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Women in The Legal 500 – A step in the right direction but we need your help

When I joined The Legal 500 a year ago, one of the main ambitions I set out was to improve diversity in our rankings and, in particular, the proportion of cited women in the UK Solicitors guide. The reason was obvious – women are under-represented at senior levels in law firms and this has also historically been the case in many of our rankings.

Unconscious bias has long served as a barrier to entry for many talented female lawyers who were in many instances not being put forward for recognition, either by their firms or peers. However, with diversity increasingly on law firms’ agenda it was important for us to play our part by raising the profile of talented female lawyers who may otherwise have gone unmentioned in our research.

So, 12 months on, and a few weeks after the launch of the 2020 UK guide, how did we do? While in some areas (shipping being an obvious example) our rankings show we still have a long way to go, in other, marquee City practices, the results show significant progress.

Leaving aside practices with traditionally strong female representation, such as employment, family and some areas of insurance, women now make up more than 20% of all ranked lawyers across a number of high-profile areas.

Our premium M&A rankings, for example, now feature 22 women, equating to more than one third of all lawyers ranked, and the proportion is similar across both mid-market and smaller M&A. Our London private equity rankings, meanwhile – which previously featured no female leading individuals – are now more than 25% female.

For context, it should be noted that these figures include more junior, next generation partners, as well as our new category of rising stars, which recognise the best up-and-coming non-partners.

However, while there is still room for improvement at the most senior level, we believe that by recognising female talent at an earlier stage of their career, we will be able to continue to track them as their career progresses and they – hopefully – reach the top tier of leading individuals in their area.

In some areas, we have already made big strides in recognising women at the top of their game, such as acquisition finance, a ranking which previously included no female leading individuals but which is now more than 20% female after the addition of seven women including Clifford Chance’s Emma Folds and Allen & Overy star Denise Gibson.

Similarly, almost a quarter of the leading individuals in our premium M&A table are now female, compared with just 5% last year, while for white collar and corporate crime, more than one in three of those ranked at the highest level are women.

Naturally, it is disappointing that in other areas there are still not enough women among our leading individuals. However, the pipeline of talent we have found at associate and junior partner level makes me confident we are now better placed to recognise the leading individuals of tomorrow. Overall, I am pleased that we have made significant progress in some areas, but fully accept that there is much more to do, particularly outside London.

So we still need your help. Our individual rankings will not change fast enough if our research team are not told about talented women – and other minority lawyers – within your ranks. While many listened to last year’s call to arms and made a concerted effort to tell us about deserving women within their firms, others simply did not. Indeed, in some quarters there remains old-school resistance to the idea that we should even be asking such questions. Tough.

This is a cause we will be continuing to push so, with the next research period just around the corner, we would encourage you to put forward more of your talented women – and other minority lawyers – for consideration in next year’s rankings. We can only go so far without you.

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All go in Monaco

The Principality of Monaco is well known for the extravagant lifestyle of its high rollers; for the super-yachts that line the marina; the low tax rates; the Grand Prix (the street race, arguably, the most glamorous on the circuit); as the home of numerous high-flying residents; and, more recently, for The Legal 500’s coverage of the jurisdiction. Alright, I’m stretching, it’s more well-known as the home of Lewis Hamilton than it is for the law firm rankings. However, what is true is that we certainly didn’t take a gamble when we decided to introduce a Monaco chapter to the EMEA guide back in 2015, with firms keen to submit to the newly introduced commercial, corporate and M&A, and private client practice areas.

Monaco’s close ties with France, the country’s status as a ‘third country’ with the EU, and its membership of the Eurozone – it adopted the euro in 2002 – combined with its low tax rates have contributed to the sovereign state’s thriving financial services sector. A heavily regulated industry, banking activities in Monaco are frequently subject to, and authorised by, French banking regulations. The country’s banking activity is licensed by the French Prudential Control and Resolution Authority, which controls the activities of banks and insurance companies. Furthermore, Monaco also has a Monetary Agreement in place with the EU which ensures that the regulatory environment remains consistent with that of EU member states. One direct impact of the Monetary Agreement saw Monaco introduce further measures to tackle anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, which came into force in July 2018. Of note was the introduction of an anonymous whistle-blower system that allows employees to report anti-money laundering breaches, as well as the introduction of new administrative penalties and criminal offences that are applicable to both senior executives and entities. Ultimately, these measures have provided a green light to creating a more secure and attractive banking environment.

Away from the banking industry, it is also a particularly exciting time in the country’s real estate sector, with the Portier Cove development impressive in both its scope and ambition. Land is particularly scarce in Monaco and, as a result, the country has been forced to be innovative and inventive in its approach to tackling this. The Portier Cove development is a $2.4bn land reclamation project which will see the seabed dredged and the land filled with imported sand before construction work begins on a new development. The completion date has been set for 2025 and will see the creation of residential and public space on what is currently the Mediterranean Sea. Residential space remains at a premium as Monaco continues to be a popular destination for jet setters drawn to the sun, opulent lifestyle, and the (equally sexy) lack of a personal income tax levied on residents – a major draw if you back yourself to clean up in the casinos of Monte Carlo.

Ayrton Senna is ubiquitous with the Monaco circuit due to his record of six race victories – the most of any F1 driver. This outright dominance is not seen in the Monaco legal market, perhaps inevitably due to its size and the number of practice areas, with a number of firms across the paddock all heavyweights in the market.

Unsurprisingly for a country considered a tax haven, the work featured in firms’ private client submissions has tended to focus on wealth management, succession planning, asset protection, and related contentious matters, with firms acting for the ultra-high-net-worth individuals that reside in the sovereign state. Reflective of the fact that a high proportion of Monaco’s residents tend to be foreign-born, practitioners in this area include those who are English, French, and US qualified.

CMS Pasquier Ciulla Marquet & Pastor and Gordon S. Blair Law Offices have sat at the top of the private client leader board since the introduction of the Monaco chapter in 2015. With a focus equivalent to the Formula One World Constructors' Championship – meaning the elite law firms in a rankings context – over the first few years following the introduction of the chapter, it was not until 2018 that we first introduced individual rankings. We recognised only two leading individuals in the inaugural private client leading individual ranking before expanding this significantly in 2019 with eight individuals now featured. We are yet to identify the bright, young prospects in the private client market and, at the moment, do not have any next generation lawyers (NGLs) for this practice area.

The situation only improves marginally when we also consider the commercial, corporate, and M&A ranking, with just one individual identified as an NGL in this area. This largely seems to be representative of the senior status of many of the lawyers in the market, with the vast majority well-established practitioners with considerable experience in the Monégasque market and, frequently, other jurisdictions. With succession planning an issue for all firms, regardless of size or location, it will be interesting to see which stars begin to emerge on the rankings grid in the years to come. n

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Indonesia’s fintech revolution

‘Indonesia needs a financial revolution, which will ultimately democratise access to the best financial products.’ These are the words of Claudia Kolonas, founder of fintech start-up Pluang, which recently received $3m in funding from Indonesia tech giant Go-Jek and is one of 167 fintech start-ups now operating in Indonesia.

The demand for fintech is quite simple: Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world but half of the population (approximately 132 million) do not have access to a bank account. The country is a series of archipelago islands and many locals do not live close to a bank branch, or have the infrastructure to easily travel to one. This gap in the market is substantial, with a Redseer Report forecasting the fintech market to be worth $50bn in 2023, a major leap from its current valuation at $7bn.

Another factor at play is Indonesia’s emerging middle class and their increased spending power. Nielsen’s 2018 Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey found that Indonesia is the third most optimistic country in the world after India and the Philippines (developing countries tend to be higher than developed). The index assesses consumers on their job prospects, spending intentions, and outlook on the economy.

‘Indonesia is increasingly seen as a market not to be missed by investors,’ says David Dawborn, senior international counsel for Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung, a Jakarta-based law firm which works in association with Herbert Smith Freehills.

‘It makes up more than one-third of the population in Southeast Asia so in terms of size it is definitely an attractive market for investors looking to expand in the region. For fintech players, Indonesia is also attractive because of the relatively high smartphone usage and internet penetration as well as affordable mobile data.

‘Most of the activities currently revolve around the electronic payment and online lending sub-sectors, but we are starting to see more initiatives in relatively newer sub-sectors, such as insurtech.’

Electronic payments are typically conducted through digital ‘e-wallets’, which as the name suggests is a service that allows you to make transactions and store money through an electronic device. Leading the way in this space is GoPay, a spinoff of Go-Jek – Indonesia’s first ‘decacorn’ company (valued at over $10bn). According to The Jakarta Post, transactions made using GoPay in February alone reached $6.3bn, nearly 70% of Gojek’s total transactions.

The company emerged from humble beginnings as a moped ride hailing app in 2010, which was in demand due to the notorious traffic problem in Jakarta. Coming to the close of 2019, the company is expected to raise another $2bn, with major backers for the company including Google, Mitsubishi, Visa, and Chinese gaming giant Tencent Holdings.

For online lending, a number of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms have emerged where lenders and debtors are matched with one another. The figures for companies in this space are particularly impressive with the SME lending service Koinworks receiving $16.5m in funding in June, while JULO, which provides consumer loans, received $10m in funding in September. The Indonesian financial services authority – OJK – found that registered lenders have channelled $1.1bn in loans to 2.8 million borrowers since December 2016. However, the growth of P2P lending has not been completely positive with a number of cases of loan shark behaviour. These instances have encouraged the OJK to input stricter regulations on the market.

‘The challenges typically revolve around the complexity of the regulatory framework but the government and regulators are continuously trying to improve this,’ says Dawborn. ‘In fact, they have been generally supportive of fintech developments by adopting a light touch approach and partnering with fintech associations.’

In January 2019, new regulations were introduced by the OJK to create a much clearer legal framework for fintech. Key issues these new regulations addressed include consumer education, data security, and preventing any criminal activity. Fintech companies are registered through a ‘sandbox’ approach where they operate at a small scale under the authority’s supervision. The general aim is to control the rapid growth of fintech in a way that, hopefully, won’t stifle further growth and innovation.

As for the legal market, a number of law firms are capitalising on the major deals being done in this space. Indonesia has a closed legal market so many domestic firms operate in association with international firms. For example, Herbert Smith Freehills’ affiliate, Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung, recently advised the Chinese tech giant Taobao on a $1.1bn investment into the Indonesian e-commerce company ‘Tokopedia’; Baker McKenzie’s associated firm, Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners, represented the Indonesian conglomerate Astra International on a joint venture with the Hong Kong fintech company WeLab for a separate P2P lending platform in Indonesia; and Allen & Overy’s associated firm, Ginting & Reksodiputro, advised Go-Jek on its acquisition of three of the country’s leading fintech businesses.

It’s also important to note that the major Indonesian banks have by no means turned a blind eye to the growth in fintech, and have set up venture funds that invest specifically in fintech start-ups. Bank Mandiri, the largest state-owned bank in Indonesia, has a venture fund dedicated specifically to fintech start-ups and has a budget of $37m.

Looking towards 2020 and beyond, Dawborn believes that fintech will continue to grow and expand. ‘It is an interesting sector to watch and be part of because of the constant innovation and interaction between the traditional financial services institutions and the new players.’

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Per M. Ristvedt: The benefits of being ‘first’

As a business, how has Schjødt evolved since you have been at the firm?

What has changed most over the years in Schjødt is that there is a need for the firm to be organised and run in an optimised manner, since the response time in regards to many of the assignments are often quite short. This means that the firm needs to be very effective in allocating matters to the people with the right skills and who also have the time to serve the clients within the time frame they expect or demand. Then, you also need to have lawyers who connects well with the clients.

What do you think are the top three things most clients want, and why?

First, clients want the right legal advice. Second, it applies value if the legal advice is also commercially viable (if possible).

Third, the advice must be provided within the timeframe the clients need it. If the lawyer does these three things, and otherwise is engaged in the matter and available to the client, the clients’ expectations are normally met or perhaps even exceeded.

What are the biggest challenges facing firms in Norway?

The Norwegian industry has not yet faced any big challenges, in my opinion. The market has been good, and demand for our services has been quite constant, despite the oil crises in 2014 and onwards. The way we see things is that the firms who cannot act as a one-stop-shop may experience some challenges in the years ahead. This is one of the reasons we decided to merge with the Swedish law firm Hamilton, so that we are not only a one-stop firm in Norway but in the Scandinavian region.

The merger with Hamilton is the first of its kind in the Nordic market. What led to the decision to make this move into the Swedish market and to be the first Norwegian firm to merge with a Swedish counterpart?

The main reasons for the Schjødt-Hamilton merger are that we become the first leading law firm in Scandinavia to establish operations covering both Norway and Sweden, which provides new and further growth opportunities in Scandinavia.

Hamilton is considered the perfect match – not too big and not too small. Via the merger we become the biggest law firm in Norway. Schjødt also becomes one of the largest law firms in the Nordic countries and thereby a significant player in the Scandinavian market. We will become about 250 lawyers. Combined, after the merger, the M&A team at Schjødt will be the market leader in the Nordic region.

Why do you think it has taken so long for there to be a cross-border merger of this kind?

We know that other law firms have contemplated this, but none have had the guts to try it. When the merger was announced several of the other firms in Norway complemented us and actually told us: ‘This is impressive, only Schjødt could do this.’

What impact do you feel this will ultimately have on both the Norwegian and Swedish markets? Do you feel others will follow suit?

Maybe, it’s hard to say. If it should happen, we welcome the competition and Schjødt will have an edge as being the ‘first mover’.

Which aspects of each firm do you feel will most benefit from the merger?

We have analysed this carefully, and we actually foresee opportunities and growth possibilities in most departments of our firm. As indicated above, we believe the merger will be particularly noticeable within the M&A segment.

How will your client base benefit from the merger?

Sweden is Norway’s most important trading partner in the Nordic region. We believe clients will benefit via seamless and first-class service to clients with operations in the Norwegian and Swedish markets.

With each firm having its own unique culture, how are you approaching combining the two cultures into a cohesive firm, particularly regarding the differences between the Norwegian and Swedish legal markets? Do you think there will be any challenges?

You are right that there are some differences in cultures between the firms and also in the Norwegian and Swedish legal markets. However, these are matters that have been carefully considered, and we see them more as opportunities. The respective firms are fully aware of what is expected of each other. Furthermore, both firms really wanted this merger. We have a very strong and joint belief in both Hamilton and Schjødt that this merger will be a success and we will work hard to make it happen.

What are the key aims for the firm beyond the merger? What do you hope to accomplish going forward?

The merged firm will become a truly international law firm, with offices in three countries. While Sweden is Norway’s biggest and most important trading partner in the Nordic Region, England is Norway’s most important trading partner in Europe. Such a Scandinavian venture as the merger between Schjødt and Hamilton represents, thus provides greater growth opportunities both in Norway, Sweden, and also in England.

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Marta Colomar-Garcia: Diversity is our strength

As administrative managing partner you lead the administration of Diaz Reus’ 27 global offices. Can you tell me a bit more about how you came to be in the role?

I have had this title for two and a half years now. I started as an associate at Diaz Reus in 2009. When I started at Diaz Reus I was the only woman attorney and the only foreigner. I am actually from Spain and I am a qualified lawyer in Spain as well as in the United States. I worked really hard as an associate. (I have plenty of stories about my early days – lots of stories of sleepless nights and cancelled vacations.) After six years I was promoted to partner. Michael Diaz, Jr, our founding partner, really believed in my work, my dedication, and my professionalism. Being the only woman partner in the Miami office, the firm’s headquarters, gave me a voice at partner level and I was able to recommend certain changes to the procedures in the firm. Those were heard and adopted. As a result, things improved. Michael Diaz, Jr appreciated that I cared so much about making things better and as a result I was promoted to administrative managing partner. I was very humbled and took that position with great honour.

It is noted that you are bilingual and able to arbitrate in both Spanish and English in Miami. Are there not many attorneys who can do this?

No, in my experience not many US lawyers can do it. Miami has become a hub for arbitration, especially for Latin American clients. Being able to have your lawyers handle an arbitration both in English and Spanish is an asset. That does not only mean being able to speak the language or understanding the culture; it also means understanding the civil law system. We have achieved that by hiring lawyers with degrees both in the US and in civil law countries such as Colombia or Spain. That gives the client a strategic and financial advantage. Hiring local counsel everywhere can get expensive, not only because that requires different retainers and fee structures, but also because clients need more staff in-house to keep track of everything. When one law firm can deliver everything everywhere, the client saves money, and who doesn’t like that?

What has changed within the firm during your time there?

A lot. When I started as an associate in 2009 the firm was an international arbitration and litigation boutique that was starting to grow. In ten years we have reached new markets and are servicing our clients in other areas of the law. We are now a full-service law firm with 27 offices in the world. In 2018 we launched the ‘DRT International Law Firm & Alliance’ to formalise our relationships with the foreign offices, and we celebrate a yearly retreat.

The firm has also grown in terms of diversity. As I said, when I started as an associate in 2009 I was the only woman lawyer and the only foreigner. It was a very different law firm from what it is now. Today our team includes both women and men, and everyone is treated the same. This is part of the culture that comes from the top. Gender-equality is a topic that I really care about, and I always try to give advice and guidance to the younger associates in that regard.

Diversity is something that the firm has worked on a lot. In fact, we believe that our diversity is our strength. If you look at our website you will see that our team is formed by people from different backgrounds and ethnicities, who speak different languages, and have different cultures. Management has certainly seen the value in having a diverse group of people (from lawyers to legal support) as a team and it has become our identity.

Do you think the hire of more female attorneys has changed the firm?

Yes, absolutely. It has brought the firm together more. I have found that women are better planners, which is a great quality as a lawyer. Also, having women on teams boosts group collaboration and improves team processes. Clients also come from all different walks of life. The more diverse we are, the more we reflect our clients, which results in better and more effective communication. Women are great at multitasking and can wear many hats. These are very valuable skills that benefit the team and the firm as a whole.

In addition to the recruitment of more diverse lawyers, does the firm get involved in other diversity-related activities?

We get involved in activities within the community. We are involved in a project with the black community in Miami. That extends to our office in Johannesburg, South Africa. Along with our local partner, we want to help the black community in their quest to achieve fairness in land ownership and land titles. In South Africa the community is 90% black, but 90% of private property is in white hands. We want to help them reach a solution to this problem. The firm has experience in this area through the representation of the Miccosukee tribe here in Florida and their initiative in Congress to enact laws whereby the property that was appropriated from the tribe was given back to them. We are transferring that knowledge and experience to South Africa to see if we can assist them in achieving the same goals.

There is also a group of black lawyers in South Africa who are creating a parallel bar association to support black lawyers and they want us to be a part of that. We are very excited about this initiative.

Is the opening of the office in Johannesburg part of an overall expansion programme or is it the only new location planned at the moment?

We are always looking at different markets – wherever our clients have needs we try to set a footprint so we can assist them seamlessly. We want to serve our clients locally and meet the clients where they are, with the capacity to assist them in everything and everywhere. I think that we have done that very well and continue to do so. But opening a new office involves careful thought and research regarding not only new hires, but also regarding the new market’s practice characteristics, rates, clients expectations, and local idiosyncrasies. The firm’s expansion programme aim is to have a local footprint in a global world.

What would you say your biggest challenges are as a firm?

The biggest challenges come from technology and client demands. Clients demand more for less, and the only way to achieve that is through technology and making processes simpler. Today there are programmes for everything from time-keeping to brief-writing. However, law is still a very conservative profession and sometimes it can be challenging to have everyone adapt to new things.

Is there anything else about Diaz Reus that you think sets you apart?

I think we are unique in many ways. All our cases have an international component: either the client is from outside the US, or the cause of action arises in another country, or the applicable law is foreign. Our cases involve complex issues of law and are intellectually challenging. They are all different and that makes it fun. We are a big law firm in terms of size and in terms of the type of cases and deals that we handle for our clients, but we do not sacrifice our family-oriented way of doing things. That reflects on the type of work we do and the attention that we devote to our clients and their legal matters. We are not a volume law firm and are lucky to be able to choose what cases we like. The culture of the firm is to make everyone feel part of the team – part of the Diaz Reus family.

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Spotlight on: Kirkland & Ellis – tax on the rise

Helen Donegan: Can you provide a brief overview of your tax practice group?

Dean Shulman: We have developed one of the finest transactional tax practices across all our US offices, as well as in London and Munich. As of the end of September 2019 we have 132 lawyers in the tax practice firmwide, whereas in 2014 we had about 60 tax lawyers. Our primary focus is on collaborating with our mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, investment funds, capital markets, and real estate practices to provide best-in-class service to our broad client base.

HD: Congratulations on your team’s success in the international tax rankings over the past couple of years. What would you attribute your team’s rise in the rankings to?

DS: Our rise in the rankings is the by-product of continuing to add top-of-the market tax talent into our already robust tax practice. We have augmented our historically dominating private equity M&A business with a strategic M&A business to create an unparalleled position in global M&A. Some firms have a major presence in one or the other, but to be so strong in each is rare. Add to that our restructuring and investment funds practices and it is a powerful combination and very synergistic. Having a tax group that can handle such a broad and unmatched range of transactional matters has been a critical component to the success and growth of our transactional practices. By adding star tax lawyers across all our offices, and more than doubling the size of the tax practice over the past five years, we have positioned ourselves as leaders in the transactional tax world.

HD: The Legal 500 research does consider the bench strength of law firm teams. Other than the obvious strengthening, what has been the impetus behind your lateral hires?

DS: We have consciously worked to hire fantastic tax lawyers in all of our offices at all experience levels, and believe we have been successful in doing so. In large part, this has been necessary to match the extraordinary growth the firm’s transactional practices have seen across offices.

HD: What do you think is the best way of attracting talent to your team?

DS: I think it’s convincing them that they will work in a collegial environment, with incredibly smart people on the most interesting transactions in the marketplace. Usually when lateral candidates meet our team it sells itself. The level of candidate really isn’t what we focus on – we want really smart people who work collaboratively within our group and with their colleagues across the firm in all offices. I think the proof that it has worked is we have successfully and regularly hired fantastic tax lawyers, both at the entry level as well as from our competitors, and have lost very few of our tax lawyers to competitor firms. And candidly, we aren’t huge fans of hiring partners through head-hunters. We like to hire lawyers that we know well from working on transactions.

HD: Your website says Kirkland are committed to ‘fostering an environment in which [lateral hires] are seamlessly integrated’ into the firm’s culture. How is this achieved?

DS: Frankly, we have a lot of experience integrating laterals and I think the culture of the firm is that existing lawyers realise that hiring strong laterals has been a real contributing factor to the continuing growth and success of the firm as a whole. I joined the firm about five years ago after many years at another large law firm and felt completely integrated into Kirkland within a couple of weeks of joining. I saw immediately the culture of collaboration (among home-grown and lateral attorneys), and how it was and still continues to be a secret sauce to the firm’s success. It leads to being open-minded in considering new approaches to things like business development, training, and staffing. For example, I have found at Kirkland that almost all new business efforts involve a tax lawyer – which is not necessarily the case at other firms. I have personally seen that inclusive approach to business development lead to significant new clients and business opportunities. Said differently, adding the best practices of other fine firms to existing Kirkland best practices has been a pretty potent force.

HD: How well does the tax practice group represent the firm’s overall commitment to diversity and inclusion?

DS: If you look at our lateral hires in the last few years in the tax group you can see that we take diversity seriously. We work really hard in our group to meet the challenges of – and the firm’s commitment to – diversity. Diversity and inclusiveness is important to the firm leadership, both because it is the right thing to do and also because our clients rightfully expect it. The opportunity to harness different viewpoints is always a plus in my experience, especially in an area as complicated as tax law. In the last 12 months we’ve hired terrific diverse tax lawyers in several of our offices. Kirkland continues to attract women and diverse attorneys to the firm through a combination of active on-campus recruiting, participation in diversity career fairs, and consideration of candidates from a broad base of law schools. We continually refine our initiatives to promote diverse hiring, including participating in diversity job fairs across the nation, promoting our 1L Diversity Scholars and 2L Diversity Fellowship programmes and ALLSA initiative, and expanding our mentoring programmes for women, racial/ethnic, and LGBT law students. Inside the firm, in 2018 Kirkland held 191 diversity and inclusion events, including 66 women’s leadership events, 64 LGBTQ+ events, and 61 Diversity Leadership Series and other initiative events.

HD: What do you think was your team’s greatest success in the past year? And why?

DS: There are many, but I would say it would be continuing to play a major role in the success of our transactional teams that have put us at the top of the league tables in number of transactions executed and dollar volume year after year, as well as handling the largest and most complex restructuring and investment fund matters. As an example, we are representing long-time client Bristol-Myers Squibb in the $90bn acquisition of Celgene, as well as continuing to represent many of the leading private equity firms in their fund raising and M&A activity. You don’t get into that leading position in so many areas without a world-class tax department with the breadth and expertise to handle any deal in the marketplace at the highest levels.

HD: Our Historical Data shows that, within Kirkland, your team has seen the most consistent rise in the rankings over the past couple of years. Do you undertake independent practice group activities to improve performance, or are all activities linked to efforts of the firm overall?

DS: One area in which we work to improve performance is by working very hard to train our younger tax lawyers through both formal and informal training and mentoring programmes. We have monthly tax lunches as well as other formal training programmes that provide substantive training in all areas of tax law. We take seriously the role of annual reviews so we can provide constructive feedback to our attorneys at all levels – and the firm overall takes the review process very seriously and we think it helps attorneys develop and take command of their careers. These activities and programmes are, in most cases, an integrated part of Kirkland’s leading attorney training programmes across the firm and all our offices.

HD: What do you think you do differently to your competitors?

DS: I think we try to think of ourselves as an integral part of our transactional practices in a way that other competitor firms may not. In other words, we are proud to be part of a world-class tax department but also feel our best and highest mission is to enhance the overall success of the firm by being an integral part of our wider transactional practices (M&A, investment funds, restructuring, capital markets, and real estate). Law firms succeed when lawyers work seamlessly together across practice areas to deliver best-in-class outcomes to clients, and that is what our tax practice does. We pay little attention to billing credit or the number of hours a lawyer bills. We care a lot more about an attorney’s ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, and to meet our clients’ needs whenever and wherever they arise.

HD: What would you say are the biggest changes or challenges on the horizon for corporate tax within the US, and how will this affect your team?

DS: We hope to see continued strength in our transactional practices because they are so diverse and international in scope. Tax reform has certainly created its complexities and challenges, not only in the cross-border tax world but also in the restructuring of troubled companies. But we have not seen a reduction in the need for our tax skill-set and, in fact, it has increased because of the significant and broad structural impact of the new law. As an example, in some cases, tax reform has made the efficient restructuring of over-leveraged companies more difficult, and our leading restructuring tax practice has become even more vital in making sure businesses can survive following a restructuring of their debt, whether in or out of bankruptcy.

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Focus on…Appleby

Appleby is one of the world’s leading international law firms. Their global teams of legal specialists advise public and private companies, financial institutions and private individuals.

They are a full service law firm providing comprehensive, expert advice and services across corporate, dispute resolution, property, regulatory and private client and trusts practice areas. They work with their clients to achieve practical solutions whether from a single location or across multiple jurisdictions.

They are regularly recognised for their professionalism, integrity and excellence, and these are the values they pride themselves on and are at the core of their business. They operate in 10 highly regarded and well-regulated global locations. These include the key offshore jurisdictions of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, and the Seychelles, as well as the international financial centres of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Their global presence enables them to provide comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional legal advice at the times most beneficial to their clients.

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Jeffrey Kirk

What do you do differently from other offshore firms?

Our clients have always been at the core of our business and we believe that our global model helps support them, when they need us the most.

Our ability, where required, to draw on specialist expertise from our wider local and global network of practices to assist on individual client matters, or to resource larger matters with fee earners from other offices, enables us to consistently provide a strong and experienced team for our clients. We pride ourselves on our cross-jurisdictional collaborative approach that you may not see at other offshore law firms.

Our jurisdictional footprint including jurisdictions such as Mauritius, Isle of Man and Seychelles together with the more traditional offshore financial centres based in the Channel Islands and Overseas Dependent Territories of the UK give us a unique jurisdictional offering.

We also understand that the offshore and regulatory markets are changing and clients need information that is accessible and easy to digest. Economic substance is an excellent example of this, where regulatory changes are continuing to be implemented across a number of our jurisdictions. As well as sending client communications and delivering presentations and talks to educate them on these new requirements, we also developed an Online Economic Substance Entity Classification Questionnaire, which offers clear and concise guidance through the economic substance regimes of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey. In the first month alone, over 1,500 clients accessed our tool from over 70 countries.

What is your firm’s approach to competition between offshore jurisdictions?

At Appleby, we don’t view the different offshore jurisdictions as being in competition with one another. Our main focus is our client’s needs. Our global presence enables us to provide comprehensive legal advice at the times most critical to them. This includes providing BVI law advice to clients in the Asian, North and South American, Caribbean and European time zones, from our BVI, Cayman, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Jersey and Isle of Man offices.

In addition, thanks to our local presence in the jurisdictions of Seychelles and Mauritius, we are able to offer advice on group structures involving companies incorporated or operating in these two Indian Ocean jurisdictions. This ability is increasingly attractive to clients in Mainland China, and puts us in a market leading position in the offshore capital markets space. We are also the only offshore law firm operating in each of the Crown Dependencies meaning the team are able to provide joined up support for our large banking and institutional clients across all three jurisdictions. So rather than seeing each offshore jurisdiction as competition, we believe our extensive offshore global network is one of our greatest collective strengths.

What does innovation mean to you and how can firms be better at it?

Firms must be adaptable and responsive to their client’s needs; this includes changing processes and procedures and also having robust contingency plans in place for when the unexpected happens.

During Hurricane Irma for example, we had crisis management plans in place before this terrible storm struck. First and foremost we prioritised ensuring our colleagues and their families in the BVI were safe and once we were certain of this we were able to turn our attention to ensuring our business continued to operate with minimal disruption to our clients. Corporate and Dispute Resolution Partners and associates were relocated to other jurisdictions during and after the storm and our business continuity plan was executed successfully, with client enquiries and communications to our BVI office being handled via our international network of offices, across a number of time zones. We also have numerous BVI qualified lawyers in other Appleby offices (including the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Isle of Man and Hong Kong). These lawyers have complete access to our BVI systems and were able to deal with existing matters and new instructions. In addition we are consistently innovative in our thinking with regard to both the services we provide and the sectors that we cover. For example, we led the way amongst the offshore firms by establishing a Global Technology and Innovation (T&I) Working Group, made up of colleagues with a range of T&I specialisms to help support clients across a broad range of emerging technologies. The global group is recognised as a leading offshore practice in this fast moving sector.

How does your firm handle technology and data security? Has this become even more important following recent law firms hacks?

Information security is a part of our culture which emanates from the leadership team across the entire ambit of our whole business. In 2017 we appointed a Head of Information Security who oversees security across our network and is a recognised leader in this field.

Our Information Security systems and protocols are not limited to IT security but extend to facilities and individual security measures and our Information Security Team has helped us to achieve ISO27001 accreditation. The changes and security enhancements that we have implemented and the ISO270001 accreditation, are developments that we are incredibly proud of and we have communicated this to our clients.

Our systems have been reviewed and tested by two international cyber security teams. It is now a common feature for law firms to have their systems tested by external cyber teams. However, we are not aware of any competitor law firm having undertaken this testing twice by separate cyber security teams. This level of investment is indicative of our commitment and responsibility in securing our clients’ data.

What does diversity and inclusion mean to you? and, is d&i more difficult offshore?

Our colleagues represent a wide range of nationalities, demographics, races, religions and cultures. With a global network spanning ten jurisdictions, we are an inherently diverse business and this is reflected at all levels, with colleagues of more than 30 nationalities globally. We pride ourselves on our inclusive approach which ultimately offers significant benefits to both our colleagues and our clients through improved organisational agility and local knowledge.

Women also make up more than half of the global Appleby team. Our diverse culture is also reflected in our leadership team in which a number of female colleagues together with colleagues from different ethnicities and orientations hold key leadership positions. Half of our managing partner roles and Directorships are held by women.

What should young lawyers know about working offshore, compared to onshore?

It is important to emphasise to young lawyers that are considering making a move offshore that whilst such a move may result in a healthier work-life balance, the demands and work ethic in an offshore firm are often as demanding as a leading onshore law firm. A number of our qualified lawyers include those who have experience working in onshore financial centres and accordingly understand the demands faced by clients and intermediaries. As we work regularly alongside onshore law firms based in all the major financial centres including London, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, this is a further benefit for our clients.

The benefits of a reduced work commute or the ability to take an early morning sea swim or surf before work must be balanced with the understanding that the offshore centres’ infrastructure and cultural entertainment facilities will not rival that found in London or Hong Kong. It is important for any candidates considering making a move offshore to thoroughly research the jurisdiction that they are contemplating moving to. Challenges related to, for instance, a lack of public transport and therefore the need to be a licensed driver; travel distances and time and cost it takes in travelling to the UK or other home jurisdictions; or infrastructure challenges such as WIFI connectivity, occasional intermittent power and the possibility of hurricanes in the Caribbean offshore centres must be recognised and accepted.

Notwithstanding these challenges, we see ever greater numbers of young onshore lawyers who have made the move offshore electing to remain offshore on a permanent basis. My belief is that this growth is driven by the quality, complexity and sophistication of the work coupled with the benefits of work-life balance, working in smaller teams with greater levels of interaction amongst all team members and greater autonomy and responsibility on the individual lawyer.

Offshore financial centres provide a crucial role in cross-border investment, finance and trade activities and will continue to do so in the future. This will in turn continue to require bright, technically strong and driven lawyers to service client needs in these types of transactions and corporate and commercial work.

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Katrina Edge: Our focus on innovation, collaboration and flexibility is a key differentiator

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

Our focus is on delivering market-leading client service by being the most advanced offshore firm in digital service delivery and innovation. We have rolled out an award-winning, cross-jurisdictional initiative to streamline our transaction processes, promote a culture of continuous improvement and ultimately deliver a better client experience.

As part of this firm-wide infrastructure investment and development programme, we train all employees in process-mapping skills. This involves our legal teams working alongside our dedicated service innovation team to streamline and refine the way that client work is undertaken, to deliver a more efficient, consistent and transparent service for clients. This means clients know exactly what to expect from us and when.

What does innovation mean to you and how can firms be better at it?

I think it’s all about approach. The delivery of legal services has changed, with clients wanting concise commercial advice. In essence, “is this an issue or not?”.

Our strategy of “getting to the point” has embraced that – as the work gets more complex, it becomes even more important to give straight, commercial advice that cuts through the complexity and legal jargon. We have invested heavily in training our teams to support this ethos to ensure a consistent approach at all levels.

What are the biggest challenges facing firms in the offshore world?

The market is only going to get more competitive, meaning experience and a commercial approach is going to become even more important (particularly as regulatory pressures and deal complexity increases). At the moment there are in the region of 50 offshore law firms, but I anticipate that as the deals become more complicated and increasingly cross-border, we will see increased consolidation in our markets.

Offshore firms need to have a global approach to their businesses. Our focus has for a long time been an “international” one – for example we were the first “offshore” firm to open an office in Luxembourg, and we also have teams in Hong Kong, London, Shanghai and Tokyo. I expect this to be a continued area of focus as client bases become increasing global.

What do you do differently from other offshore firms?

In addition to our focus on delivering commercially focused advice to clients in a transparent and efficient way, our culture of innovation, collaboration and flexibility is a key differentiator.

We have invested heavily in employee engagement and well-being projects. For our teams, we place great emphasis on supporting people to be the best version of themselves at work. We have opened a conversation around what it means for our people, and how we can support them to be extraordinary.

What have you found is the best way to recruit and retain talent?

In terms of attracting talent, it’s all about being open and specific about what we offer. Our employer brand focuses on tangible things – we support flexible working and provide the technology to enable that, we also talk about how we’re technology focused, and practice an “open from day one” approach – you don’t need to wait until you’re at a senior level to feed your ideas up. It’s ultimately about respecting and supporting the individual, and treating people like grown-ups – feedback from new recruits shows that it really resonates. And then to retain talent it’s all about ensuring that you deliver on those promises – proactively supporting people and their work/life balance, genuinely supporting and enabling agile working and flexibility, and making sure everyone has a voice.

What should young lawyers know about working offshore, compared to onshore?

There was a perception when I moved offshore from the City that offshore work was repetitive and narrow in focus. This is certainly not the case, in my experience offshore lawyers have exposure to a wide variety of high value and high profile transactions, my practice for example requires me to advise on local and global financing transactions (involving multiple asset classes), corporate transactions and restructuring and insolvency deals. Structures are becoming more complex, as is the advice we are required to give. To me working offshore provides an opportunity for a more rounded and varied career than may be on offer in some parts of the onshore market.

What advice would you give to the next generation of partners ready to rise the ranks?

It goes back to this question of approach – it’s not just about being technically excellent (that’s expected) – lawyers looking to rise through the ranks also have to be leaders, they have to be communicators, they have to be project managers and they have to have relationship skills, and to be able to see the bigger picture. And commerciality is key.

What does diversity and inclusion mean to you? And, is D&I more difficult offshore?

It’s important that diversity and inclusion translates into action – concrete policies that are well thought through. For example, as a firm we’ve fully embraced agile working, which is a great thing.

Ogier has a genuine collaborative ethos. There’s a real recognition here that all our employees have views and ideas about how to do things. It’s important that we all remember that our own perspective is not the only one. From their first day in the office, no matter what their role or team, we genuinely want to hear different voices – they shape how we do things.

KATRINA EDGE

Phone: +44 1534 514192
Email: [email protected]

Katrina Edge is the head of Ogier’s Banking & Finance practice in Europe and Jersey, which maintained its top tier ranking in the recently released Legal 500 UK 2020 Directory.

Katrina is a leading offshore finance lawyer. Qualified in three jurisdictions, she has been a partner at Ogier since 2013.

With particular expertise in secured lending, fund financing, property financing and restructuring transactions, Katrina also has extensive experience advising on the establishment, acquisition and disposal of real estate holding structures.

Katrina specialises in large and complex cross border transactions and has advised on some of the largest mandates in the market – for example the record-breaking purchase of London’s “Walkie Talkie” building.

Clients say Katrina “can be relied upon to provide clear, concise and practical advice”, while others add that “she’s excellent – extremely user-friendly and very responsive”, “she’s got a brilliant mind” and “demonstrates a clear understanding of what clients need”.

 

Katrina Edge is a leading individual within Jersey:
banking and finance. 

Banking and finance – ranked: tier 1

Ogier handles the range of finance work to be expected of a top-line Jersey firm, covering top-of-market fund finance deals, large offshore real estate deals and complex, sensitive restructurings. Katrina Edge advises leading real estate funds on large deals, while Simon Felton handles complex restructurings and some deals concerning transport finance. Bruce MacNeil handles some of the largest fund finance mandates in the market. Clients praise Julia Keppe, who was promoted to managing associate in February 2019, a year after joining from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.

Practice head(s):Katrina Edge; Simon Felton

TESTIMONIALS

‘What sets Ogier apart is its commitment to client service – as well as being technically on the money, its assistance in bringing deals to a conclusion is invaluable.’

‘Katrina Edge and her team are well-known in finance circles in London and are on the panel of most of the banks.’

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Michael Padarin: There’s creativity in law

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

We’ve made two major changes recently, both of which will be of great benefit to our clients. The first main change has been the launch of our Hong Kong corporate practice. We were previously an insolvency, restructuring, and litigation practice only from our Hong Kong office. We now also have partners on the ground in Hong Kong with a great depth of experience in investment funds, corporate, banking and finance, and M&A. With these additional capabilities we can now provide our clients with the full range of legal support for contentious and non-contentious corporate deals from Hong Kong. We’ve also recently welcomed two experienced Bermudian lawyers to our Hong Kong office, which means that in addition to our Cayman Islands and BVI legal services, we can also advise on Bermuda law matters from Hong Kong, both for contentious and non-contentious matters.

What does innovation mean to you and how can firms be better at it?

Many outsiders to the legal profession consider the practice of law to lack scope for creativity. In reality, lawyers spend their days looking for creative solutions to commercial problems, which means continuously thinking outside of the square. Innovation to me is an intrinsic part of how we approach complex legal issues and also deliver our service to clients. Law firms can be better at innovation by really understanding their clients’ critical business needs, and looking to evolve traditional practices to deliver legal services in a manner which is sensitive to these needs.

Automation of document production is a good example of innovation in delivery of services which saves time and reduces costs for clients. The adoption of AI technology in discovery processes is also a great example of innovative technology being put to use for the benefit of clients.

What are the biggest challenges facing firms in the offshore world?

Competition from the onshore world is probably our biggest challenge. The recent introduction of economic substance legislation in a number of the offshore jurisdictions in which we operate is a good example – the legislation is intended to address EU concerns around the risks of profit shifting to entities in tax neutral jurisdictions. However, the net has been cast so wide as to potentially capture all types of offshore entities, even those that are not used in industries where harmful tax practices are a real issue. As a result of this legislation, we have seen corporate restructures taking place to eliminate some entities in the jurisdictions in which we operate, notwithstanding the entities may not be carrying on an activity which is deemed to be in a risky category. We also see a number of onshore jurisdictions creating structures that mimic typical offshore structures, such as the Singaporean variable capital company and the Hong Kong open-ended fund company, which are intended to be direct competitors to the their offshore counterparts.

How does your firm handle technology and data security? Has this become even more important following recent law firms hacks?

Law firms are built on the premise of reputation and trust, and our clients expect all forms of information and communication to be handled securely and in confidence, particularly with technology and data security playing a critical part in facilitating Carey Olsen’s ability to provide global legal services to our clients. We live in a world where technology is constantly evolving, but so too are the cyber threats that we all face. Within Carey Olsen, we continuously review and adapt our use of technology and security controls to determine how best to reduce the risks that we face. We adopt established technologies and security best practices such as those set out in the ISO/IEC 27001 standard. Our approach to security is based on the principle of defence in depth which applies layers of defensive controls and technologies to protect our data and systems from attack.

What is your firm’s approach to competition between offshore jurisdictions?

Global expansion has helped us to succeed in this era of intense competition amongst offshore jurisdictions. It also provides a perfect hedge to be able to compete in multiple jurisdictions and help to shape the regimes in which we operate. Carey Olsen’s approach to competition between offshore jurisdictions has been to ensure we have a viable presence in each of the key offshore jurisdictions, and also offices in regions where demand for offshore legal services is strongest (such as Asia). By doing this, we can be impartial in the structuring choices we offer our clients, which guarantees the best outcomes.

What do you do differently from other offshore firms?

Particularly in a saturated and cost sensitive offshore market such as Hong Kong, there is a temptation for firms to ‘buy’ legal work, through taking on engagements for next to nothing as a loss leader for future work streams. We have been careful to emphasise the quality of our product above all else. We seek to establish ourselves as a trusted advisor to clients, with an experienced team able to handle the most complex engagements. We see ourselves as specialists in our respective fields, and are not seeking to be everything to everyone.

What should young lawyers know about working offshore, compared to onshore?

There is a misconception that offshore lawyers spend their days happily swinging in hammocks somewhere within reach of the Caribbean Sea. In reality, we work in partnership with the world’s top onshore firms and need to be ever ready to respond to our mutual clients’ needs. This generally means working at least as hard as our onshore colleagues, and often working on a great many more matters at any one time. The life of the offshore lawyer is a constant juggle which is often not appreciated by young lawyers contemplating a move offshore.

With the world becoming smaller, but possibly more divided, how does your firm manage this paradox?

We are a relatively small firm with a very diverse client base, both in terms of industry sectors and also geographies. There is a tendency for offshore firms to spread themselves too thin trying to manage relationships with clients through face-to-face meetings, often in multiple cities, whilst also managing work flows and teams back in the office. We’ve taken a quality over quantity approach to client interactions through emphasising the importance of online tools to distribute timely legal information that clients find relevant to their businesses.

What advice would you give to the next generation of partners ready to rise the ranks?

The importance of making strong connections within your firm cannot be overemphasised. Building strong and open relationships really helps to navigate the internal politics common to many firms, and also provides a network of specialists one can call on for technical support on tricky deals. Find a senior mentor who you respect and who respects you. Younger partners will also need to find ways to bridge gaps with older partners from different generations that communicate differently to them and their peers.