaintiff in the action.

Cadbury colour winBritish confectionary giant cadbury has won a high court legal battle in england over swiss rival nestlé in a result that will prevent other confectioners from copying its distinctive purple packaging.

cadbury trademarked the colour – Pantone 2865c – in 2008, but a challenge from

nestlé led to a lengthy legal battle.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that cadbury – which was acquired by us food giant kraft in 2010 – first introduced the purple tinted wrapper in 1914 as a tribute to Queen Victoria.

in a similar case, a Pantone tint was trademarked by show designer christian louboutin to protect his signature red soles.

commenting on the louboutin case, Fiona McBride, partner at uk patent and trademark specialist law firm Withers & rogers, said: ‘The instant association of colour with a brand is a lucrative opportunity which adds value to the brand. however, achieving this recognition and being able to protect the colour through trademark registration is not easy.’

Telly tubbya morning newsreader on a Wisconsin television station has grabbed headlines after she was attacked in a viewer’s email for being obese and failing to promote a healthy lifestyle.

The above the law website discovered the sender of the message was local personal injury lawyer kenneth krause.

in the email to Jennifer livingston, Mr krause said: ‘i was surprised indeed to witness that your physical condition hasn’t improved for many years. surely you don’t consider yourself a suitable example for this community’s young people... i hope that you’ll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle.’

in response to the email, which caused outrage on the network’s Facebook page, Ms livingston said: ‘You could call me fat and yes, even obese on a doctor’s chart. But do you think i don’t know that? You don’t know me. You are not a friend of mine... i am much more than a number on a scale.’

Sincerest form of flattery; tabloid newspaper bitten; trouble over a stolen kiss; purple haze; and lawyer lashes out about weighty issues

Lucy Spraggan: unimpressed by supposed ‘tribute’ recordings

© G

eTTY

iMa

Ges


Bookshelf

Business Operations in NorwayPublished by: Bloomberg BNAAuthors: Eva Linn Gjerlaug, Espen Nordbo Product Code: TPOR43$400.00Putting a wide range of norway’s business law issues under the microscope, this publication is designed to inform foreign companies on how to conduct business in a country situated in a region of europe that is performing far better economically than many of its neighbours.

in addition, some areas – such as tax – are explored, as the book breaks down the laws governing individuals and corporations, residents and foreigners.

it also delves into the current problems facing foreign businesses operating in norway from a practical point of view, while also providing a cursory explanation of the judicial system and economic climate

as a whole. among its resources are: information regarding governmental regulation, intellectual property rights, and norwegian immigration rules and labour laws.

The book is part of the Foreign income Portfolios library, a comprehensive

collection of issues concerning international taxation.

The Failure of Corporate Law: Fundamental Flaws and Progressive PossibilitiesPublished by: ReadHowYouWant Author: Kent GreenfieldSeptember 2012 P/B £24.99ISBN: 1459606167conventional wisdom has long held that public corporations are not public in the true sense of the word. Their accountability lies not with the public, with society at large, or with their workers, but with their shareholders.

But kent Greenfield challenges that notion in this book, in

which he argues that once corporate law is correctly seen as public law, corporate interests can be nudged in the direction of the public good.

Mr Greenfield cites a long history of public corporations that valued the public’s well-being as essential to good business, a concept that has all but disappeared from today’s corporate environment, the author maintains.

like constitutional law or environmental law, the laws controlling corporations ought always to protect the public interest, since the effects of a company’s decision-making reach far beyond their select shareholders.

among the trends Mr Greenfield is particularly keen to see reformed, the tyranny of the shareholder’s interest ranks the highest. The pursuing of shareholder interests is taken as gospel in law schools, he argues, and in many public companies, executives ‘are prohibited by

law from taking into account the interests of the public when making decisions, if in so doing those of the company’s shareholders are harmed’. That situation encourages more corporate scandals and less concern for a company’s own workers or the public interest.

additionally, Mr Greenfield lambasts the loopholes in Delaware’s corporate law as a way of ‘bypass[ing] democratic pressures... to export the costs of its legal structure to other states’, which sets a dangerous precedent for other states to follow.

The author sees corporate law optimistically, as a vehicle for realising the progressive

dream of creating prosperity across economic classes and shrinking social stratification. With more prudent and publicly oriented corporate governance, wealth can be generated to benefit society at large, and not just a small oligarchy of shareholders.

Events

USThe life of a start-up: from Initial financing to IPo/exit – 4-6 November, silicon Valleyas the stellar success of start-ups continues to bedazzle professionals and entrepreneurs from every industry, several distinct international legal and economic challenges facing these companies have arisen. and this conference will seek to address the obstacles and issues in a part of the world where just about every other business is a start-up – the silicon Valley.

The issues facing start-ups feature myriad topics, and so it is fitting that the conference is hosted by a number of divisions of the international Bar association, including the its intellectual Property and entertainment law committee and the Technology law committee.

among the topics considered will be international legal and regulatory strategies for fast-growing companies; issues facing multi-jurisdictional start-ups; and company liquidity and strategies for exiting. experts from venture capitalists to top international legal professionals will offer expertise in three days of workshops and other sessions. Details: Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel and Resort, 2825 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, Silicon Valley, California, USA; contact Judith Hawkes +44 (0)20 7842 0090; email [email protected]; web: http://www.int-bar.org

PolandThe Central-eastern europe Regional Conference – 21-23 November, Warsaw, PolandWith the incorporation of the Visegrad Group – the czech republic, hungary, Poland and slovakia – into the eu, a raft of distinct challenges and opportunities emerged. This conference will confront those issues head on, as well as the economic and legal challenges that have transpired as a result of the economic woes wracking the eu.

The event will be hosted by the european regional Forum of the international Bar association and will feature a number of speakers from leading european law firms, government officials, financial experts and legal academics.

conference delegates will study current problems facing businesses operating in the central and eastern european region, particularly those conducting cross-border investments. key topics will consider the conditions of both new and old eu member states, and consider a potential lull in business operations following the initial positive phase after accession. Details: Held at InterContinental Hotel Warszawa, ul Emilii Plater 49, 00-125 Warszawa, Polska; contact Dr Szymon Kubiak +48 22 437 84 02; email [email protected]; web: http://www.ibawarsaw2012.com

UKThe Private equity Transactions symposium 2012 – 15 November 2012anyone embroiled in the world of private equity will be well aware that trends and issues affecting the market cause almost continual adjustments. This symposium will aim to analyse those trends, as well as study the implications of new policies affecting the sector.

sessions will address recent updates in global financing markets and the experiences of buyers and sellers involved in recent deals and their capacity to address market volatility and risk. The emerging markets of Brazil, china, and india will also be addressed, as will the issue of what enhanced tax and regulatory scrutiny could mean for private equity lawyers.

recent moves taken by tax authorities will also be addressed, with enhanced scrutiny characterised in the programme as a global threat to the private equity industry. Details: The Langham Hotel, 1C Portland Place, London W1B 1JA; contact Natasha Dullaway +44 (0)20 7842 0090; email [email protected]; web: http://www.ibanet.org


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