9 May 2012
John Gapper of the Financial Times on how the end of Dewey symbolises the changes coming for large law firms:
“Like Lehman, Dewey was a second-tier institution that over-borrowed and overextended itself in a push to become one of its industry’s global elite…
…In austere times, with greater cost pressures, law firms cannot borrow money and make rash promises to force their way into the top tier. Those beneath the UK’s “magic circle” and firms such as Cravath and Davis Polk in the US will have to be more like utilities. They will be lower-margin businesses doing higher volumes of ordinary work, perhaps owned by outsiders.”
For more Dewey, see here.
Posted in Lawyers, United States |
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9 May 2012
Clinton Cards plc this morning had dealings in its shares suspended on the London Stock Exchange following an overnight coup by American Greetings Corporation – a move which may see AGC acquire some of the Clintons business via a pre-pack administration.
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Posted in Equity capital markets, Restructurings, Takeovers |
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9 May 2012
The two Bills in today’s Queen’s Speech that are of most interest from a company and financial law perspective are the:
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill
This will:
- Enshrine the “green” purpose of the Green Investment Bank, providing powers for it to operate including funding and ensuring its operational independence from Government.
- Create a single Competition and Markets Authority by combining the Competition Commission and the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading.
- “Strengthen the framework” for directors’ pay, specifically by repealing section 439(5) of the Companies Act 2006 making it possible for directors’ remuneration to be contingent on the outcome of the shareholder vote on the remuneration report. The expectation is that the Government’s March 2012 suggestion that a binding vote on quoted company directors’ pay would require a supermajority to pass will not go ahead, with the vote instead being an ordinary resolution requiring a simple majority to pass.
- Simplify the regulatory system and give “confidence to business that they will not be held back by outdated and unnecessary legislation”…no details of how that will be achieved.
Banking Reform Bill
This will:
- Give the Treasury powers to make provision for ring-fencing by requiring that essential banking services are only provided in a ring-fenced bank, and defining services that a ring-fenced bank may not provide.
- Require the Prudential Regulatory Authority to ensure that a ring-fenced bank in a group is, as far as possible, independent of other entities in the group.
- Provide that depositors are treated as preferred creditors, paid before unsecured creditors on insolvency, and so reduce the exposure of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the taxpayer in insolvency.
Government Briefing Notes on the Bills here.
Posted in Companies Act 2006 and company law, UK government |
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9 May 2012
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, in a consultation paper issued today, is proposing to put beyond doubt that IPO sponsors will have civil and criminal liability for untrue statements, including a material omission, in a prospectus.
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Posted in Consultations, Equity capital markets, Financial services and market conduct, Regulators |
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