In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court has clarified third-party funders are not liable to pay adverse awards in arbitration claims, establishing a significant precedent for India’s arbitration landscape. The case in focus was Tomorrow Sales Agency Ltd v SBS Holdings Inc. This judgment could serve as a turning point, hinting at a broader…
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop and become more prevalent in corporations worldwide, there has been a significant increase in the associated risks. The nature of these risks is rapidly evolving, and corporate boards are struggling to keep up. In recent years, cybersecurity has surfaced as the primary corporate risk. In addition to dealing…
The United States Department of State recently announced visa restrictions imposed on certain Chinese officials on account of the supposedsystematic assimilation of over a million Tibetan children in state-run boarding schools. This move is seen as an element of a larger framework put into place by the Biden administration to address China’s handling of its…
US journalist, Evan Gershkovich, recently filed an appeal against the most recent extension of his pre-trial detention in Russia on charges of espionage, as reported by Russian state media. This marks Gershkovich’s third appeal, following his appeal against his second extension of pre-trial detention and his appeal against his initial arrest back in April. According…
In a shift indicating the changing dynamics of the market, intra-Asia transactions are now leading the Asia Pacific mergers and acquisitions (M&A) sector, as reported by Refinitiv in their most recent global M&A review. According to the review, of the top 13 largest transactions in Asia Pacific during the first half of 2023, eight were…
The impending departure of Tony O’Malley, the global head of PwC’s legal services division, and the firm’s Australian general counsel, Meredith Beattie, was recently confirmed. The announcement was made by Kevin Burrowes, PwC’s incoming Chief Executive, who expressed in an internal email that the pair would be accelerating their departure ahead of their initial retirement…
DWF, recognised as the largest listed law firm in the United Kingdom, is currently in negotiation with Inflexion Private Equity Partners for a potential sale. This information was disclosed to the public via an announcement on the London Stock Exchange. Inflexion, a highly reputed firm in the industry with £8 billion in assets under management,…
The arena of online legal research, historically dominated by legacy players such as Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis, is regularly welcoming new entrants. One such firm, Casetext, recently came into prominence for its innovative strides in generative AI, with its legal tech tool, CoCounsel, being the first to publicly incorporate OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model (LLM)….
In a world where legal business landscapes change rapidly, law firms are often left recalibrating their global strategies. Rumors have recently been swirling around the legal community following the exits of Brown Rudnick and Davis Polk from the Paris legal scene, with a key question arising: will Debevoise follow suit? Debevoise & Plimpton, however, responds…
The senior partners of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling, Wim Dejonghe and Adam Hakki respectively, are conducting a series of roadshows at each other’s firms. The roadshows, which are question and answer sessions, come as part of a planned merger between the two firms. This merger is set to be decided upon by…
Law firm Simmons & Simmons has reported a moderate rise in profits and a significant increase in revenue for the fiscal year 2022/23. While profits experienced a 2% increase, revenue grew by 12%, with the firm’s total revenue surpassing the half-billion mark to settle at £521 million. Meanwhile, profits rose to £189 million, as reported…
In reaction to heightened client demand for counsel on issues such as white-collar investigations, competition, litigation, and other compliance concerns, Stephenson Harwood has convened a multidisciplinary compliance team based in its Paris office. The composition of the team combines both existing lawyers from Stephenson Harwood and distinguished recruits from external institutions, including a compliance specialist…
In a noteworthy personnel shift, leading law firm Slaughter and May announced the hiring of a Human Rights Lead from Vodafone. The yet-to-be-named appointee is expected to play a critical advisory role in implementing human rights and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programmes for clients. Regrettably, full details regarding the identity of the hire or…
International law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has strengthened its London base with the addition of two project and infrastructure partners from Shearman & Sterling. The new hires, Ben Shorten and Trinh Chubbock, come in the wake of a string of departures from Shearman & Sterling over recent months across the UK, Europe and the…
In a recent legal industry move, Australia’s legal firm, JWS has hired a partner specializing in disputes and insolvency from Jones Day. This strategic hire is reportedly due to an expected increase in insolvency work the firm anticipates in the near future. However, it’s worth noting that further details on this transition are not completely…
International law firm K&L Gates has announced the appointment of Jason Opperman as the new head of its Australian offices, as the tenure of current office leader, Nick Nichola, concludes. Read More Opperman, well known and respected within the insolvency and workouts legal circles, has previously held leadership positions within the firm’s restructuring, insolvency practice…
Four legal practitioners from Allen & Gledhill, a well-established law firm based in Singapore, have made the decision to embark on a new venture. This group has founded their own disputes practice, named Chua & Partners. The boutique firm will primarily concentrate on dispute resolution, lending particular attention towards issues associated with digital assets, projects,…
Central America, a region often undervalued by global law firms, has been a strategic point of focus for international law firm Dentons for almost a decade. The firm’s initial foray was into Costa Rica, following fruitful discussions with Muñoz Global, a leading Costa Rican law firm. These discussions subsequently led to a 2016 deal that…
A consortium of international law firms have recently played key roles in a major cross-border acquisition, valued at €960 million. This significant deal involved the purchase of Italy’s ARAG Group (a specialist in precision agricultural tools and products), by the Nordson Corp., a diversified business entity based in the United States. The selling parties included…
Legal heavyweights White & Case and Nishimura & Asahi have been serving as counsel in a significant transaction in the corporate world – the unsolicited takeover bid for Tokyo-listed marine construction firm, Toyo Construction, by investment company Yamauchu-No.10 Family Office. One of the largest investment firms in Japan, Yamauchu-No.10 manages approximately $1.5 billion in assets…
Indonesian law firms are pivoting their focus to sectors such as health care, nickel mining, and telecommunications amidst a significant decrease in venture capital deal work over the past year. This transition is a response to industry changes that occurred after Indonesia’s Widodo administration made a noticeable shift in 2016. Aiming for an average annual…
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has engaged the expertise of James Pettigrew, a seasoned tax advisory partner, previously at Deloitte. Pettigrew will be strengthening the firm’s tax advisory practice, operating from Sydney. You can read the complete news here. Having more than 30 years of experience, Pettigrew specializes in advising on large-scale domestic and inbound M&A…
In a strategic move to expand internationally, Lewis Silkin, a leading law firm in the U.K., has acquired the intellectual property firm, Miller Sturt Kenyon (MSK). Known for its prominence in patent and trademark services, MSK extends its services across multiple regions including Germany, France, Belgium, and England. By this purchase, Lewis Silkin, traditionally focusing…
Osborne Clarke, a prominent relations law firm, has seen a decline in its UK net profit along with a drop in the profit per equity partner (PEP) in the compared fiscal years 2022/23 to 2021/22. Despite showing an increase in the firm’s international revenue, PEP has slipped by almost 14%, declining to £687,000 from £796,000…
In a rapidly changing legal market, Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) are presenting a credible threat to conventional law firms in Asia. According to a recent survey by Axiom Law, an alternative legal service provider, over 90% of the general counsel that were surveyed anticipate substantial cuts to their legal budgets due to global economic…