A silver lining for law firms?

January 8, 2009

silver-lining.jpg

Last year wasn’t so bad for lawyers, for, as Julie MacIntosh writes in the FT, “Law firms were forced to get creative as banks scrambled to find novel ways to raise capital, dozens of parties sued each other over broken deals, and others wielded air-tight contracts as blunt instruments in order to get things done.”

This was good news for corporate lawyers, a breed which tends to toil quietly rather than with the brashness of, say, the typical litigator. MacIntosh again: “As dealmakers have focused recently on the intricate language of merger and credit agreements, corporate lawyers have stolen some of the spotlight usually reserved for investment bankers, buy-out investors and hedge fund managers.”

So far, so good – for corporate lawyers, at least. But 2009 isn’t looking so positive, “as the market distress that spurred last year’s frenzied bank deals cools from a boil to a simmer.” Or, as one global law firm head, speaking of bankers’ ability to pull in fees, puts it: “We definitely feed at the same trough.”

Wall Street firms recognise that they currently have more people at work than are actually working, but appear to be adopting a ‘grin and bear it’ approach, looking out for the eventual upturn and redeploying staff where possible in the meantime. The redeployment is to areas that are expected to be busy – restructuring, asset divestiture and bankruptcy. “That clearly will be the most vibrant piece of business, along with litigation in general that arises out of any sharp downturn in the financial markets,” says Robert Sheehan, executive partner of Skadden, Arps.

Does every cloud have a silver lining? Perhaps. Indeed, MacIntosh uses the phrase herself: “A silver lining will be bankruptcy and restructuring, where legal fees look poised to balloon this year.”

 

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Not so right said Fred

February 2, 2012
fred hat

So Farewell, then, Sir Fred Goodwin.

Now you are just Fred.

Not Right Said Fred, but plain Fred.

The Forfeiture Committee did for you.

No one had heard of it before,

But Dave said it had to act, and it did.

Trouble is that no one knows what to think.

Is it ‘Alas, poor Fred‘,

Or ‘Hurray! Sir Fred is dead!’?

We don’t know.

Do you?

By A. Mob, aged 1,378 and a half.

London Goes AWOL

January 31, 2012
CNN

STOP PRESS:

Fed up with being stuck on the Thames in south-east England, London yesterday decided to move. In a dramatic gesture which augurs ill for the Olympics, the city upped sticks and relocated to East Anglia.

Lawyers were not consulted about the move, and the city’s precise motivation remains unclear. However, financiers fear that London’s decision is a sign that it wishes to downsize. Moreover, a source from London said: “We no longer want to be Britain’s seat of power. If the Scots can deregulate, why can’t we? East Anglia is a nice place where nothing happens. It’s time for a quiet life. Please respect our right to privacy.”

Elsewhere, Birmingham did not do anything, but Manchester was seen to be packing its bags. “There’s an opportunity for us,” said Manchester. “We can become London.”

East Anglia said: “We don’t mind. It’ll be refreshing to be associated with something other than fens and flatness.”

A cartologist at CNN, which broke the extraordinary news, was later fired.

An excellent ad if ever there was one

January 25, 2012
legovader

We seem to be visually led this week but sometimes words proliferate far too much and letting an image do the talking is no bad thing. That’s another way of saying that ACCESS Agency’s work with Lego is absolutely top drawer.