New Online Version of European Lawyer Now Available
To view the new online version of Issue 78, simply click here… read more
In June 2001, for the tenth issue of this magazine, we chose an image of Vermeer’s Astronomer, sat deep in thought over a celestial globe, to illustrate our first comprehensive analysis of the globalisation of law firms – at that time in full flow and causing widespread confusion as players within the legal profession responded in varying ways.… read more
Peace Brigades International (PBI) is a non-governmental organisation with teams of international volunteers in countries such as Colombia, Nepal, Indonesia, Mexico and Guatemala. These volunteers accompany human rights lawyers and other human rights activists who – because of their work – have been victims of kidnap attempts, death threats and physical assaults. … read more
What's in the cards for Europe's law firms?
The last decade has seen bewildering growth and change for the legal profession – an evolution that is far from finished. This sector in its modern form is still barely out of the cradle, yet globalisation is pushing ever harder on the accelerator while, at the same time, increasing legal needs are driving firms to offer faster, more sophisticated and more commoditised services.… read more
While many lawyers today have the future importance of China and India determinedly in their sights, or prefer to focus on their own region, Latin America still offers an alternative market to some independent firms. Spanish law firms are at the vanguard of handling work connected to Latin America, the result not only of their historical and cultural links but also because Spanish companies continue to seek out new markets beyond the Iberian peninsula. While entities such as Iberdrola, Telefónica, and banks like Banco Santander, have recently invested heavily in other EU markets, from the UK to Poland, they have been investing in South America for a decade. … read more
Only an extreme optimist could say Italy’s outlook is rosy at the moment. Despite recent years of growth and partial liberalisation, which has seen year-on-year expansion of the corporate legal market, the country seems to be drawn on a downward spiral. In some respects this is being forced by global events, but domestic instability is also a factor. The law is moreover one of the issues that has come under the spotlight.… read more
What have one of the world’s largest chemical companies, a leading German insurance provider and a prestigious manufacturer of sports cars got in common? Porsche, Allianz and BASF are all European Companies – that is, they have chosen Societas Europaea (SE) as the new legal form of their controlling companies and are pioneers in the practical application of the EU’s 2001 Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Company and the SE Directive governing the involvement of employees.… read more
Romania is a country on a roll. Since emerging from a painful recession at the end of the 1990s, its economy has been one of the fastest growing in Europe. This culminated in GDP increasing by nearly eight per cent in 2006 and six per cent in 2007.… read more
For the Netherlands legal market, even more than most jurisdictions, 2007 was a year to remember. Here, the global M&A bonanza of the first six months played itself out in an unprecedented spate of huge transactions, including the largest bank takeover in history – the epic battle for ABN Amro.… read more
Internet technology has been the catalyst for an international movement for the provision of free public access to statute and case law… read more
News from around Europe… read more
Risks all round… read more
Look est… read more
DLA’s regulatory ramp-up… read more
Dechert advised V&S Vin & Sprit AB on its sale to French drinks company Pernod Ricard for €5.63bn. V&S was put up for auction by its owners, the Swedish government, in December last year. London-based partner Douglas L Getter led the Dechert team that advised V&S on all international corporate and competition/antitrust aspects. McDermott Will & Emory advised V&S on IP and US liquor regulatory matters. The Kingdom of Sweden was advised by Vinge on the domestic side and Davis Polk and Wardwell internationally. Pernod was advised by Gernandt & Danielsson (Sweden), Debevoise & Plimpton (US), Macfarlanes (UK), and Gide Loyrette Nouel (France).… read more
Does the Commission’s white paper lack colour?
The European Commission’s much-anticipated white paper on damages actions for breach of EC antitrust rules was finally published on 3 April, two-and-a-half years after its December 2005 green paper presenting a variety of proposals on how to promote and facilitate both follow-on and stand-alone damages actions for competition law infringements in Europe. Given the potentially wide-ranging consequences should private antitrust enforcement become a reality, the green paper – the Commission’s first foray into this area – generated significant interest and debate among the legal and business communities in Europe and beyond. … read more
Anything they can do, we can do better
How far should companies go in advertising campaigns to make sure a product or service outshines its competitors? How far should the boundaries of honesty, accuracy and fairness be stretched? … read more
Airlines nosedive in surcharge settlement
The announced settlement with passengers in the BA-Virgin fuel surcharge action has convinced the mainstream UK media that the case is closed, but important procedural steps remain to be addressed by a US court. In addition, the proceedings also may have significant wider implications. … read more
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 – which came into force on 6 April 2008 – while clearly relevant to UK-based businesses, will also impact on those based elsewhere, so European companies need to be aware of its ambit.… read more
ECJ parries on privacy-copyright clash
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has missed an opportunity to clarify the position regarding clashes between the fundamental rights of privacy and confidentiality, and attempts to crack down on copyright infringement on the internet. … read more
A fraction more friction with auditors… read more
Promotion of renewable energy sources in Italy
Italian energy policy is currently focused on compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, implemented by Law n. 120 of June 1, 2002 and EU Directive 2001/77/EC on renewable energies. A Delegation of the Italian Parliamentary Technology Assessment body (‘Vast’) of the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies at the Annual meeting of European Parliamentary Technology Assessment on October 16-17, 2006 disclosed that the share of electric energy produced from plants using renewable sources in Italy amounted to 16.3% of the total energy production input to the national grid. Several measures have been introduced by the national and local governmental entities in an attempt to reach the target of 25% by 2010.… read more
There has been a long-standing link between Latin America and European countries. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed at the end of the 15th century, divided the newly-discovered land outside Europe into an exclusive duopoly between Spain and Portugal: the lands to the east would belong to Portugal and the lands to the west to Spain. In Latin America, Brazil was one of the few places that Spain did not seize to populate. More than five centuries later, the connection between these two countries can be seen as one of the strongest bonds of the European Union with Latin America.… read more
Combatting late payments in Romanian commercial transactions
he transposing into the Romanian legislation of the Directive 2000/35/CE of the European Parliament and Council (hereinafter ‘the Directive’) by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 119/2007 (hereinafter ‘GEO 119/2007’) regarding the measures for combating late payment in commercial contracts is part of the ample and on-going process of the harmonization of the Romanian legislation with the European legislation.… read more
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