Features
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Law firm management: The capital question
By Legal Week | October 20, 2009
Nearly every law firm today is organised as a private partnership, or something similar. In most countries this is required by laws that prohibit law firms from having external shareholders on a public or private basis. The fundamental reason for this is, because law is a profession, lawyers have an obligation to put their clients' interests ahead of their economic self-interest. Of course, legal work must be properly compensated to ensure a return to the firm and short-term economic sacrifices in serving a client can have large longer-term benefits in terms of future work because of the client loyalty that is generated. Having external shareholders, the argument goes, creates a potential conflict of interest between clients' needs and shareholders' needs. However, external shareholders can provide capital for growth. Since this has historically not been available in the legal profession, the industry is highly fragmented and comprised of a large number of relatively small firms in every country. And there are only a handful of practices - Clifford Chance, DLA Piper and Linklaters - that come close to being global law firms.
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Law firm management: Learning to lead
By Legal Week | October 20, 2009
Harvard started a revolution in leadership training for law firms in the 1990s. Alex Aldridge and Alex Novarese tell the story and assess what management training can offer
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A storm is coming
By Legal Week | October 14, 2009
The Legal Week Litigation Forum was dominated by talk of client pressure for a new deal on costs and managing disputes. Claire Ruckin reports
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Litigation: A proportionate piece of the pie
By Legal Week | October 14, 2009
This April marked 10 years since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules which followed Lord Woolf's review of English civil procedure. The Woolf reforms have achieved many things, including greater co-operation (or at least a reduction in overt hostilities) between the parties to litigation, more mediated settlements and an overall increase in the speed at which cases get to trial. It is generally agreed, however, that the reforms were not successful in cutting costs, which was one of the major objectives of Lord Woolf's review.
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Global 100: Emerging markets
By Legal Week | October 6, 2009
From Russia's grey gloom to Brazil's red-hot ambitions, a look at the state of five emerging legal markets
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Global 100: The great game
By Legal Week | October 6, 2009
Soon after Simon Davies took over as Linklaters' managing partner at the end of 2007, he brought together a group of the firm's partners for some scenario planning. Turbulence in the subprime mortgage sector had not yet grown into a global economic downturn, but Davies knew that the legal services market was already changing. "We had been striving to run ourselves as efficiently as possible to deliver clear value to our clients and avoid increasing rates," he says. The purpose of the gathering was to run through some 'what-ifs,' determine how the firm would be affected, and consider how it would respond. Scenario three, the worst one under consideration, was the collapse of a major investment bank.
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Renewable energy: Reaping the whirlwind
By Legal Week | September 23, 2009
The UK has an obligation under the EU Renewables Directive to derive 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Depending on level of take-up of renewables for transport, heating, etc, this equates to approximately 32% of the UK's electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2020. Offshore wind energy is expected to provide a large share of this increase in renewable generation capacity.
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Renewable energy: Great light hope
By Legal Week | September 23, 2009
There are growth markets, there are long-term bets and then there is renewable energy. But however many false dawns alternative energy has had over the years, in the long run the business of green energy and nuclear power looks certain to ultimately establish itself as a huge, globally-significant industry.
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Renewable energy: Critical mass
By Legal Week | September 23, 2009
"The nuclear industry was for many years not very glamorous in this country, to say the least," recalls Amec Nuclear legal director Kevin Smith. "Now, though, it has suddenly become fashionable," he continues, "with law firms suddenly claiming they have got a nuclear law department". The shift in attitude began in 2003, counter-intuitively with the establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which subsequently opened up the decommissioning of various ageing nuclear plants, including Sellafield, to private companies. Around this time the Government's commitment to reduce its carbon emission levels, agreed under the Kyoto Protocol, came into force.
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Renewable energy: Great light hope
By Legal Week | September 23, 2009
There are growth markets, there are long-term bets and then there is renewable energy. But however many false dawns alternative energy has had over the years, in the long run the business of green energy and nuclear power looks certain to ultimately establish itself as a huge, globally-significant industry.
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