From confessor to informer: lawyers’ lost battle for client confidentiality
After years of campaigning, it now seems the legal profession’s effort to escape from what it sees as the unacceptable requi… read more
How the Second Money Laundering Directive came out in the wash
The December 2006 report published by the City of London looks in detail at how the UK, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland and Lithuania… read more
Back in May 2005 we conveyed the hopes of Europe’s lawyers that they might yet avert threats to their profession contained in the Third Money Laundering Directive. Still reeling from the second directive’s impact, they were engaged in a last-minute attempt to arrest even greater erosion of the core client confidentiality principle.… read more
Tapping into the transatlantic market
When US and EU leaders meet in Washington DC on 30 April for their annual Summit, the economic part of their agenda is likely to feature prominently their resolve to complete the ‘transatlantic market’ with a regulatory framework that promotes business, supports job creation and places the world’s two biggest economic powers in the driving seat to stimulate global growth and sustainable development. … read more
The serenity of the Swiss legal market has for some time reflected its picture-perfect setting – until recently, that is. A dramatic upheaval within one of its most established firms has signalled that the tranquillity of the status quo may be under threat. The very public spat between five partners of Pestalozzi Lachenal Patry and its management has exposed vulnerability in one of the firms that have traditionally ruled the top tier of the market. And, on top of this, the leading players are facing an increasing threat from below.… read more
Swiss law firms report they have seen an excellent 2006, with growth in many areas. Partner Patrick Sommer of 40-lawyer CMS von Erlach Henrici comments: “We see that the most growth in 2006 has been in corporate law and M&A.” He adds that in line with this growth in merger activity there has been a rise in competition work for the firm. … read more
The energy sector is still in a frenzy following the takeover bout last year which saw Spanish, French, Italian and German companies involved in a series of aggressive and defensive moves to secure larger pan-European holdings and maintain their market share. Meanwhile the European Commission has been raising its voice in an attempt to gain tacit agreement to an unbundling policy that would see joint energy producers and suppliers decoupled. While these ongoing issues continue to keep lawyers busy, in the wake of these headline-making deals have been a flurry of smaller sell-offs, a huge growth in renewables projects arising from initiatives to combat climate change, and disputes, which have also become a rich source of work in the sector.… read more
Banking mergers menace In-house lawyers and private practice firms are keeping a sharp eye on developments in the banking sector following the announcement by the UK’s Barclays and Dutch bank ABN Amro that they are engaged in exclusive merger negotiations. The major banks, usually top of the list of private practices targeting clients, have revolutionised the ways in which they select lawyers over the last five years, moving to strict panel selection procedures that cause fierce competition in the private market. Firms are also expected to do a great deal more to earn their places on such panels, in some cases even guaranteeing that junior lawyers hold their accounts with the relevant banks. Barclays has been carrying out its biennial panel review with an internal analysis of its panel firms’ performance over the last two years. The word being put around is that its evaluation would maintain the status quo this time around. But what impact would a merger have on such a panel? It seems unlikely that both banks would maintain similar-sized panels once they had joined forces. The potential for conflicts of interest would increase. And the ramifications for in-house counsel are no less serious. Banks maintain huge in-house capabilities, but the chief motivation behind such mergers is cost-saving and many lawyers would doubtless see their jobs disappear. This is significant because the Barclays/ABN tie-up is seen as the first significant move in what might become a spate of European banking takeovers. If this materialises it will cause consternation and back-watching among in-house lawyers no less than their private practice counterparts. … read more
Over the years my research has led me to interview many law firm partners and one of the things that always strikes me is how passionate they become when talking about their organisations. They arrive (usually late), seeming preoccupied and often exhausted, and saying they can spare me only 15 minutes. Yet two hours later I am sneaking a look at my watch, wondering how on earth I can get them to stop talking! All I have done is ask some simple but pointed questions about their firm. It is often the first time they have been asked such questions, and it has unleashed a tide of passion.… read more
Saddam Hussein’s execution by hanging on 30 December 2006, following a trial that sentenced him to death for having ordered the massacre of 148 Shiites in Dujail, 1982, was the high profile culmination of proceedings that represented a gross failure in the process of bringing perpetrators of crimes against humanity to justice before special tribunals. Whatever may have been the crimes for which he was convicted, and however guilty Saddam Hussein and the others brought to court with him may have been – (some of whom were sentenced to death and hanged in equally dubious circumstances) – the execution and preceding trial before the special tribunal were neither acceptable nor appropriate as a judicial process in three particular regards: the questionable credibility and legality of the Iraqi Special Tribunal and its magistrates’ lack of independence; the trial proceedings’ lack of adherence to international fair trial standards; and also, of course, the principle and legality of the sentence imposed. Notably, the death penalty handed down on the former Iraqi head of state was illegal since it was delivered in application of provisions that infringe article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Iraq, according to which no sentence greater than the one applicable at the time the violation was committed can be imposed. (The death sentence, previously abolished, was re-instated by the interim Iraqi government in mid 2004, see below).… read more
Banking mergers bode mixed blessings
The rumblings in energy companies caused by last year’s wave of consolidation are still preoccupying the legal market. One factor behind the phenomenon was the pressure that the European Commission brought to bear on the industry with its sector enquiry concluding that consumers were being ripped off by monopolies. The Commission had another enquiry bubbling in the background into the banking sector and the first sign has now emerged that banks will now join the energy companies in a period of consolidation. This came in the form of Barclays’ and ABN Amro’s announcement that they are in exclusive negotiations relating to a possible merger. Dutch, Spanish and Italian banks have long been the subject of such speculation, and rumours have been circulating about Netherlands/Belgian player Fortis as a likely contender for merger. … read more
Stibbe has recruited banking and finance specialist Ivan Peeters as a partner as of 1 May. Currently a finance partner with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Brussels, Mr Peeters also spent six years as an in-house counsel with Kredietbank. His practice areas include structured finance (notably securitisation), debt capital markets, acquisition finance, real estate finance and regulatory issues in relation to financial institutions. … read more
Gleiss Lutz has advised US private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings on the acquisition, along with co-investors, of publisher Reader’s Digest. With 26 additional publications apart from their self-named main magazine, Reader’s Digest reaches more than 100 million readers. The deal is worth approximately €1.8 billion (US$2.4 billion), including debts assumed by Ripplewood, which is to integrate two of its media holdings, WRC Media and Direct Holdings US Corp, into the Reader’s Digest Group. Frankfurt-based partner Dr Jan Bauer led the transaction. … read more
Volkswagen to lose legislative safety features
The tone of the opinion was clear and the outcome to be expected – ECJ advocate-general Dámaso Ruiz-Colomer in February 2007 suggested that the Volkswagen Act (VW Act), which for more than four decades has shielded Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest automobile producer, from the risk of a takeover, was incompatible with article 56 of the EC Treaty. The VW Act essentially provides that no shareholder can exercise more than 20 per cent of its voting rights regardless of the size of its shareholding; that the German government and the government of the State of Lower Saxony each can fill two seats on Volkswagen’s supervisory board; and that the relevant majority required in the shareholders’ assembly for certain important decisions was raised from 75 per cent as required by law to 80 per cent. … read more
The European Commission’s 14 February announcement of its new internal market package for goods is likely to herald a new direction for the laws regulating EU cross-border trade, one which could significantly curtail the scope of national product safety rules in this context. … read more
Lawyers in France sense change coming their way. Bar leaders have observed the UK’s Clementi reforms with a mix of alarm and fascination. Ideas such as allowing outside investors to buy into UK law firms and supermarkets offering legal services seems to appal French traditionalists. And yet the Conseil National des Barreaux (CNB) believes Clementi-style develop-ments could one day happen here. … read more
The case concerning the authorship (and hence copyright ownership) of well-known ‘60s pop song ‘A whiter shade of pale’ has attracted widespread media coverage. It has also acted as a wake-up call for the music industry by demolishing a common misconception about the attribution of popular music authorship and prompting fears that an upsurge in such claims will hinder exploitation of musical copyrights.… read more
After a low-profile three years, Linklaters’ Italian practice made three surprise lateral hires in two weeks. Davide Mencacci arrived in January from Allen & Overy, joined by Andrea Arosio and Dario Longo (both from Pedersoli) in mid-February. The moves increased the partnership from two to five and took the total number of Linklaters’ fee-earners in Italy to 25.… read more
The success of the introduction of REITs in important western markets such as France, Belgium, Germany and the UK has prompted the Italian administration to introduce SIIQs (Società di Investimento Immobiliare Quotate, or, listed real estate investment companies).… read more
Viewing in a material world: EU revisits product placement
With long-awaited amendments to the Television Without Frontiers Directive currently being finalised by the European Parliament and Council, one of the key discussion issues is how the new directive should regulate product placement – that is, the placing or presentation of products, services or brands in films or television programmes, with an advertising agenda (and normally without informing the viewer about this purpose).… read more
“I am pleased to inform the House that the Attorney General of the US, the Lord Advocate of Scotland and I have agreed guidance for handling cross-border cases between the UK and US.” So said Lord Goldsmith QC, Attorney General, in a statement to the UK House of Commons on 25 January, outlining new guidelines intended to respond to widespread criticism of the lack of clarity on forum regarding cross-border cases that could be tried in either the UK or the US. The furore surrounding the UK’s controversial extradition arrangements with the US mounted throughout 2006, reaching a crescendo in October when the UK government faced a potential backbench rebellion in support of proposed amendments to the Extradition Act 2003. These changes, put forward by Shadow Home Affairs Minister Edward Garnier, would have restored the right of UK citizens to have a prima facie case made against them by US prosecutors seeking extradition: under the current arrangements in place since January 2004, no evidence has to be presented to be tested by a UK court, ‘information’ is sufficient. Even more importantly, they would have secured a ‘carve out’ for British citizens accused of offences alleged to have taken place on UK soil – a similar protection given to citizens of other countries that have bilateral extradition treaties with the US.… read more
Salans, one of the few firms expanding in the otherwise stagnant Berlin legal market, says numbers in its new German office will now remain stable at around 34 lawyers, following its acquisition of the Asia-orientated Travers Smith Berlin office in January and the hiring of a WilmerHale German regulatory law partner shortly afterwards. The US-French player’s move into the German market kicked off when it opened with most of the former Haarmann Hemmelrath (HH) in January 2006, a step that went hand in hand with expansion in other jurisdictions as well.… read more
Norway takes fresh bite at Apple iTunes
The Norwegian consumer ombudsman has received a great deal of attention recently in connection with his battle against iTunes SARL’s (‘iTunes’) (a subsidiary of Apple Computer Inc) standard terms and conditions for its iTunes Music Store. This action is only the beginning and iTunes’ competitors will also be followed up, the ombudsman has warned.… read more
De-skilling comes in two different packages: ‘subjective’, which we as lawyers do ourselves, and ‘objective’, which is thrust upon us by the economists who seek to regulate our profession, so they say, in the interest of consumers.… read more
Structured products in Switzerland: latest development figures
Switzerland is one of the world’s leading financial centres for both wealth management and also investment banking. Therefore asset management and investment advice are important businesses for the Swiss finance industry.… read more
Turkish energy sector: increasing in value
The Republic of Turkey is located between Europe and Asia, making Turkey’s geographical and geopolitical location a natural bridge. Three-fourths of the world’s known oil and gas resources are located in the region neighboring Turkey. Therefore Turkey has an important role as an energy player in the Middle East, Caspian regions and Western energy markets.… read more
Scratching the surface of medical nano-regulation
IntroductionThe use of nanotechnology has aroused much interest in the world of medical research because designing products at an atomic, or very, very small ‘nano’ level may allow for an extraordin-ary range of innovative possibilities, particularly advances in medical diagnoses and treatments. … read more
Emergence of an Austrian market for natural gas
Sector inquiry The Austrian Federal Competition Authority (FCA) launched a sector inquiry to investigate the status of the liberalisation process in the Austrian market for natural gas and to identify potential burdens to competition in this market and its relevant sub-markets in the year 2003. The final report on the results of this sector inquiry was published on the website of the Federal Competition Authority (www.bwb.gv.at) in November 2006.… read more
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