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Practice Areas
Arbitration: a beginner’s guide p.63
Banking and finance p.66
Capital markets p.68
Competition/antitrust p.70
Construction p.72
Corporate/M&A p.74
Crime p.76
Employment p.78
Environment p.80
Family p.82
Government and public policy p.84
Human rights and immigration p.86
Infrastructure and PPP p.88
Insurance p.90
Intellectual property p.93
Litigation p.95
Pensions p.98
Personal injury p.100
Private client and charities p.102
Private equity and investment management p.104
Projects and energy p.106
Real estate p.108
Restructuring and insolvency p.110
Shipping p.112
Sports, media and entertainment p.114
Tax p.117
Tech, telecoms and outsourcing p.119
chambersstudent.co.uk Arbitration: a beginner’s guide

Arbitration: a beginner’s guide

A growing convention argued that arbitration also appeals as a cheaper, quicker

What would you do with $50 billion? It sounds like an aw- means of dispute resolution than litigation, though Her-
ful lot of money even for a corporate mega-merger; for a bert Smith Freehills international arbitration specialist
dispute resolution settlement, it’s mind-boggling. But in Andrew Cannon suggests: “It can be, given the scope for
the largest ever award resulting from international arbi- procedural flexibility, but for large commercial matters the
tration, the Russian Federation was ordered to pay more current wisdom is that’s no longer the case.” Bodies includ-
than $50 billion to former shareholders of the Yukos Oil ing the ICC have published expedited procedure rules for
Company after it had destroyed the corporation and ap- smaller claims as a counter-measure to this perceived
propriated its assets – the $64.2 million in additional fees slow-down.
the Russians were ordered to pay out now seems like
pocket money. The award can now be enforced across
the 157 states enrolled in the New York Convention, the Long time coming
1958 UN resolution that paved the way for cases like this The roots of international arbitration stretch back further
one to play out. than you might expect. Evidence suggests arbitration
was a method of domestic dispute resolution for the an-
Put (relatively) simply, arbitration is a method of dispute cient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who chose arbitra-

Practice Areas
resolution between two or more parties who agree to tors based on their esteem within the community. Inter-
have their cases heard and settled by an independent tri- national arbitration as a concept was dreamed of at least
bunal through a pre-determined procedure. The arbitra- as early as 1306, when a royal advocate in Normandy pro-
tors weigh up both sides’ arguments and determine an posed the Crusader states use arbitration as a means of
appropriate award for one, which can be enforced across establishing peace throughout Europe before setting off
the world through the New York Convention and have for the Holy Land.
wide-reaching implications beyond the discrete case.
Various different arbitral institutions exist: the largest are “The number-one trend is growth into new
the International Court of Arbitration of the International jurisdictions and a wider geographical
Chamber of Commerce (ICC) based in Paris; the London
dispersement.”
Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); and the Interna-
tional Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), headquar- It took until at least the late 19th century for something
tered in New York. akin to international arbitration as we know it today
to formulate, and things really kicked into gear in the
“It puts the dispute in a neutral arena, so 1920s with the establishment of both the ICC and ICDR
neither party involved will have any ‘home- (the LCIA, founded in 1892, was ahead of the curve). The
practice has grown and evolved steadily since. “Even ten
field’ advantage.”
years ago this was an area of law very much in the ascend-
Globalisation is changing how the world operates in more ancy,”  explains Skadden arbitration and litigation part-
ways than anybody could hope to keep track of, and as ner David Edwards,  “and we were still having to explain
multinational businesses expand into hitherto unex- to clients what international arbitration was and why it
plored jurisdictions and have to contend with the unique could benefit them.” Now, though, it’s becoming the mé-
legal frameworks of each, avoiding domestic litigation thode du jour for big cross-border matters throughout its
is a fruitful avenue to explore. International arbitration birthplace in Europe and beyond. The practice’s evolution
courts are fast becoming the battlegrounds on which the has  “slowed down in relative terms, there’s now a mature
world’s largest companies and sovereign states alike are system which can be enforced across the world and which
fighting to protect their interests.  represents an industry in its own right.”

Quinn Emanuel arbitration partner Mark McNeil pins What does the future hold? Edwards points to “a shift to-
down the process’s appeal as twofold: “It puts the dispute wards Asia; there has been a host of major Indian arbitra-
in a neutral arena such that neither disputing party has the tion decisions recently and there’s been a big movement to
‘home-field’ advantage in its domestic court system; and properly root trade arbitration into Singapore.”  Mark Mc-
once a party secures an award in arbitration it can auto- Neil agrees:  “The most pronounced long-term trend has
matically be enforced in more than 150 countries across the to be the wider geographical adoption of arbitration as the
world without the need to go through litigation proceed- standard means of resolving cross-border commercial dis-
ings anywhere else.”  The discipline’s cheerleaders have putes, particularly in Asia and Africa. Once upon a time Chi-

63
 Arbitration: a beginner’s guide chambersstudent.co.uk

na did not accept investment arbitration, but that has now steam ahead, however, processes like ISDS are unlikely
changed as a result of China becoming a major capital ex- to go away. Andrew Cannon points out: “The number of in-
porter. Korean and Japanese companies are also embracing vestor-state cases has increased steadily over the last 20 or
international arbitration more frequently than before.”  As 30 years. For a long time they were largely brought against
the arbitration love spreads, international law firms are emerging market countries, but now an increasing number
following the money.  Herbert Smith Freehills may hold of developed states are on the receiving end. These states
pole position in the region for now (they’ve got nine of- have added to the calls for changes to be made to protect
fices including Jakarta, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, and their rights to legislate in the public interest.” A tough nut
are the only firm to get a top-tier international arbitra- to crack.
tion ranking in Chambers Asia-Pacific) but other contend-
ers like  Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
and King & Spalding are hot on their heels. Brexit wounds?
We’d love to have got through at least one article without
dropping the B-bomb, but London is, after all, held in high
ISDS, TPP, TTIP... WTF? esteem from Greenland to Antarctica as a leading global
It’s not all been high-fiving, though. As with any area of arbitral seat (admittedly, we’re yet to hear of any polar
law, international arbitration has thrown up its fair share bears or penguins calling for arbitration proceedings).
of controversies – not least ISDS. Investor-state dispute There have been many hours of debate over whether or
settlement is a process through which companies can sue not companies could bring ISDS claims against the UK or
nations which they believe have discriminated against EU when the divorce has taken place, depending on the
them in some way, and have thus hurt their profit margins. settlement between the two.
Practice Areas

The appeal of ISDS for governments is that commercial

disputes can be resolved in a theoretically neutral arena “London is in many ways the dispute
without direct conflict with another state, and that they resolution capital of the world.”
can attract more investment from overseas companies
with this safeguard in place. Critics, however, argue that All things considered, though, Brexit’s impact on interna-
ISDS grants too much power to companies and allows tional arbitration is unlikely to be felt immediately. With-
them to challenge the policies of elected governments. In drawing from the European Union will have no effect on
perhaps the most famous example of this, tobacco giant Britain’s membership of the New York Convention, the
Philip Morris controversially sued multiple countries over foundation for international arbitration that’s entirely in-
laws prohibiting smoking or the promotion of it. dependent of the EU. Mark McNeil explains:  “London is
in many ways the dispute resolution capital of the world,
It’s easy to envision private companies that pursue ISDS and it won’t lose its major strengths post-Brexit. English law
as greedy villains attacking the public good for profit, but will continue to govern many commercial contracts, parties
Mark McNeil, who’s acted on both sides of such cases, will continue to trust their disputes to the English courts,
paints a more nuanced picture. “The reality is that states and London will continue to be chosen as the legal seat for
often sign up for these investment agreements without ful- many arbitrations.”  Regardless of the future relationship
ly understanding their implications,” he explains. “A num- between Britain and the EU, the ability to pursue inter-
ber of governments feel that ISDS has gone too far, and national arbitration and enforce its results will be unaf-
are seeking to scale back the protections they are willing fected from a legal perspective. The potential change in
to offer in their investment treaties and investment agree- commercial fortunes for either side is a different matter
ments.” – if business slows down, the number of arbitration cases
brought forward could rise or dip depending on a whole
International trade deals typically include a method host of factors. Overall though, the message to take away
through which ISDS can be initiated. Chapter 11 of the is Brexit may mean Brexit, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between in an international arbitration context.
Canada, the USA and Mexico allows for companies to
bring international arbitration proceedings against any of
the three countries; an ISDS clause was also established Getting your foot in the door
in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The USA’s proposal to in- On the rise though it may be, international arbitration
clude a similar clause in the much-criticised Transatlan- remains a relatively niche discipline compared to litiga-
tic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the EU tion. Not all of the firms included in the  Chambers Stu-
was a major stumbling block in negotiations. Some have dent  guide, even those placing an emphasis on dispute
argued that throwing the door open to ISDS would al- resolution, offer an arbitration seat, and many others will
low American private healthcare companies to sue Euro- roll it together with litigation, so it can be difficult to know
pean countries, including the UK, where publicly funded how much experience you’ll get in either – read the True
healthcare is the norm. If globalisation is to progress full Picture of the firm you’re interested in to find out where

64
chambersstudent.co.uk Arbitration: a beginner’s guide

the land lies. It’s clear though, that cross-border arbitra- all is demonstrating an interest.”  General dispute resolu-
tions and their exclusivity appealed to our trainee inter- tion experience is valuable too, and a little (or a lot of)
viewees: an Allen & Overy source told us: “It was definitely practice in moot courts and other debate forums can go
an exciting department to be part of, particularly when the a long way. It’s also crucial to stay in the know not only
case went to hearing. As a trainee I was doing everything about international arbitration specifically, but what’s
from preparing bundles and exhibits to drafting plead- going on in the wider commercial and political world – in
ings.”  A similarly enthusiastic Skadden trainee recount- a practice area defined by its globalist context, it’s not
ed:  “By my second week I was in court on a billion-dollar enough to have a good understanding of UK law. Keep an
arbitration case. To say I was thrown in would be an un- eye on trends affecting international law and some of the
derstatement!”  Skadden’s David Edwards confirms:  “We big arbitration cases hitting the headlines – as well as on
try and push junior lawyers and trainees as far as we can; the Chambers Student website and newsletter, of course.
if they have the aptitude they’ll get responsibility over a
whole area of the case.” Finally, don’t go too far down the rabbit hole – internation-
al arbitration remains a niche area of law. Andrew Cannon
It’s never too early to begin prepping. Universities like advises “applying for a seat in arbitration if you have that
King’s College London and the University of Westminster opportunity, but it’s important to keep an open mind as over
offer international dispute resolution LLMs with optional the two years of a training contract you’ll see all the other
modules dedicated to commercial arbitration, and both different areas the firm has to offer, and views can change
the ICC and LCIA offer a couple of internships a year, during that time.”
though competition for all of these is understandably
fierce and Andrew Cannon tells us:  “Such qualifications

Practice Areas
are not necessary to start your career. What matters above

Read our True Pictures on...

Allen & Overy Clyde & Co Deringer Norton Rose Fulbright
Ashurst CMS Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Baker McKenzie Cooley Herbert Smith Freehills Meagher & Flom (UK)

Bryan Cave Leighton Debevoise & Plimpton Hogan Lovells Stephenson Harwood

Paisner DLA Piper Latham & Watkins White & Case

Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Linklaters

65
 Banking and finance chambersstudent.co.uk

Banking and finance

In a nutshell ment, so lawyers can verify the company’s credit pro-

Banking and finance is a giant sector internationally, file.
intersecting with various industries and overlapping • Negotiate with the opposite party to agree the terms
with multiple other practice areas. Banking and finance of the deal and record them accurately in the facility
lawyers may work in any one of the specialist areas de- documentation. Lenders’ lawyers usually produce ini-
scribed below, but all deal with the borrowing of money tial documents (often a standard form) and borrowers’
or the management of financial liabilities. Their task is lawyers try to negotiate more favourable terms for
to negotiate and document the contractual relationship their clients. Lawyers on both sides must know when to
between lenders and borrowers, and to ensure that their compromise and when to hold out.
clients’ best legal and commercial interests are reflected • Assist with the structuring of complicated or ground-
in the terms of loan agreements. It is a hugely technical, breaking financing models and ensure innovative solu-
ever-evolving and jargon-heavy area of law. tions comply with all relevant laws.
• Gather all parties to complete the transaction, ensuring
• Straightforward bank lending: a bank lends money to all agreed terms are reflected in the loan and that all
a borrower on documented repayment terms. documents have been properly signed and witnessed.
• Acquisition finance:  a loan made to a corporate bor- Just as in corporate deals, many decisions need to be
Practice Areas

rower or private equity sponsor for the purpose of made at properly convened board meetings and re-
acquiring another company. This includes leveraged corded in written resolutions.
finance, where the borrower uses a very large amount • Finalise all post-completion registrations and proce-
of borrowed money to meet the cost of a significant dures.
acquisition without committing a lot of its own capital
(this is called a leveraged buyout or LBO). Realities of the job
• Real estate finance: a loan made to enable a borrower • City firms act for investment banks on highly complex
to acquire a property or finance the development of and often cross-border financings, whereas the work
land and commonly secured by way of a mortgage on of regional firms generally involves acting for com-
the acquired property/land. mercial banks on more mainstream domestic finance
• Project finance: the financing of long-term infrastruc- deals. If you want to be a hotshot in international fi-
ture and public services projects, where the amounts nance, then it’s the City for you.
borrowed to complete the project are paid back with • Lawyers need to appreciate the needs and growth am-
the cash flow generated by the project. bitions of their clients in order to deliver pertinent ad-
• Asset finance: this enables the purchase and operation vice and warn of the legal risks involved in the transac-
of large assets such as ships, aircraft and machinery. tions. Deals may involve the movement of money across
The lender normally takes security over the assets in borders and through different currencies and financial
question. products. International deals have an additional layer
• Islamic finance:  Muslim borrowers, lenders and in- of difficulty: political changes in transitional econo-
vestors must abide by Shari’a law, which prohibits the mies can render a previously sound investment risky.
collection and payment of interest on a loan. Islamic • Banking clients are ultra-demanding and the hours can
finance specialists ensure that finance deals are struc- be long. On the plus side, your clients will be smart and
tured in a Shari’a-compliant manner. dynamic. It is possible to build up long-term relation-
• Financial services regulation: lawyers in this field en- ships with investment bank clients, even as a junior.
sure that their bank clients operate in compliance with • Working on deals can be exciting. The team and its
the relevant financial legislation. counterparty are often working towards a common
goal, usually under pressure and with heavy time con-
What lawyers do straints. Deal closings bring adrenaline highs and a
• Meet with clients to establish their specific require- sense of satisfaction.
ments and the commercial context of a deal. • You need to become absorbed in the finance world.
• Carry out due diligence – an investigation exercise to Start reading the Financial Times or the City pages in a
verify the accuracy of information passed from the broadsheet newspaper for a taster.
borrower to the lender or from the company raising
finance to all parties investing in the deal. This can
involve on-site meetings with the company’s manage-

66
chambersstudent.co.uk Banking and finance

Current issues services not much clearer now than when the refer-
• At the time of writing, the full impact of the 2020 lock- endum result was announced. A significant portion of
down on the banking world remains unclear. Long-term banking activity within Europe is made possible by EU
effects will depend on how long the Covid-19 pandemic legislation, and Brexit will affect the legal environment
lasts, the severity of it (i.e. what measures are needed in which organisations operate. International financial
to mitigate its spread) and the ability for governments institutions are less likely to view London as an ap-
to balance public health with economic concerns. propriate place to conduct European business, but it
• The crisis means that 2020 has been the most chal- is unclear what the overall impact will be on the City’s
lenging year for the banking and finance sector since prestigious financial sector. A recent report by the Lon-
the 2008 crash, with global economies suffering down- don School of Economics predicts business conditions
turns which will inevitably plague the banking and fi- will deteriorate in the wake of Brexit, providing a dou-
nance sectors. In the UK, roughly £38 billion worth of ble blow on top of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
loans by government-backed schemes were dispersed • Supporters of Brexit have heralded a stronger UK-US
to help nearly a million businesses and avoid cata- economic relationship as a positive result of leaving
strophic levels of job losses. the European Union. For the banking and finance sec-
• Most major banks have put billions aside to cover the tor, that would mean dealing with the market volatil-
shortfall caused by loan losses, the result of slower or ity associated with the Donald Trump administration
defaulted credit payments caused by unemployment and the protectionist ‘America First’ policies that have
and businesses closing.  There are also concerns that led to fears of a trade war with China and could have
small to medium-sized businesses, required to start a detrimental effect on the global economy. Notable
paying back the government-backed loans by 2021, economists have warned that such trade conflicts and

Practice Areas
may struggle to do so should the virus endure at similar increasing tariffs could lead to a recession.
levels into the next year. • The Bank for International Settlements introduced Ba-
• Credit rating agency Fitch predicts that sovereign debt sel III in 2019. This group of measures is designed to
held by EU banks will increase significantly as a result strengthen regulation and minimise risk in the banking
of the pandemic, with central governments scrambling sector internationally. The process hasn’t been entirely
to cover losses in the private sector. This is likely to re- smooth: the US and European members of the Basel
main the case in the coming years, as alleviating the committee disagreed over the models used to assess
debt more quickly would require harsh austerity meas- the risk that banks have, which delayed the implemen-
ures or potentially unpopular tax rises. tation of the rules. Over the next few years, law firms
• Brexit remains a consideration for the banking and fi- will be kept busy providing advice and guidance to the
nance sector, with the future for banks and financial banking sector on how to stick to the new rules.

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard Cripps Pemberton Greenish Howes Percival Ropes & Gray
Allen & Overy Debevoise & Plimpton Irwin Mitchell Shearman & Sterling
Ashfords Dechert Kirkland & Ellis Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Ashurst Dentons International Meagher & Flom (UK)

Baker McKenzie DLA Piper Latham & Watkins Slaughter and May

Birketts DWF Linklaters Squire Patton Boggs

Brabners Eversheds Sutherland Macfarlanes Stevens & Bolton

Bryan Cave Leighton Foot Anstey Mayer Brown International TLT

Paisner Freshfields Bruckhaus Michelmores Travers Smith

Burges Salmon Deringer Mills & Reeve Ward Hadaway

Charles Russell Speechlys Gateley Legal Muckle Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Gowling WLG (UK) Norton Rose Fulbright White & Case
Hamilton Herbert Smith Freehills Osborne Clarke Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Clifford Chance Hogan Lovells Pinsent Masons
CMS Reed Smith

67
 Capital markets chambersstudent.co.uk

Capital markets

In a nutshell suer’s lawyers will comment on them and negotiate

The world’s capital markets are trading floors (either changes.
real or virtual) on which cash-hungry businesses obtain • With derivatives, lawyers communicate back and forth
funding by selling a share of their business (equity) or with the client discussing legal issues and risks related
receiving a loan (debt) from lenders. Capital markets law- to various possible structures for the product, as well
yers advise companies (‘issuers’) and investment banks as suggesting ways to resolve or mitigate those prob-
(‘underwriters’) on these complex transactions. Here are lems and issues.
some of the terms you’ll encounter. • Issuer’s and underwriter’s counsel work together with
a team of bankers, accountants, insurers and an issu-
Equity capital markets: where a private company raises er’s management to get securities issued.
capital by making its shares available to the public by
listing itself on a stock exchange and executing an ini- Realities of the job
tial public offering (IPO), as a result of which it becomes • Capital markets lawyers are mostly based in the City of
a public company (or plc). The London Stock Exchange London. The biggest firms have specialist departments
(LSE) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are the most focused on capital markets or one of its sub-groups,
prestigious exchanges, but companies may list on many while mid-size firms may lump capital markets work in
Practice Areas

other exchanges worldwide. Once listed, a company’s with corporate.

shares can be bought and sold by investors at a price de- • Clients can be very demanding and lawyers work very
termined by the market. long hours. On the plus side, large law firms usually
have strong and close relationships with investment
Debt capital markets:  where borrowers raise capital by bank clients and financial institutions, meaning that
selling tradable bonds to investors, who expect the full trainees and NQs can get frequent client contact.
amount lent to be paid back to them with interest. • Lawyers have to gauge the needs and personality of
the company they’re working with and require an ap-
Structured finance: this area can get gloriously compli- titude for responding to and resolving issues as they
cated, but its aims are simple – to increase liquidity and arise.
limit or trade on risk, which in turn offers up extra funding • Capital markets lawyers feel all the highs and lows of
for borrowers. market forces – if you’re trying to get a deal done mar-
ket conditions often matter more than the willingness
Derivatives:  financial instruments used by banks and of the parties involved. Even if a deal has been organ-
businesses to hedge risks to which they are exposed due ised, unpredictable market conditions can mean it falls
to factors outside of their control. The value of a deriva- through.
tive at any given time is derived from the value of an un-
derlying asset, security, index or interest rate. Current issues
• Just eight companies listed in London in the first half of
2020, five on the LSE and three on AIM. This significant
What lawyers do drop was a direct result of the Covid-19 crisis, the con-
• Carry out due diligence on issuers and draft prospec- comitant oil price fall and worldwide lockdowns. In the
tuses which provide information about the company same period last year, 21 companies listed in London. It
and its finances, as well as past financial statements. is worth nothing that last year’s numbers were in their
• Negotiate approval of a listing on the stock exchange. own right the worst since 2009: the result of Brexit un-
This involves the submission of documentation, certi- certainty, which may have continued to have an impact
fications and letters that prove the client satisfies the on 2020’s numbers too.
listing requirements. As soon as a company undergoes • Investors have experienced a turbulent 2020 due
an IPO, it will be subject to all the rules and require- to Covid-19 with stock markets crashing on a global
ments of a public company, so the necessary organisa- scale before recovering somewhat once infection and
tional structure must be in place before then. death rates stabilised or restrictions were eased. The
• Work with underwriters and issuers to draw up the UK experienced a double whammy of a lack of inves-
structure of a security and help the parties negotiate tor confidence as a result of the yet-to-be-resolved
the terms of the structure. The underwriter’s lawyers Brexit. Investment Association figures show that £1.2
draft most documents related to a bond issue. An is- billion were pulled from UK-focused investment funds
in July 2019 alone, with a further £700 million pulled in

68
chambersstudent.co.uk Capital markets

August. There is hope that once Brexit is resolved and • On the subject of fintech, the intersection between a
Covid-19 is brought under control, investors may return host of new regulatory measures and the innovation
to the UK stock market in greater numbers. and growth of the industry is likely to keep law firms
• Despite market volatility, experts are hopeful that that specialise in capital markets busy. Reports by
housing is a sector that will thrive thanks to discounts capital market commentators described AI, tech, au-
for first-time buyers and changes to planning permis- tomation and data mining as integral to the future of
sions. Companies providing online services are also capital markets, but noted that security concerns have
expected to do well even in the wake of lockdown con- prompted regulations requiring stricter standards of
ditions. data use including GDPR.
• The increasing awareness and subsequent behavioural • Any further trade wars between two of the world’s big-
change around climate change means more and more gest economies, China and the US, are likely to have
people are recycling, reusing and reselling consumer widespread impact on capital markets. The initial
goods; clothes have seen a particularly large uptick. skirmishes depressed several markets worldwide: the
The US second-hand clothing group ThredUp predicts FTSE 100 went down by more than 2%, Germany’s DAX
this market to reach $64 billion in five years. On the dropped by more than 3%, France’s CAC 40 index by
other hand, investment funds that rely heavily on fossil 3.6%, the Dow Jones dipped by 98 points, and Japan’s
fuels are likely to suffer, while those focused on green Nikkei closed 2.1% down. The rise of protectionist poli-
initiatives are expected to boom. cies in the US and elsewhere has led some to consider
• The wellness industry is going from strength to it an existential threat to the trend of globalisation.
strength and the sector is expected to continue to per-
form well. The Times suggests that mindfulness tech

Practice Areas
“may be the next fintech boom.”

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard Davis Polk & Wardwell Linklaters Sidley Austin
Allen & Overy Dentons Macfarlanes Simmons & Simmons
Ashurst DLA Piper Mayer Brown International Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Baker McKenzie Eversheds Sutherland Memery Crystal Meagher & Flom (UK)

Bird & Bird Freshfields Bruckhaus Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Slaughter and May

Bryan Cave Leighton Deringer Morrison & Foerster (UK) Squire Patton Boggs

Paisner Gowling WLG (UK) Norton Rose Fulbright Stephenson Harwood

Charles Russell Speechlys Herbert Smith Freehills Osborne Clarke Sullivan & Cromwell

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hogan Lovells Paul Hastings (Europe) Taylor Wessing
Hamilton K&L Gates Pinsent Masons Travers Smith
Clifford Chance Kirkland & Ellis Reed Smith Watson Farley & Williams
CMS International Ropes & Gray Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Covington & Burling Latham & Watkins Shearman & Sterling White & Case

69
 Competition/antitrust chambersstudent.co.uk

Competition/antitrust

In a nutshell Realities of the job

It’s the job of the UK and EU regulatory authorities to • You won’t get much independence; junior lawyers work
ensure that markets function effectively on the basis of under the close supervision of experienced partners. In
fair and open competition. The rules in the UK and EU are the early days, the job involves a great deal of research
substantially similar, but UK bodies concentrate on those into particular markets and how the authorities have
rules that have their greatest effect domestically, while approached different types of agreements in the past.
EU authorities deal with matters affecting multiple mem- • You need to be interested in economics and politics.
ber states. Of all areas of law in the UK, competition law is • The work demands serious academic brainpower
– at present – most closely intertwined with the EU. While twinned with commercial acumen.
most competition rules are enshrined into domestic law, • As a popular area of practice it’s hard to break into.
the changing relationship between domestic and Europe- Work experience with a regulator or at the European
an competition authorities as Brexit takes effect is likely Commission in Brussels will enhance your prospects.
to cause much head-scratching among businesspeople, • Advocacy is a relatively small part of the job, though
Eurocrats and lawyers alike. you could end up appearing in the High Court or the
CAT.
On 1 April 2014, the Competition and Markets Author- • Working at an international law firm you will travel
Practice Areas

ity (CMA) was established as the UK government’s main abroad and may even work in an overseas office for
regulatory body, adopting many of the functions of the a while, perhaps in Brussels. Fluency in another lan-
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commis- guage can be useful. There is also a trend for lawyers
sion (CC). The CMA works closely with industry-specific to switch between private practice and working for the
regulatory bodies, such as Ofcom for the media and tel- regulators.
ecoms industry. With a higher budget and greater re-
sources available than ever before, the CMA was created Current issues
in order to strengthen business competition in the UK and • Brexit continues to be a big topic here, with the UK
crack down on anti-competitive activities. remaining subject to the EU state aid regime until the
transition period ends. Merger control in the UK pre-
Competition authorities have extensive investigative dates that on an EU level, so complete separation from
powers –including the ability to carry out dawn raids –and the EU may not have a large direct impact on the UK
can impose hefty fines. The CMA continues to become merger regime. However, companies could lose their
more proactive and litigation-minded, and the European ability to request merger clearance under both juris-
Commission – the regulator dealing with matters also af- dictions simultaneously – separate submissions may
fecting other EU countries – readily doles out big fines have to be made to both UK and EU regulators, driving
where necessary. up costs for businesses.
• There will probably be a need for the UK to establish its
own domestic state aid authority post-Brexit, accord-
What lawyers do ing to a report from the House of Lords’ EU Committee.
• Negotiate clearance for acquisitions, mergers and joint The CMA is being considered for this role. In the tran-
ventures. sition period, it’s likely EU state aid rules will remain
• Advise on the structure of commercial or cooperation in place; however, it isn’t clear whether new measures
agreements to ensure they can withstand a competi- would have to be sent to the European Commission for
tion challenge. approval during this time. Generally, the EU restricts a
• Deal with investigations into the way a client conducts government’s ability to offer support to specific com-
business. panies if it would give a company an advantage over its
• Bring or defend claims in the Competition Appeal Tri- competitors. Exceptions can also be made if the aid in
bunal (CAT). question is shown to be important to general economic
• Advise on cross-border trade or anti-dumping meas- development.
ures (preventing companies exporting products at a • Covid-19 has and will continue to raise interesting
lower price than normally charged in the home market). questions for antitrust lawyers. Commentators note
• Regulators investigate companies, bring prosecutions that while current competition laws have proved mal-
and advise on the application of new laws and regula- leable enough to address many a crisis, adjustments
tions. are having to be made. The European Commission has
adopted a ‘temporary framework’ to enable member

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chambersstudent.co.uk Competition/antitrust

states to utilise the ‘full flexibility foreseen under state • Globally, Big Data and the monopolisation of it by tech
aid rules’ to best mitigate the economic fallout from giants continues to remain an area of concern. The new
the pandemic. The Commission hopes the move will en- heads of the European Commission have the indus-
sure sufficient liquidity is accessible to all businesses. try’s big players firmly in their sights, with regulations
• Adjustments are similarly being made in the UK: the being sought to curtail the influence of these behe-
British government has relaxed certain competition moths. Primary concerns are the use of data collec-
laws in relation to essential products and services. tion; the (potential for the abuse of) power algorithms
In March, competition laws regarding the sharing of have on global markets, specifically concerning pric-
stock level data, distribution depots, delivery vans, and ing decisions; and the growing global trends of ‘killer
staff pooling between supermarkets were relaxed to acquisitions,’ whereby tech giants swallow up smaller
allow retailers to collaborate in their Covid response. start-ups, acquiring their technology, and effectively
• In March, the CMA announced the creation of a dedi- removing competitors.
cated Covid-19 taskforce to address the potential • The European Commission has launched consultations
harming effects of anti-competitive behaviours on con- on its upcoming Digital Services Act, a two decades-
sumers and the market more generally. Key areas of later follow up to the Electronic Commerce Directive
focus include holding firms to account through warn- 2000. The aims for the new legislation include help-
ings and subsequent actions for exploiting the circum- ing smaller innovative online businesses flourish in a
stances surrounding the pandemic through unjustifi- market that’s increasingly controlled by large data
able prices and misleading claims; taking enforcement holders; provide clearer rules and responsibilities for
action if companies not only breach consumer law, but companies holding data on their customers; and pre-
subsequently fail to heed warnings they’ve done so; venting the dominant forces in the market from acting

Practice Areas
and advising the government on balancing competition as ‘gatekeepers’.
law and necessary measures implemented to protect • 2020 also witnessed the continuing trend of prosecu-
public health and the supply of essential goods. tion in the financial services sector. Following the fall-
• The National Audit Office believes the CMA has made out from the 2008 financial crash and LIBOR scandal,
large strides in tackling the failings of previous com- antitrust authorities are now seeking to remedy the
petition regulators and that enforcement is now more “historic under-enforcement” in the sector. As such,
coherent than before, but that the regulator could still a new statutory provision enables the UK’s Financial
increase the volume of successful enforcement cases Conduct Authority to exercise existing competition law
it brings and improve business awareness of competi- enforcement powers with focus on financial services.
tion law. After facing criticism for its action on cartels, In its first formal decision under these new competition
the CMA launched a ‘stop cartels’ campaign and hot- enforcement powers, the FCA found that three asset
line. Following a five-year investigation, the European management firms had breached competition law for
Union issued a €1.07 billion fine to Barclays, Citigroup, disclosing strategic information prior to one IPO and
J.P. Morgan, MUFG and the Royal Bank of Scotland for one placing in a 2019 finding.
manipulating the foreign exchange market. Traders
formed two cartels to rig the market by swapping trad-
ing information on chatrooms between 2007 and 2013.

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard Hamilton Gowling WLG (UK) Osborne Clarke
Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Herbert Smith Freehills Pinsent Masons
Arnold & Porter CMS Hogan Lovells RPC
Ashurst Dentons Kirkland & Ellis Shearman & Sterling
Baker McKenzie DLA Piper International Simmons & Simmons
Bristows DWF Latham & Watkins Slaughter and May
Bryan Cave Leighton Eversheds Sutherland Linklaters Squire Patton Boggs
Paisner Freshfields Bruckhaus Macfarlanes TLT
Burges Salmon Deringer Mishcon de Reya Travers Smith
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Norton Rose Fulbright

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 Construction chambersstudent.co.uk

Construction

In a nutshell Realities of the job

Construction law can broadly be divided into non-con- • Drafting requires attention to detail and careful
tentious and contentious practice. The first involves law- thought.
yers helping clients at the procurement stage, pulling • It’s essential to keep up to date with industry standards
together all the contractual relationships prior to build- and know contract law and tort inside out.
ing work; the second sees them resolving disputes when • People skills are fundamental. Contractors and sub-
things go wrong. In the past the relatively high monetary contractors are generally earthy and direct; structural
stakes involved and the industry trend for recovering engineers live in a world of complicated technical re-
building costs through the courts made construction a ports; corporate types and in-house lawyers require
litigation-happy practice. However, since the 1990s most smoother handling. You’ll deal with them all.
new contracts have contained mandatory procedures to • Most lawyers prefer either contentious or non-conten-
be adopted in case of dispute. Adjudication of disputes tious work, and some firms like their construction law-
has become the industry norm and these tend to follow yers to handle both, so pick your firm carefully.
a swift 28-day timetable (although parties can agree to • A background in construction or engineering is a major
extend this period.) Others are resolved through media- bonus because you’ll already have industry contacts
tion or arbitration; however, some disputes are so com- and will be able to combine legal know-how with prac-
Practice Areas

plex that the parties do still choose to slug it out in court. tical advice.

Current issues
What lawyers do • Construction work in the UK is highly dependent on
EU migrant workers, and it’s concerning to note in the
Procurement wake of Brexit that around two-thirds of UK construc-
• Negotiate and draft contracts for programmes of build- tion materials are imported from the EU. According to
ing works. Any such programme involves a multitude a 2018 report by the Office for National Statistics, 33%
of parties including landowners, main contractors, sub- of the construction workforce in London are migrants
contractors, engineers and architects. from EU countries. Terms must be drawn up as part of
• Work in conjunction with property lawyers if the client the withdrawal process either maintaining the status
has invested in land as well as undertaking a building quo or putting an equivalent in place; otherwise, con-
project. Together, the lawyers seek and obtain all the struction output could be seriously diminished.
necessary planning consents as well as local authority • The UK construction industry as a whole enjoyed five
certifications. years of consecutive growth from 2013. In spite of
• Where the developer does not own the land, liaise with Brexit uncertainty, a forecast by the CPA (Construc-
the landowner’s solicitors over matters such as stage tion Products Association) predicted a small dip in the
payments, architects’ certificates and other measures growth rate in 2018 but another increase thereafter,
of performance. driven in part by large infrastructure projects including
• Make site visits during development. HS2 and nuclear power station Hinkley Point C. Boris
Johnson’s government has prioritised ‘levelling up’ the
Construction disputes UK’s infrastructure, suggesting construction will be a
• Assess the client’s position and gather all related pa- priority over the next five years.
perwork and evidence. • Large growth-driving projects have however been hit
• Extract the important detail from huge volumes of by the Covid-19 crisis, with Hinkley Point C’s main con-
technical documentation. crete supplier being shut down after an outbreak of
• Follow the resolution methods set out in the contracts the virus in July 2020. Sites are working whilst observ-
between the parties. ing social distancing and the Construction Leadership
• Where a settlement is impossible, issue, prepare for Council has recommended the use of face coverings
and attend proceedings with the client, usually in- for construction workers.
structing a barrister to do the advocacy. • Despite many predicting a long-term decline in travel
and commuting that is sure to worry developers, the
HS2 construction process has powered through the
crisis using social distancing measures to continue
construction. You can learn more about HS2 and infra-

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chambersstudent.co.uk Construction

structure projects in a dedicated feature on our web- since 2018, taking just over a year. Good news though,
site. this is still the shortest time across all recorded juris-
• Sajid Javid launched a new national housing agency, dictions, whilst the average cost of resolving disputes
Homes England, at the start of 2018, before his short- in the UK nearly halved between 2018 and 2019.
lived appointment as Chancellor. The new body aims to • At the end of 2018, the government announced it was
deliver an average of 300,000 homes per annum by the investing £72 million in a Core Innovation Hub which
mid 2020s, primarily on brownfield sites. However, the will fund the development and use of technologies in-
government fell under their annual target in 2019 by cluding virtual reality, digital design and offsite manu-
almost 100,000 properties. facturing. This is part of a broader industrial strategy,
• July 2019 saw Sadiq Khan quash plans for the ‘Tulip’ targeting job creation. The Hub is currently focusing on
skyscraper in the City of London, despite the project a design approach that allows buildings to be erected
having been approved by the City of London Corpora- quicker and in a more environmentally friendly way.
tion three months earlier, as the tower would have not They’re also working on creating more Covid-19-friend-
provided many public benefits. ly manufacturing processes and products.
• ADR and arbitration will probably be a vital growth • The coronavirus crisis saw many buildings repurposed
area for the UK after Brexit. London remains one of the in a way the UK has never seen. The most prolific of
world’s leading arbitral centres, as English law still gov- these are the Nightingale Hospitals in London, Bir-
erns many cross-jurisdictional contracts – agreements mingham and Manchester, all of which were converted
that span the Middle East, Africa and the rest of Eu- from conference venues to hospitals in a matter of
rope. According to an Arcadis report, the length of time days.
to resolve a dispute in the UK has increased by 28%

Practice Areas
Read our True Pictures on...
Addleshaw Goddard CMS Hogan Lovells Stephenson Harwood
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Cripps Pemberton Greenish K&L Gates Stevens & Bolton
& Feld Dentons Kennedys Taylor Wessing
Allen & Overy DLA Piper Macfarlanes TLT
Ashfords DWF Mayer Brown International Trowers & Hamlins
Ashurst Eversheds Sutherland Michelmores Vinson & Elkins RLLP
Baker McKenzie Fladgate Mills & Reeve Ward Hadaway
Bevan Brittan Foot Anstey Muckle Watson Farley & Williams
Birketts Freshfields Bruckhaus Norton Rose Fulbright Wedlake Bell
Brabners Deringer Osborne Clarke White & Case
Bryan Cave Leighton Gateley Legal Pinsent Masons Winckworth Sherwood
Paisner
Gowling WLG (UK) Reed Smith Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Burges Salmon
Herbert Smith Freehills Simmons & Simmons
Charles Russell Speechlys
Hewitsons Slaughter and May
Clifford Chance
HFW Squire Patton Boggs
Clyde & Co

73
 Corporate/M&A chambersstudent.co.uk

Corporate/M&A

In a nutshell • Finalise all post-completion registrations and proce-

Corporate lawyers provide advice to companies on sig- dures.
nificant transactions affecting their activities, including
internal operations, the buying and selling of businesses Realities of the job
and business assets, and the arrangement of the finance • The type of clients your firm acts for will determine
to carry out these activities. your experiences. Publicly listed companies and the in-
vestment banks that underwrite deals can be extreme-
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)  involve one company ly demanding and have a different attitude to risk than,
acquiring another by way of a takeover (acquisition), say, rich entrepreneurs, owner-managed businesses
or two companies fusing to form a single larger entity (OMBs) and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
(merger). The main reasons for a company to execute an To deal with such clients, a robust and confident man-
M&A transaction are to grow its business (by acquiring ner is required and stamina is a must.
or merging with a competitor) or add a new line of busi- • Corporate transactions can be large and complicated,
ness to its existing activities. Mergers are also a means of with many different aspects of the company affected
strengthening two or more existing companies facing fi- in the process. Lawyers need to be conversant in a va-
nancial trouble, and companies going into administration riety of legal disciplines and know when to refer mat-
Practice Areas

can be snapped up in so-called pre-pack deals. M&A can ters to a specialist in, say, merger control (competition),
either be public (when it involves companies listed on a employment, property or tax.
stock exchange) or private (when it concerns companies • Corporate deals involve mountains of paperwork, so
privately owned by individuals). you need to be well organised and have good drafting
skills. Above all, corporate is a very practical area of
Corporate restructuring  involves changes to the struc- law, so commercial acumen and a good understanding
ture of a company and the disposal of certain assets, ei- of your clients’ objectives is a must.
ther because the company wants to concentrate on more • Corporate work is cyclical and therefore the hours
profitable parts of its business, or because it is facing fi- lawyers work can vary depending on the general state
nancial difficulties and needs to free up liquidity. of the market and the particular needs of the clients,
whose expectations have risen even further since the
widespread use of instant modes of communication.
What lawyers do It’s fair to say there can be some very late nights.
• Negotiate and draft agreements – this will be done in • The most junior members of a deal team normally get
conjunction with the client, the business that is being stuck with the most boring or unrewarding tasks. The
bought or sold, other advisers (e.g. accountants) and banes of a corporate trainee’s life are data room man-
any financiers. agement (putting together and caretaking all the fac-
• Carry out due diligence – this is an investigation to tual information on which a deal relies) and bibling (the
verify the accuracy of information passed from the creation of files containing copies of all the agreed doc-
seller to the buyer. It establishes the financial strength uments and deal information). More challenging tasks
of the company; the outright ownership of all assets; quickly become available to driven junior lawyers.
whether there are outstanding debts or other claims • You need to become absorbed in the corporate world. If
against the company; and any environmental or other you can’t develop an interest in the business news then
liabilities that could reduce the value of the business choose another area of practice pronto.
in the future. • A sound grounding in corporate finance makes an
• Arrange financing – this could come from banks or oth- excellent springboard for working in-house for major
er types of investors. They will wish to have some kind companies. Some lawyers move to banks to work as
of security for their investment, e.g. participation in the corporate finance execs or analysts. Company secre-
shareholding, taking out a mortgage over property or tarial positions suit lawyers with a taste for internal
other collateral. management and compliance issues.
• Gather all parties for the completion of the transaction,
ensuring all assets have been properly covered by writ- Current issues
ten documents that are properly signed and witnessed. • Brexit remains a talking point. While the UK formally
Company law requires that decisions are made at prop- departed the EU on 31st January 2020 – officially end-
erly convened board meetings and recorded in written ing the uncertainty surrounding its departure – future
resolutions. negotiations, likely to be exhaustive and forensic in de-

74
chambersstudent.co.uk Corporate/M&A

tail, still raise significant concerns for the foreseeable • Protectionism and threats of tariff impositions by world
future and may continue the postponement of deals. leaders including President Trump have threatened the
In a potentially ominous sign of what’s to come, M&A previously unstoppable trend of globalisation. In 2019,
in the UK almost halved in 2019, falling to £154 billion cross-border deals plummeted 25% compared to 2018, a
from £302 billion recorded during Q1-Q3 in 2018. trend continuing in 2020 as domestic governments con-
• The coronavirus pandemic was predictably catastroph- solidate and adopt greater protectionist strategies. Ac-
ic for the mergers and acquisitions market, with com- cordingly, foreign investment reviews are increasing, with
panies focusing on protecting their existing assets and the EU now reconciling foreign investment with national
cashflow. The first few months of 2020 were the slow- security implications as part of its regulatory scope.
est for M&A in seven years, and the figures for sum- • The British government – like other national govern-
mer will very possibly turn out even worse. Occasional ments – has prioritised tightening merger control. Last
opportunistic takeovers happened where cash-rich in- year saw the CMA issue its first unwinding order to
vestors bought out companies whose equity had plum- payments provider Bottomline in its acquisition of
meted due to the recession. the payments gateway Experian. The EU has similarly
• Commentators like Goldman Sachs have identified adopted a harder enforcement line, with the proposed
similar patterns to previous M&A down cycles. An ini- merger between Siemens AG and Alstom SA blocked
tial wave sees involuntary deals, as companies facing by the Commission over concerns the deal would
trouble generate liquidity through the selling of assets smother train-equipment market competition. An EU
or bankruptcy sales. A second wave – known as ‘near-in probe into a potential mega tie-up between Peugeot
M&A’ – sees potential combinations and joint ventures and Fiat Chrysler – currently suspended while both car-
explored by companies as means of mitigating and/ makers provide requested data – is another example of

Practice Areas
or reducing transaction risks. A third wave will see a tighter regulatory enforcement.
return to pre-existing patterns, with transactions de- • Companies will increasingly seek to pivot away from
signed to stimulate growth through acquiring non-core carbon-intensive practices as climate change creates
business or through cross-border transactions. headlines and regulation on the worst emitters be-
• With many deals postponed rather than cancelled com- comes more distinct and punitive. Royal Dutch Shell’s
pletely, private equity-backed transactions are expect- unsuccessful bid for Dutch renewable company Eneco
ed to lead the charge in the acquisition market in any in 2019 was a landmark moment; the likelihood of high-
kind of recovery. 2019 marked the strongest annual pe- er prices and/or a tax on carbon will aim to incentivise
riod for private equity deals in the last decade –27.5% of energy giants to alter their models. On the other hand,
all global transactions had private equity firms on both green energy is likely to be an increasing fixture of the
sides –with many expected in the latter half of 2020 and M&A scene in the coming years.
early 2021 as a continuation of this growth.

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard Covington & Burling Howes Percival Simmons & Simmons
Allen & Overy Cripps Pemberton Greenish Irwin Mitchell Skadden, Arps, Slate, Mea-
Ashfords Dechert K&L Gates gher & Flom (UK)
Ashurst Dentons Latham & Watkins Slaughter and May
B P Collins DLA Piper Lewis Silkin Squire Patton Boggs
Baker McKenzie DWF Linklaters Stephenson Harwood
BDB Pitmans Eversheds Sutherland Macfarlanes Stevens & Bolton
Bird & Bird Farrer & Co Mayer Brown International Sullivan & Cromwell
Birketts Fladgate Memery Crystal Taylor Vinters
Brabners Foot Anstey Michelmores Taylor Wessing
Bryan Cave Leighton Fox Williams Mills & Reeve TLT
Paisner Freshfields Bruckhaus Mishcon de Reya Travers Smith
Burges Salmon Deringer Muckle Trowers & Hamlins
Charles Russell Speechlys Gateley Legal Norton Rose Fulbright Ward Hadaway
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Gowling WLG (UK) Osborne Clarke Watson Farley & Williams
Hamilton Harbottle & Lewis Pinsent Masons Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Clifford Chance Herbert Smith Freehills Reed Smith White & Case
Clyde & Co Hewitsons RPC Womble Bond Dickinson UK
CMS Hogan Lovells Shearman & Sterling
Cooley

75
 Crime chambersstudent.co.uk

Crime

In a nutshell • You’ll encounter horrible situations and difficult or dis-

Criminal solicitors represent defendants in cases brought tressed people. As well as victims, you will deal with
before the UK’s criminal courts. Lesser offences are com- defendants accused of murder, rape, drug dealing,
monly dealt with exclusively by solicitors in the magis- fraud and paedophilia – if you have the ability to look
trates’ courts; more serious charges go to the Crown beyond the labels, recognise any given individual’s
Courts, which are essentially still the domain of bar- right to representation, and see them as clients deserv-
risters. Everyday crime is the staple for most solicitors – ing of your best efforts, then you’ve picked the right
theft, assault, drugs and driving offences. job. It can be disheartening to see clients repeat the
same poor choices and return to court again and again.
Fraud is the preserve of a more limited number of firms, • The public funding of criminal defence through legal
and the cases require a different approach from, say, aid means that the sector comes with more than its fair
crimes of violence. Criminal practice is busy, often frantic, share of bureaucracy. It also means you’ll earn very lit-
with a hectic schedule of visits to police stations, prisons tle, especially in your first few years of practice.
and courts meaning plenty of face-to-face client contact • Trainees in fraud find the early years provide minimal
and advocacy. The area is also known for having the low- advocacy and masses of trawling through warehouses
est pay in the legal profession. full of documents. Caseloads are usually of the smaller
Practice Areas

variety, but cases can run for years.

What lawyers do Current issues

• Attend police stations to interview and advise people • Violent crime has risen year on year since 2014. Along-
in police custody. side the simultaneous cuts to policing, these are taking
• Visit prisons to see clients on remand. their toll on the criminal justice system. Home Office
• Prepare the client’s defence using medical and social statistics show that officer numbers fell by more than
workers’ reports. 20,000 between 2010 and 2018. Newly installed prime
• Liaise with witnesses, probation officers, the CPS and minister Boris Johnson vowed to recruit 6,000 more
others. police officers by the summer of 2019, and a total of
• Attend conferences with counsel (ie barristers). 20,000 over the next three years.
• Represent defendants at trial or brief barristers to do • The UK’s criminal justice system has taken a batter-
so. ing recently. Chief of all its woes are swingeing cuts to
• Represent clients at sentencing hearings, explaining legal aid. Funding for law centres decreased from £12
any mitigating facts or circumstances. million to £7 million between 2011 and 2019; there was
• Fraud solicitors need a head for business as they deal also a drastic drop in the number of local areas offering
with a considerable volume of paperwork and financial free legal services. The number of areas has halved in
analysis. five years, from 94 in 2014 to 47 in 2019.
• The Covid-19 pandemic has had huge ramifications,
Realities of the job including a shortage of defence lawyers and a huge
• The hours are long and can be disruptive to your per- number of trials being postponed; some have been
sonal life. Lawyers who are accredited to work as duty pushed back as far as 2022. With trials suspended,
solicitors will be on a rota and can be called to a police criminal courts have implemented the use of digital
station at any time of the day or night. hearings, turning the concept of open justice court on
• Confidence in dealing with the characters you are its head. A whopping 550,000 or so cases currently
likely to meet (your clients, law officers and your fellow await court time.
lawyers) is essential. • During the lockdown period, domestic violence crime
• If you choose to enter into general crime, you’ll have a has increased globally, described as a “shadow pan-
large caseload with a fast turnaround, meaning plenty demic” alongside Covid-19 by the UN. In the UK,
of advocacy. charges and cautions for domestic violence rose by
• The work is driven by the procedural rules and timeta- 24% with victims trapped at home with their abuser.
ble of the court. A domestic abuse bill is now due a date for the second
• Your efforts can mean the difference between a per- reading in parliament: it contains clauses requiring do-
son’s liberty or incarceration. You have to be detail- mestic abusers to take polygraph tests on release and
conscious and constantly vigilant. regulations to ban perpetrators from cross-examining
victims during family court proceedings. The bill would

76
chambersstudent.co.uk Crime

also introduce the first-ever statutory government def- could be used to discredit them. In an unusual move,
inition of domestic abuse to include economic abuse the CPS responded to the claims with a public state-
and controlling and manipulative non-physical abuse. ment rejecting “misleading and inaccurate” reports
• A more positive result of lockdown was that crimes about the handling of rape cases.
such as burglary, shoplifting, robbery and theft have • Considering Brexit, one of the main concerns is the fu-
all experienced rapid declines as people have had to ture of European bodies like Europol. If the UK keeps
stay in their homes. free movement, multi-state policing will be crucial.
• Police forces around the world have come under in- However, depending on the deal that is struck, the UK
tense public scrutiny as a result of the Black Lives may have little input as to how these organisations are
Matter movement and killings by police officers. Pro- run.
testers have highlighted the disproportionate use of • UK police leaders recently announced a plan of action
police force against black men in the UK, along with to address racial inequalities in the criminal justice
stop and searches and deaths in custody. Stop-and- system: the NPCC aims to address concerns over stop
search use in London rose 40% in lockdown; police and search, the use of force and under-representation
data also shows that coronavirus fines have been given of black and ethnic minority officers. The plan is being
to disproportionately high numbers of black and Asian drawn up by the CPSO – it is expected to be completed
people. in July 2020. The announcement came a day after a for-
• In response to ongoing criticism of the CPS’s handling mer police officer told MPs that racism was “alive and
of rape and sexual assault cases, the CPS is facing a kicking” in British policing.
judicial review into what CrowdJustice deemed ‘cov- • If crime is your passion (and even if it’s not) we’d
ert policy changes’. In a further blow to the CPS, the strongly recommend that you go and watch a trial in

Practice Areas
government-appointed Victims’ Commissioner publicly progress. The Old Bailey’s probably the most exciting,
attacked the police in a Twitter statement claiming that and you can just turn up on the day.
rape victims’ phones are searched for evidence that

Read our True Pictures on...

Ashfords Hodge Jones & Allen Peters & Peters Solicitors
Birketts Solicitors Limited Russell-Cooke
Blaser Mills Law Irwin Mitchell

Brabners Kingsley Napley

77
 Employment chambersstudent.co.uk

Employment

In a nutshell Realities of the job

Employment lawyers guide their clients through work- • You quickly develop an understanding of human foi-
place-related legislation and are intimately involved in bles. By their very nature employment cases are filled
the relationship between employers and employees. The with drama. 
divide between employers’ and employees’ lawyers is of- • Clients may assume your role is to provide emotional
ten clear-cut so bear this in mind when you pick your firm. support as well as legal advice, so you need to take
Most will work either largely for employers or largely for care to define your role appropriately. 
employees; a few will straddle both sides of the fence. • Solicitors who want to do their own advocacy thrive
Usually, the job includes both advisory work and litiga- here, although barristers are commonly used for high-
tion. stakes or complicated hearings and trials.
• The work is driven by the procedural rules and timeta-
Disputes are almost always resolved at an Employment ble of the tribunals and courts. 
Tribunal, or before reaching one, and appeals are heard • The law is extensive and changes frequently. You’ll read
at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The grievances more than your fair share of new rules and regulations. 
leading to litigation fall into the following broad catego-
ries: redundancy, unlawful dismissal, breach of contract, Current issues
Practice Areas

harassment and discrimination. This last type of claim • To prevent mass waves of unemployment as a result
can be brought on the grounds of race, religious or philo- of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown, the govern-
sophical belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability and ment rolled out The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
age.  (CJRS) in March 2020. The government supported reg-
istered employers by providing furloughed employees
There are also employment-related cases with a commer- with financial support of up to 80% of their salary, up
cial tint to them, such as rows over team moves between to a maximum of £2,500 per month per employee. As of
major businesses. These are heard in the courts rather August 16, there were 9.6 million jobs furloughed with
than the Employment Tribunals. the total value of claims made at £35.4 billion.
• Employees of small and micro-sized employers were
more likely to have been furloughed than those work-
What lawyers do  ing for medium-sized and large employers: 57% of
employments at employers with 5 to 9 employees had
Employees’ solicitors been furloughed against just 19% at employers with
• Advise clients on whether they have suffered unlaw- 250 or more employees according to polling by You-
ful or unfair treatment and establish the amount to be Gov. They also found that the accommodation and food
claimed. This will either be capped or, in the case of services sectors had the highest proportion of employ-
discrimination, can include additional elements to cov- ers furloughing at least some staff, at a massive 87%.
er loss of earnings, injury to feelings and aggravated • Anticipating a potential huge wave of redundancies
damages. as the CJRS scheme comes to an end in October, the
• Gather evidence and witnesses to support the claim. government has announced its Job Retention Bonus
• Try to negotiate a payment from the employer or take scheme, offering a one-off payment of £1,000 to UK
the matter to tribunal. If there is a breach-of-contract employers for every furloughed employee who re-
element to the claim, it might be heard in a court rather mains continuously employed through to the end of
than a tribunal. January 2021. 
• If the matter does reach tribunal, the solicitor may con- • Brexit could potentially still have a big impact on em-
duct the advocacy. ployment law, as many employee protections derive
from the European Union. However, EU employment
Employers’ solicitors rules do not apply to the UK directly. Instead they are
• Defend or settle the sorts of claims described above.  part of UK law either through secondary legislation or
• Negotiate employment contracts or exit packages for Acts of Parliament. They have often been adapted to
senior staff.  the UK context too. For example, the well-known Work-
• Negotiate with unions to avoid or resolve industrial dis- ing Time Directive, which grants EU citizens a statutory
putes. right to 20 days of paid leave, in the UK provides for 28
• Formulate HR policies and provide training on how to days of leave (including bank holidays). Legal experts
avoid workplace problems.  believe that such laws are too deeply embedded in

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chambersstudent.co.uk Employment

statute to be easily rewritten, which in turn sets a pret- Plan seeks to safeguard and strengthen employment
ty high political barrier to repealing them.  rights. Set out in December 2018, the extensive and
• As of January 2021, the UK will introduce a points- wide-ranging reforms include proposals such as: the
based immigration system, marking the end of free right for an employee to request a more predictable
movement as dictated by the terms of EU member- contract after 26 weeks of employment; more substan-
ship. To be eligible for a visa, applicants must have 70 tive fines for malicious employers; and the right for
‘points’. These are determined by various criteria: for employees to know details of their work-based rights
example, speaking English ‘to the required level’ is from the first day in the job. Coupling this, workers
worth 10 points, and a salary of £25,600 or above mer- could receive compensation for cancelled shifts when
its 20 points. on zero-hours or flexible contracts. The introduction of
• The gender pay gap has dominated employment press legislation had been delayed by the Brexit process. 
in the last few years: reporting for companies of over • There could be huge implications for the gig econo-
250 people began in 2016  as a result of  the Equality my as Uber’s five-year battle determining whether its
Act 2010. April 2018 was the initial deadline for pri- workers are entitled to basic employment protections
vate sector employers, and figures showed more than reached the Supreme Court in summer 2020. If unsuc-
three-quarters of UK companies pay men more on av- cessful, the company could be forced to pay out mil-
erage than women. lions in compensation and restructure their entire busi-
• Similar measures came into effect from early 2019 re- ness model. Stay tuned.
garding top earners. Large UK-listed companies are • Faced with increasing uncertainty surrounding profits
now required to declare the pay disparity between ex- and staff layoffs, online-only media organisations are
ecutives and average employees, disclosing ratios, and beginning to unionise. Led by outlets such as Buzzfeed

Practice Areas
justifying stakeholder interests when declaring pay.  and Vice UK, growing encouragement for the industry
• As debates continue to swirl surrounding zero-hours at large to follow suit are intensifying as precarious
and flexible contracts, the government’s Good Work working conditions plague online journalism.

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Addleshaw Goddard Clyde & Co Hogan Lovells Reed Smith
Allen & Overy CMS Irwin Mitchell Simmons & Simmons
Ashfords Cripps Pemberton Greenish Kingsley Napley Slaughter and May
B P Collins Dechert Leigh Day Squire Patton Boggs
Baker McKenzie Dentons Lewis Silkin Stephenson Harwood
Bates Wells DLA Piper Linklaters Stevens & Bolton
BDB Pitmans DWF Macfarlanes Taylor Vinters
Bevan Brittan Eversheds Sutherland Mayer Brown International Taylor Wessing
Bird & Bird Farrer & Co Michelmores TLT
Birketts Foot Anstey Mills & Reeve Travers Smith
Brabners Fox Williams Mishcon de Reya Trowers & Hamlins
Bryan Cave Leighton Freshfields Bruckhaus Muckle Ward Hadaway
Paisner Deringer Norton Rose Fulbright Winckworth Sherwood
Burges Salmon Gateley Legal Osborne Clarke Withers
Charles Russell Speechlys Gowling WLG (UK) Pinsent Masons Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Clifford Chance Herbert Smith Freehills

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 Environment chambersstudent.co.uk

Environment

In a nutshell Lawyers working for the Environment Agency

Environment lawyers advise corporate clients on dam- • Prosecute environmental crimes – this involves gather-
age limitation and pre-emptive measures, and they de- ing evidence, preparing cases and briefing barristers.
fend them from prosecution. In other words, the majority • Cooperate with government lawyers on the drafting
of private practitioners work for, rather than stick it to, and implementation of legislation.
big business. Opportunities do exist at organisations like • Work in Bristol and six regional bases, and are respon-
Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, but these jobs are sible for protecting and enhancing the environment.
highly sought after. Another non-commercial option is They also regulate corporate activities that have the
to work for a local authority, a government department capacity to pollute.
such as the Department for Environment, Food and Ru-
ral Affairs (Defra) or a regulatory body like the Environ- Realities of the job
ment Agency. However, be aware that hiring freezes and • In this competitive and demanding field, all-round
spending cuts have decreased the number of opportuni- skills are best complemented by experience in a spe-
ties in the public sector. cific area. The way in which environmental law spans
disciplines requires commercial nous and a good un-
Environment law overlaps with other disciplines such as derstanding of corporate structures.
Practice Areas

property, criminal law, corporate and EU law. Environmen- • Excellent academics are essential to help wade
tal issues can be deal breakers, especially in the modern through, extrapolate from and present research and
era of corporate social responsibility. However, the small complex legislation. You also need sound judgement,
size of most law firms’ environment teams means there pragmatism and the ability to come up with inventive
are few pure environmental specialists around. solutions.
• A basic grasp of science helps.
• If you want to change environmental laws or crusade
What lawyers do for a better planet, then stick to the public or non-profit
sectors. The sometimes uncomfortable realities of pri-
Lawyers in private practice vate practice won’t be for you.
• Advise on the potential environmental consequences • Client contact is key and relationships can endure over
of corporate, property and projects transactions. many years. Environmental risks are difficult to quan-
• Advise on compliance and regulatory issues to help tify and clients will rely on your gut instincts and pow-
clients operate within regulatory boundaries and avoid ers of lateral thinking.
investigation or prosecution. • With visits to waste dumps or drying reservoirs and
• Defend clients when they get into trouble over water or a workload that can span health and safety matters,
air pollution, waste disposal, emission levels, or health corporate transactions and regulatory advice all in one
and safety. Such cases can involve criminal or civil ac- day, this is neither a desk-bound nor a quiet discipline.
tions, judicial reviews and even statutory appeals. They • Research constantly advances, and legislation is al-
may also be subject to damaging media coverage ways changing in this field, so you’ll spend a lot of time
keeping up to date.
Lawyers with local authorities
• Handle a massive variety of work covering regulatory Current issues
and planning issues plus waste management and air • We now know the facts of the climate crisis. Address-
pollution prosecutions. ing the issue and adopting environmentally sustainable
• Advise the authority on its own potential liability. policies are fundamental to many major businesses
now, meaning law firms are increasingly required to
Lawyers working for Defra trumpet their sector expertise. Western governments
• Are responsible for litigation, drafting of subordinate are now collectively implementing legal frameworks to
legislation, advisory work and contract drafting on any honour experts’ recommendations; a major example of
of Defra’s varied mandates. this is the UK government’s pledge to bring all green-
• Work in a team of lawyers including Government Legal house gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Service trainees. • The pandemic has caused plans for the 2020 UN cli-
mate summit in Glasgow to be pushed back till Novem-
ber 2021, with lockdown measures making an inter-
national conference this year not possible. Christiana

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chambersstudent.co.uk Environment

Figueres, the UN climate chief, stated: “Emissions must • If there’s a positive to take from the Covid-19 pandemic,
peak this year if we want to limit warming to 1.5C and the it’s the limitations that lockdown has placed on travel
Paris agreement set the Cop26 summit as the moment and consumption; the UK has seen a dramatic drop in
when all countries would ramp up their targets in line greenhouse gases and air pollutants during the lock-
with the steep emissions decline we need to see in this down. Covid-19 has caused a drop of 1,048 million
decisive next decade.” tonnes of CO2 in just the first four months of 2020. The
• Fracking was effectively banned in the UK following International Energy Agency (IEA) report that globally,
a government moratorium in November 2019. Environ- humans will use 6% less energy this year – the equiva-
mental protesters and legal challenges had made de- lent to the entire energy demand of India. On the flip
fending the practice very difficult in the run-up to this; side, some scientists describe the lasting effects of
the High Court had ruled in March that then-current the lockdown on climate change as minimal – the real
guidelines surrounding fracking were unlawful be- impact of the coronavirus crisis on climate, some say,
cause they ran contrary to scientific evidence. depends on government choices on the economy and
• Nuclear energy also remains a hot topic. The devel- how much they will continue to use fossil fuels.
opment of a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in • In June 2020 Denmark passed one of the strongest
Somerset has been marred with delays and increas- laws surrounding climate change as of yet. The new
ing cost estimates, with one estimating the project will law could make climate change illegal; the law involves
cost consumers £50 billion, but involved parties remain legally binding targets for the Danish government to
confident it will go ahead. Other planned sites in the meet. Denmark have agreed to reach 70% below its
UK have been cancelled after the withdrawal of Japa- 1990 emissions in the next 11 years and aims for carbon
nese investor Hitachi. Law firms are currently helping neutrality by 2050.

Practice Areas
companies to negotiate the minefield of regulations as • There has been talk of a new law to end deforestation
they prepare applications for nuclear development op- in supply chains. The Global Resource Initiative sub-
portunities. mitted their recommendations to the UK government
• A no-deal Brexit will inevitably result in a loss of influ- in March 2020; the new law would make it illegal for
ence over EU environmental policy for the UK, but the UK companies to create products from violating eco-
potential domestic effect is more difficult to gauge. systems and breaking local regulations around tree
EU member states have historically been more willing logging. Destruction of trees and land is currently re-
to tackle environmental issues collectively, due to the sponsible for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
reduced risk of businesses being undercut by competi- • Climate protests –Extinction Rebellion foremost among
tion from fellow European states. Leaving could there- them – have drawn greater attention to environmental
fore reduce the incentives for the UK to maintain its concerns, sometimes through potentially criminal acts.
current level of environmental regulation – especially Just as legislation to counter climate change is likely
in the event of any economic downturn – though this in to increase in the coming years, so too will laws sur-
turn is likely to depend on the trade deal the UK strikes rounding how far members of the public can go to draw
with the EU. attention to the crisis.
• A coalition of leading UK and international campaign • Keep on top of changes in environmental law using
groups (including Greenpeace, WWF and the National websites like www.endsreport.com. You can enhance
Trust) constructed a manifesto demanding that the your CV and prime yourself by joining organisations
government continues to cooperate with the EU on en- such as the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) and
ergy and climate change, while also introducing poli- the UK Environmental Law Association. The charity ELF
cies and investment to create new farming and fishing provides a referral service for members of the public,
industries. Some 194 MPs from across the UK’s politi- organises lectures in London and produces regular
cal parties have pledged their support. newsletters for members.

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Allen & Overy CMS Latham & Watkins Stevens & Bolton
B P Collins Dentons Leigh Day TLT
Baker McKenzie DLA Piper Linklaters Travers Smith
Birketts Eversheds Sutherland Norton Rose Fulbright Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Bryan Cave Leighton Foot Anstey Osborne Clarke
Paisner Freshfields Bruckhaus Pinsent Masons
Burges Salmon Deringer Reed Smith
Clifford Chance Gowling WLG (UK)

 
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 Family chambersstudent.co.uk

Family

In a nutshell Realities of the job

Lawyers are involved with almost every aspect of fam- • When it comes to relationships and families, no two
ily life, from the legal mechanics and complications of sets of circumstances will ever be the same. You will
marriage and civil partnerships to divorce, disputes be- encounter a real mix of clients: some at a joyful mo-
tween cohabitants, inheritance disputes between family ment in their lives, others facing deeply traumatic
members, prenuptial and cohabitation agreements, and times. A good family law practitioner combines the
all matters relating to children. Whether working in a gen- empathetic, sensitive qualities of a counsellor with the
eral high-street practice with a large caseload of legally clarity of thought and commercial acumen of a law-
aided work, or for a specialist practice dealing with big- yer. You need to remain  detached and unflappable to
money divorces, complex child custody cases or interna- achieve the results your clients need.
tional matters, family solicitors are in court a good deal • Tough negotiating skills and a strong nerve are vital as
and are fully occupied back in the office. your work has immediate and practical consequences.
The prospect of telling a client that they’ve lost a cus-
There is effectively a division between child law and tody battle does much to sharpen the mind.
matrimonial law, with many practitioners devoting them- • A pragmatic and real-world outlook is useful; however,
selves exclusively to one or the other; others plant a foot you’ll also need to spend time keeping abreast of legal
Practice Areas

in each. Unfortunately, family law is an area that has been developments.

seriously affected by legal aid cuts. • On publicly funded matters you’ll face your share of
bureaucracy, and it certainly won’t make you rich.
• Matrimonial law is strongly affected by court decisions,
What lawyers do which can sometimes take a surprising turn.
• The chances to do advocacy are more plentiful than in
Matrimonial  many areas of law.
• Interview and advise clients on prenuptial agreements,
cohabitation arrangements, divorce and the financial Current issues
implications of separation. This can involve issues like • Parting ways with your significant other may have just
inheritance and wills, conveyancing, welfare benefits, got a whole lot easier. Moving away from the require-
company law, tax and trusts, pensions and even judicial ment of proving one of five fault-based claims, the
review. ‘blame game’ could come to an end following the intro-
• Prepare the client’s case for divorce and settlement duction of the 2019 Divorce, Dissolution and Separation
hearings, including organising witnesses and provid- Bill. The new legislation, which gained Royal Assent in
ing summaries of assets/finances, which will require June 2020, legalised the concept of a ‘no fault’ divorce
dealing with accountants and financial and pensions (likely to become possible in autumn 2021), introduced
advisers. an option for a joint divorce petition, and allowed for a
• Attend conferences with barristers. 26-week notice period in place of the current two or
• Represent clients in hearings or brief barristers to do five-year separation. The government will also review
so. the £550 court fee for the divorce application with the
• Negotiate settlements and associated financial terms. implementation of an online divorce system, cutting
the cost of administration for the courts.
Child law • People can now apply for divorce and probate online,
• In private cases: interview and advise clients on the im- which is said to have made the process more efficient
plications of divorce with regard to child custody and and decreased the number of errors. The average time
residence. In some instances this will result in court ac- it takes for a digital divorce application is just over 20
tion. Deal with disputes between parents or other fam- weeks, but paper-based or ‘traditional’ applications
ily members over care and contact with children. take nearly 67 weeks according to law firm Boodle
• In public cases: represent local authorities, parents, Hatfield. Government statistics indicate that about
children’s guardians or children themselves on matters 40% of divorces applications were made digitally.
such as children’s care proceedings or abuse in care • The jury’s out on the effect of Covid-19 and the subse-
claims. Social workers, probation officers, psycholo- quent lockdown on divorce rates in the UK. Co-op Le-
gists and medical professionals will also be involved in gal Services saw a 42% increase in divorce queries be-
cases. tween March and May compared to 2019; on the other
hand, a YouGov poll that asked over 1,000 UK divorcees

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chambersstudent.co.uk Family

whether they would go ahead with a divorce during the sations on their experiences of how the family courts
pandemic found that 28% of respondents would prob- protect them and their children in private family law
ably refrain from doing so. proceedings. The evidence gathering spanned three
• According to the Office for National Statistics, the months, concluding on 26 August. As well as shining
divorce rate among opposite-sex couples fell to its a spotlight on child safety, health and wellbeing in the
lowest rate in 46 years in 2018 – a decrease of more current system, the project will consider the impact of
than 10% compared with the previous year. The drop continued contact with historically abusive parents.
is even more dramatic when you consider a backlog in • The number of teenagers in care has risen by 25% in
processing divorces accounts for a chunk of the 2018 four years, according to the latest Stability Index. The
figures. Divorcing couples had been married for an increase, driven by a growing number of teenagers
average 12 and a half years when they finalised their (with more complex and expensive needs) in the sys-
separation; the most commonly cited ground was ‘un- tem is threatening its overall stability. Issues that are
reasonable behaviour’. most commonly flagged up by social workers include
• Dating apps are of course all the rage, but there’s child sexual exploitation (now six times more likely
now also a divorce app operating in the UK. Amicable, than five years ago) and trafficking (a staggering 12
which launched in 2016, was created by family coun- times more likely) as well as drug misuse, involvement
sellor Kate Daly and IT consultant Pip Wilson; it’s not in gangs and going missing from home. Findings within
intended to replace the services of divorce lawyers, the Stability Index report show that, over a three-year
but to help separating couples manage childcare and period, more than half of children in care moved home
other priorities. once or more and one in ten moved four or more times,
• In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that civil partner- reflecting the instability inherent to the lives of chil-

Practice Areas
ships between heterosexual couples were legal, mean- dren in the care system.
ing the option is now available to all couples. • Family law no longer qualifies for legal aid, except in
• A High Court judge had previously ruled that Islamic cases involving domestic violence or child abuse. Fam-
marriages can be recognised as a marriage within ily law organisation Resolution points to two marked
English law in a case where Nasreen Akhter, a solici- trends since 2012’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punish-
tor, petitioned for divorce. This is something that was ment of Offenders Act: there has been a decrease in
previously an issue for the large proportion of Muslim the number of agreements reached after mediation,
women whose marriages were ‘nikah-only’ rather than and a significant increase in the number of litigants
being recognised by a civil ceremony. In 2020, howev- without representation. Resolution has been pushing
er, the Appeals Court ruled that such ceremonies were for the planned review of legal aid to take place, but
not valid legal arrangements in the UK, overturning the the Justice Minister decided to postpone the review
previous decision. Lawyers have predicted that legisla- in March 2018. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the
tion to address this issue is likely to follow. MOJ announced it was investing £3 million in support
• The ‘call for evidence’ project, initiated by the govern- of people representing themselves in court, including
ment in the summer of 2019, established an expert in family courts.
panel to gather evidence from individuals and organi-

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Birketts Cripps Pemberton Greenish Mishcon de Reya Withers
Blaser Mills Law Farrer & Co Russell-Cooke
Boodle Hatfield Harbottle & Lewis Stevens & Bolton
Brabners Irwin Mitchell Taylor Vinters

83
 Government and public policy chambersstudent.co.uk

Government and public policy

In a nutshell • As associates become more senior, the role becomes

Centred on the Administrative Court, public law relates to more about the advocacy and long-term strategic
the principles governing the exercise of power by public thinking. “You need to understand what the client wants
bodies. Those which most often appear as respondents to achieve and analyse that in the context of the current
in the High Court include government departments, lo- regulatory, policy and political environment, and then de-
cal authorities, the prison service and NHS trusts. Often velop a solution that is commercially, legally and politi-
the headline cases are challenges to central government cally credible.”
policies like terror suspect control orders, the extradition • Being experts in a complex academic field, senior law-
of failed asylum seekers, secret courts and the giving of yers will often contribute to research journals and pro-
evidence anonymously. Lawyers specialise in statutory vide thought leadership.
appeals, regulatory disputes and freedom of information
issues. Realities of the job
• A real interest in academic law is a prerequisite. Com-
The most important process in public practice is judicial plex arguments are more common than precise an-
review: the Administrative Court may order that any de- swers, so public policy lawyers need a genuine interest
cision made unlawfully be overturned or reconsidered. in the legislative process and fundamental laws of the
Practice Areas

Decisions are often reviewed on the basis of the Human land.

Rights Act 1998. Other big-ticket work comes from pub- • While legal intellect is vital, public law’s real-world is-
lic inquiries: the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual sues demand a practical outlook and an ability to stand
Abuse and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry are two ongoing back from the issue in question.
examples. However, for every (in)famous case reported in • Clients tend to be in innovative and disruptive sectors,
the media, there are hundreds relating to daily decisions such as tech and life sciences, where innovation out-
taken by public bodies on immigration, welfare, planning paces regulatory responses.
and school places. • “If you’re doing a simple thing in a well-established way
then there aren’t going to be big policy questions you
Some fims also involve themselves on the policy side of need to engage the government on,” we heard. “However,
issues. At top firms, teams mayconsist of lawyers who are if you’re doing something innovative that isn’t contem-
experts in the above, as well as some people who aren’t plated by existing legislation, that is when you need to be
lawyers by profession. “They have worked within the civil able to engage effectively with government – to illustrate
service and understand how machinery of government both the challenge and the potential win for government
works in practice as opposed to simply in theory.” Hogan and business.”
Lovells regulatory lawyer Charles Brasted explains. “It’s • Brasted confirms “it’s a niche area and not easy to make
marrying those two things together that makes the most a career in.  It’s also the sort of job where you’re unlikely
effective teams.” to switch off completely because there is always some-
thing whirring at the back of mind.”
• A sensitivity of audience and top-notch communication
What lawyers do skills are absolutely essential. “Sometimes our audi-
• “We help the government make better decisions by shar- ence is a Supreme Court bench; sometimes its a special
ing the knowledge of our clients who are absolute ex- advisor in DCMS; sometimes it’s a group of backbench
perts in their fields. That could mean anything from post- MPs. Your core pitch might be the same, but the way you
Brexit trade negotiations to the future of digitalisation.” articulate it can be very different. That comes with expe-
• Bring and advise on judicial review claims. rience but it’s also something you have to have innately.”
• Inform government decisions, drawing on the knowl-
edge of firm clients: “It could cover anything from post- Current issues
Brexit trade negotiations to the future of digitalisation.” • In one of the most well-publicised public law cases in
• Analyse select committee hearings for issues relevant recent memory, the Supreme Court determined that
to clients. the government could not trigger Article 50 to with-
• Research what parliament or specific MPs have said on draw from the EU without first passing an Act of Par-
an issue. liament. The case represented a major test of govern-
• Examine complex legislation surrounding the legisla- ment prerogative and the role of Parliament in foreign
tion of a particular sector. affairs, and set an important precedent. Over 50 bar-
risters were involved in the case.

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chambersstudent.co.uk Government and public policy

• As the threat of a no-deal Brexit looms large, serious • After being stripped of her citizenship by then Home
questions are being raised over the future of the un- Secretary Sajid Javid in 2019, the Supreme Court is set
ion, particularly between the UK and Scottish govern- to rule on whether Shamima Begum should be allowed
ments. to return to the UK. Her case has become central to
• Brexit is likely to affect a host of public law fields in- the question of how government deals with returning
cluding immigration, human rights, environment, plan- jihadists, and the concept of statelessness.
ning and data protection. That said, while many existing • Legal issues related to counterterrorism measures and
rules emanate from the EU, a good chunk have been data/surveillance have both been in the news. A case
incorporated directly into UK law. The government has brought by Labour deputy leader Tom Watson estab-
stated it intends to leave the jurisdiction of the Euro- lished in early 2018 that the government’s mass digi-
pean Court of Justice, so it can no longer hear English tal surveillance regime was unlawful, with judges rul-
cases on appeal. The UK will remain part of the Euro- ing that the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers
pean Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, however, as Act was ‘inconsistent with EU law’. The appointment
this is part of the Council of Europe not the EU. of Huawei to help build the UK’s 5G mobile network
• Following through on one of their 2019 manifesto provoked fresh concerns: the company’s connections
promises, in July 2020 the government launched an- to the Chinese government led some to fear it could
independent panel to re-evaluate judicial reviews. be involved in ‘spying’ and espionage, and the leaked
Among various objectives, the review is specifically plans led to the resignation of Gavin Williamson as de-
looking at whether the terms of judicial review should fence secretary.
be written into law and whether certain executive deci- • The relationship between politics and social media re-
sions should be decided on by judges. mains cloudy. Vote Leave received a fine of £61,000 for

Practice Areas
• An increasing number of government decisions are breaking electoral spending laws; many have concerns
being automated, employing the use of algorithms to over the organisation’s links to the Cambridge Analyti-
make decisions on things such as welfare and criminal ca scandal, which resulted in Facebook being fined $5
justice. Most recently, the government’s decision to use billion as a penalty for not sufficiently ensuring users’
an algorithm to allocate A-level results attracted wide- privacy.
spread criticism, prompting a U-turn.

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Allen & Overy CMS Hodge Jones & Allen Solici- Trowers & Hamlins
Ashfords Covington & Burling tors Limited Winckworth Sherwood
Baker McKenzie DLA Piper Hogan Lovells Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Bates Wells DWF Irwin Mitchell
BDB Pitmans Eversheds Sutherland Kingsley Napley
Bevan Brittan Freshfields Bruckhaus Leigh Day
Bryan Cave Leighton Deringer Mills & Reeve
Paisner

85
 Human rights and immigration chambersstudent.co.uk

Human rights and immigration

In a nutshell Realities of the job

Human rights lawyers protest injustice and fight for prin- • The competition for training contracts is huge. Volun-
ciples at the point of intersection between the state’s tary work at a law centre or specialist voluntary organi-
powers and individuals’ rights. Cases usually relate in sation, or other relevant experience, is essential.
some way to the UK’s ratification of the European Con- • A commitment to and belief in the values you’re fight-
vention on Human Rights (ECHR) through the Human ing for is essential in this relatively low-paid area. Work
Rights Act and crop up in criminal and civil contexts, in the voluntary sector or taking on important cases pro
often through the medium of judicial review - a key tool bono can provide the greatest satisfaction.
in questioning the decisions of public bodies. Civil con- • Because much of the work is publicly funded, firms do
texts include claims regarding the right to education or not usually offer attractive trainee salaries or sponsor-
community care under the Mental Health Act, cases of ship through law school.
discrimination at work and even family issues. Criminal • Sensitivity and empathy are absolutely essential be-
contexts could relate to complaints against the police, cause you’ll often be dealing with highly emotional
prisoners’ issues, public order convictions following dem- people, those with mental health issues or those who
onstrations or perhaps extradition on terror charges. simply don’t appreciate the full extent of their legal
predicament.
Practice Areas

Immigration lawyers deal with both business and person- • Strong analytical skills are required to pick out the
al immigration matters. The former is the more lucrative legal issues you can change from the socio-economic
of the two areas, and sees lawyers assist highly skilled ones beyond your control.
migrants in obtaining residency or leave to remain in the • In the battle against red tape and institutional indiffer-
UK and helping non-nationals secure visas for travel ence, organisational skills and a vast store of patience
abroad. Lawyers also work with companies that need to are valuable assets.
bring in employees from overseas. Personal immigration • Opportunities for advocacy are abundant, which means
lawyers represent individuals who have fled persecution that knowledge of court and tribunal procedures is a
in their country of origin. They also take on cases for peo- fundamental requirement. Often cases must pass
ple whose right to stay in the UK is under threat or indeed through every possible stage of appeal before referral
entirely absent. All facets of immigration law are likely to to judicial review or the Supreme Court.
see complex changes in the wake of the UK’s decision to • If working within a commercial firm, the clients will be
leave the EU. businesses and public sector organisations. As such
there will be less of a campaigning element to the work
and you will not necessarily feel you are ‘on the side of
What lawyers do the angels’.
• As should be obvious, this area can become heavily
Business immigration lawyers politicised, probably more than any other area at the
• Advise and assist businesses or their employees in re- moment. Lawyers should have a thick skin.
lation to work permits and visas. Lawyers need to be
up to speed on all current schemes, such as those for Current issues
highly skilled migrants and investors. • Human rights and immigration law could be one of the
• Prepare for, attend and advocate at tribunals or court areas most affected by the UK’s decision to leave the
hearings, where necessary instructing a barrister to do EU. There is an atmosphere of uncertainty as regards
so. the future of the free movement of people between
EU member states and the UK; controls on immigration
Personal immigration lawyers from the EU are likely to be introduced. Employment
• Advise clients on their status and rights within the UK. law protections and free movement could be stripped
• Secure evidence of a client’s identity, medical reports from domestic legislation, although it remains to be
and witness statements, and prepare cases for court seen what will be carried over as part of the country’s
hearings or appeals. Represent clients or instruct a future relationship with the bloc. Some have feared
barrister to do so. that British government talk of deregulation will weak-
• Undertake an immense amount of unremunerated form en the rights of workers and immigrants to the UK.
filling and legal aid paperwork. • Brexit has generated serious concern among foreign
nationals living in the UK about their ability to remain in
the country long-term. In 2016 92,000 permanent resi-

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chambersstudent.co.uk Human rights and immigration

dence applications were received, with a sharp spike tlement as swiftly as possible. A recent case hit the
recorded shortly after the June referendum. In a bid to headlines in which planned flights were cancelled due
stem the flood of applications, the Home Office asked to concerns of the legality of the matter. The rushed
prospective residency applicants to sign up for email affair brought to light figures that the Home Office has
alerts that would inform them if they needed to take spent approximately £1 million deporting just 285 peo-
action. The run-up to Britain’s full withdrawal will prob- ple, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ably see an increase in this trend, with British expatri- • Lockdown plans during the coronavirus crisis have in
ates continuing to apply for permanent residency in turn prompted questions of human rights. Concerns
their adopted nations. have been voiced from both sides of the political spec-
• Controversy continues to emerge from the Windrush trum, with lawyers and commentators arguing that
scandal, which erupted in 2018 after it emerged that Covid-19 restrictions should not infringe unnecessar-
more than 80 people (at least) were wrongly detained ily on human rights or be imposed beyond a particular
and threatened with deportation. The scandal lead to time period. Former Supreme Court justice Lord Sump-
the resignation of then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd tion has been an especially vocal critic of lockdown
and prompted more widespread concern about UK im- measures and their infringement of civil liberties.
migration authorities’ practices. • The situation in Hong Kong has been another focal
• The Home Office Immigration Unit continues to draw point in 2020. With China introducing new security
criticism, with Priti Patel under fire for a more hardline laws that threaten the former British colony’s special
approach to movement of people than previous Home status, the UK government has responded with various
Secretaries. The lack of diversity within the senior proposals including Hong Kong residents ultimately
ranks of the Home Office not only risks a repeat of the becoming able to apply for British citizenship. This

Practice Areas
Windrush scandal, but leaves the government open to could affect up to 3 million people.
criticism as it draws up post-Brexit criteria for immigra- • The issue of human rights in the digital sphere contin-
tion to the UK. ues to draw public attention, particularly with regard to
• It’s unclear for now what effect the UK’s new immigra- the controversial Investigatory Powers Act. It requires
tion rules will have on the numbers of migrants coming telecoms providers to record users’ data for twelve-
to the country. Government officials have signalled (di- month periods and allows government agencies – rang-
rectly or otherwise) an aim for numbers to come down, ing from HM Revenue & Customs, the Competition and
but plans in the early days of the post-2010 Conserva- Markets Authority, the National Crime Agency and the
tive government for immigration in the ‘tens of thou- Food Standards Agency – to access that information.
sands’ were officially axed by Boris Johnson in 2019. It’s After a 2018 ruling that the Act violates EU law, the
likely that immigration from outside the EU will make government introduced The Data Retention and Ac-
up a larger proportion of the total numbers than before quisition Regulations 2018 to address the ruling: this
Brexit, as a more ‘level’ playing field is introduced. tightened the requirements for accessing data, requir-
• As refugees and asylum seekers make their way to the ing suspicion of a serious crime.
UK, the Home Office has repeatedly promised reset-

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Bates Wells Solicitors Limited Leigh Day Squire Patton Boggs
Birketts Irwin Mitchell Lewis Silkin Stevens & Bolton

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 Infrastructure and PPP chambersstudent.co.uk

Infrastructure and PPP

What are PPPs? derground Network in the late 90s. Eschewing calls for
In simple terms, public-private partnerships, also known further privatisation to deliver the upgrades, the incum-
as P3s, are long-term cooperative agreements between bent Labour government initiated a PPP to modernise the
the public and private sectors that are created to design, network, which included the refurbishment of over 30
finance and operate large infrastructure projects.This stations and additional track works on the Victoria and
compares to conventional procurement processes where Northern lines. Although the project delivered some suc-
private contractors might be involved in the building of an cesses –23 stations were modernised –ultimately TfL was
asset, but where the public sector provides the finance. forced to step in and take over the project due to escalat-
The best known of these are PFIs (Private Finance Initia- ing costs between 2003 and 2007, citing poor financial
tives), which were popularised by the UK in the 90s. In control by one of the project’s private contractors, Met-
this structure, the private party provides the upfront pay- ronet. Estimates of the loss to the taxpayer have been put
ment for a project through raisingfinance from debt and at between £170 and £410 million. “It’s fair to say that PPP
equity providers. has had some bad press; PFIs in particular have fallen out of
popularity in the last decade,” Ritchie concedes.
The government then reimburses them in annual pay-
ments over a long-term period, typically between 20 to More recently, the collapse of construction giant Caril-
Practice Areas

30 years. “Having a government-backed income is attrac- lion once again brought PFIs to the forefront of political
tive for investors,” CMS infrastructure and projects part- debate. When it went into liquidation in January 2018, the
ner Ailsa Ritchie explains. She adds that “today many firm had over 400 public sector contracts, many of which
people use PPP and PFI interchangeably, but there a huge needed to be rescued at a cost of over £150 million to
range of different models across the market. For example, a the taxpayer. Despite the bad press, a report by the Na-
PPP can just be a partnership without a private finance el- tional Auditing Office in 2018 pointed out that more than
ement.” In Scotland, NPDs (Non-Profit Distributing) were 700 PFI and PF2 deals are in operation today, totalling
developed to replace the traditional PFI model. Similarly, around £60 billion in value. 2016-17 alone saw £10.3 bil-
Wales also has its own initiative: the Mutual Investment lion charged in these projects, and even if they were to
Model or MIM. cease today, future projects would run up to 2040 and
require £199 billion of funding. Ailsa Ritchie questions
how “the prime-minister’s rhetoric to level up the country
The arguments for and against and ‘build build build’,” will be reconciled with the reality
According to YouGov, PPPs have delivered £56 billion of “that public coffers have been significantly diminished as
private sector capital investment in over 700 UK infra- a result of spending on the pandemic. If it means there is
structure projects: “These include new schools, hospitals, less capital for capital projects to be funded, will there be a
roads, housing, prisons, and military equipment and accom- move for revenue funded projects?”
modation.” PPPs have typically been viewed as an attrac-
tive option for governments reluctant to rely on public In the wider international arena, many organisations in-
borrowing to fund infrastructure projects. Many also cluding UN agencies such as the United Nations Econom-
highlight the advantage they have in transferring risks ic Commission for Europe are exploring the potential role
away from government bodies, as well as being able to PPPs could have helping lower-income countries develop
harness the skills and innovation offered by the private their economies in a way that is compatible with the UN’s
sector. While PPP projects have certainly helped deliver Sustainable Development Goals. Recognising the inade-
a range of infrastructure projects across the UK, they quacy of the traditional PPP model, ideas of ‘People-first
have also been a magnet for controversy, with many cit- Public-Private Partnerships’ are receiving attention. As
ing a poor return on investment and the risk of the public well as aiming to promote social justice and platform-
losing operational control. Though quantifying the exact ing people’s wellbeing, these would designed around the
economic benefits of using PFI can be difficult, one re- highest standards of environmental sustainability.
port by the House of Commons Committee of Public Ac-
counts found that ‘the cost of private sector borrowing
can be as much as 2% to 3.75% more expensive than the What lawyers do
cost of government borrowing.’ Law firms typically represent private companies through
a ‘special purpose vehicle’ (SPV) established to build,
One project that attracted significant criticism revolved own and operate the end result of the project. The pro-
around plans to upgrade large parts of the London Un- ject company is a joint venture between various ‘spon-

88
chambersstudent.co.uk Infrastructure and PPP

sor’ companies. An SPV could also be partly owned by a transport – road or rail infrastructure, expertise in the health
government body or banks. One report by the European sector-building and operating hospitals, or other areas such
Services Strategy Unit likened an SPV to “a spider sitting as defence or waste. You end up having expert knowledge
at the centre of a web of contracts. It is the body through on the risks associated with that area.”
which loans for the PFI project are raised and through which
the service providers under the PFI contract are secured.” Like corporate, it’s a very transactional area of law. “How-
ever, unlike an M&A deal which might operate overt short
“In a typical PFI deal, you will be advising funders on the as- bursts of time, PFI/PPP deals typically operate over much
sociated risks of the project,” Ritchie tells us. “However, as longer time tables,” Ritchie explains. She adds that “good
a lawyer, your role in a typical deal can vary greatly depend- team building skills are essential as you will be negotiat-
ing on who you are representing. For example, you could be ing with a range of different parties over extended periods.”
advising the public sector on the whole procurement pro- There’s also a huge amount of documentation involved
cess and helping them to appoint a private sector partner so a “deep understanding of the key contracts and the
who, if their bid is successful, with design build and operate relationship between documents is also key.” For more in-
a particular facility or piece of infrastructure. If acting for formation on Projects Law, please see our practice area
the private sector, you will be supporting your client as they overview page.
bid competitively to win the deal. If acting for the funders,
you’ll be advising on the associated risks of the project.”
On chambersstudent.co.uk....
While trainees and junior associates will typically remain • We take an in-depth look at HS2, one of the most
generalists, “the more you progress the more you will de- controversial infrastructure projects in recent years.

Practice Areas
velop expertise in a particular sector,” Ritchie explains. “In
terms of PFI or PPP, that could be specialist knowledge in

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Ashurst DLA Piper Hogan Lovells Osborne Clarke
Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Latham & Watkins Pinsent Masons
CMS Deringer Linklaters White & Case

89
 Insurance chambersstudent.co.uk

Insurance

In a nutshell • Prepare documents for court or out-of-court settle-

Insurance is the practice of hedging against financial ments.
risk; the practice and its fallout require a lot of legal work. • Attend pre-trial hearings, case management confer-
Insurance and reinsurance (even insurers are vulnerable ences and trials if a case goes to court.
to financial risk and they transfer part of their risk on to • Attend joint-settlement meetings, arbitrations or me-
reinsurers) are practised by a significant number of spe- diations in out-of-court cases.
cialist law firms and general commercial outfits across
the UK. Insurance can be split into many sub-specialisms Commercial insurance disputes
(see below), and firms may offer all or some of these • Work on claims related to things as varied as proper-
services. Personal injury and clinical negligence (includ- ties damaged by flood or fires, oil rigs destroyed by
ing public liability, employers’ liability, accident-at-work hurricanes, or gold mines nationalised by socialist gov-
claims, etc) are also insurance-related practice areas. ernments.
Maritime insurance was the first type to exist: read our • Work on disputes between insurers and the insured
practice area overview on shipping law for more. over insurance payouts and what insurance coverage
consists of, or act for the insurer and the insured to-
It’s possible to insure pretty much anything against al- gether in litigation with a third party.
Practice Areas

most any eventuality. Put differently, insurance is taken • Assess coverage and the insurer’s liability.
out to cover risks including human error, accidents and • Interview witnesses to find out how events occurred.
natural disasters. The most common types of insurance • Value the claim and build up the case for what the cli-
which lawyers deal with are: insurance against the de- ent feels is an adequate settlement.
struction of tangible assets (eg property); insurance • Attend court or mediations/arbitrations in order to
against the loss of intangible assets (eg revenue streams); come to a settlement.
and insurance against mistakes made by profession-
als (professional indemnity – the insurance-related bit Transactions
of professional negligence). Insurance lawyers work on • Broadly similar to the work of a general transactional
cases related to property damage, product liability, fraud, lawyer. There are extra rules and regulations governing
insolvency, directors’ liabilities (D&O), aviation, business insurance transactions which lawyers need to take into
interruption, mortgage losses, political events, technol- account.
ogy, energy, environment, construction, finance... the list
goes on. Disputes arise between the insured policyholder Realities of the job
and the insurer; between the insured plus the insurer and • While several legal practice areas fall under the in-
another party; or between the insurer and the reinsurer. surance umbrella, the insurance industry itself is a
distinct, single block within the City and the UK as a
Some lawyers specialise in the transactional aspects of whole. There are a few big well-known insurance com-
the insurance industry, advising on tax, regulations, re- panies out there, but over 400 are registered with the
structurings, drafting insurance policies, and M&A activ- famous insurance market Lloyd’s of London.
ity between insurance companies. • London is the global centre for insurance and reinsur-
ance and has been ever since Lloyd’s of London was
founded over 300 years ago. The industry is extremely
What lawyers do well established and has its own rules, traditions and
obscure terminology. Businesses based overseas will
Professional indemnity often be insured with a London firm, and the biggest
• Represent professionals accused of malpractice and disputes often have an international angle to them.
their insurers. The professions most often affected • The insurance industry has a reputation for being a bit
include engineers, architects, surveyors, accountants, dull; however, the legal side kicks in when calamities
brokers, financial advisers and solicitors as well as occur, making it quite eventful, as any ‘wet’ shipping
GPs, dentists, surgeons, etc. lawyer will tell you. It is also home to plenty of colourful
• Investigate a claim, assess its authenticity and look characters, and big companies organise many events,
into the coverage of a given insurance policy to deter- lectures and conferences for like-minded insurance-
mine an insurer’s degree of liability. ophiles to rub shoulders.
• Take advice from experts on professional conduct. • Insurance is a complex and technical area and insur-
• Draft letters in response to claims. ance policies are not the lightest reading material

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chambersstudent.co.uk Insurance

you’ll ever come across. Stints in insurance seats are months or so of the pandemic. The thinking behind
challenging for trainees, even those who have taken an this? Covid-19 can be used as justification for hiking up
insurance law elective on the LPC. new policy prices, swelling insurance company profits
• Insurance lawyers are known for their precise and fas- once the virus begins to come under control and pay-
tidious working style. Good organisational skills are outs decrease.
crucial, because lawyers are often dealing with a host • New risks to insure against are surfacing all the time:
of claims at various different stages. There are often lately, insuring companies against cyber attacks has
daily deadlines and clients need to be kept constantly gathered steam. However, this type of insurance some-
informed. times doesn’t protect against some of the worst effects
• Lawyers have to pay special attention to potentially of data breaches and hacking efforts: declines in share
fraudulent claims or parts of claims. price; regulatory compliance problems; and the com-
• Insurance cases range from huge international dis- pany in question getting a sticky bad rep.
putes to small local squabbles. Trainees might run a • In 2019, the UK government shook up what the in-
small case themselves, but only work on a component surer’s role is in paying out after an accident. Good
of a large high-value dispute. Lower-value work is usu- news for laypeople – the lump sum payouts are now
ally done by small or mid-sized regional and national higher. However, it’s bad news for insurers, who are
firms, while the largest disputes are the preserve of now forced to give out much larger amounts of money
City outfits. – many have speculated that their premiums will rise
• Many firms regularly act for both insurance companies as a result. This will also affect personal injury, clinical
and insured policyholders. There is a trend towards negligence, employment and many other areas of law
firms specialising in either policyholder or insurer in which companies are liable for accidents.

Practice Areas
work. • Technology is affecting the way that insurance is
• The insurance industry is regulated by the Financial bought and sold. Digital servicing has increased the
Conduct Authority. demand by customers for immediate servicing of
their needs, with young people in particular expect-
Current issues ing instantaneous communication from insurers when
• Many consumers have been left in indefinite uncertain- they’re making a claim.
ty regarding their travel insurance. With destinations • Telematics is a growing area in car insurance. A de-
being taken on and off the quarantine list unpredict- vice in a car can track the driver’s behaviour and send
ably, consumers and insurers alike are finding claims that info to the insurance company, which will charge
difficult to make or assess. premiums accordingly based on that driver’s risk of
• Care homes have seen their insurance premiums rise accident. Many leading auto insurers in the UK are
dramatically, sometimes almost tenfold, in light of the now using ‘black box’ technologies, including Admiral,
Covid-19 crisis, with many fearing the increase could Hastings Direct, Direct Line, Co-op, Tesco and the RAC.
put them out of business. Care England has called Some research has found telematics has also been
on the UK government to step in and help out, but no part of a decline in RTAs for those using it – also good
scheme had been announced by the time we went to news for insurers.
press. • The insurance market is also being reshaped by new
• The unprecedented number of unfortunate excess players – in 2017 Amazon launched its ‘Protect’ insur-
deaths in such a short space of time has led to a mas- ance offering to safeguard customers against issues
sive rise in life insurance payouts, with £90 million be- arising from the purchases they make on the site. Pre-
ing paid from 1 March to 31 May 2020 alone. viously a smaller presence in the UK, Allianz recently
• To combat lockdown and social distancing measures, completed two acquisitions that has catapulted it into
many establishments and eateries have changed their being one of the market’s biggest players: they gob-
layouts and business plans to adapt to the current cli- bled up Legal & General’s insurance branch and over
mate. Similarly, many food manufacturers have turned 50% of LV’s insurance practice too.
their hand to helping out for the greater good, such as • The scandal of mis-sold payment protection insurance
BrewDog using its factories to produce hand sanitiser (PPI) has dragged on for years and continues to gen-
in April 2020. However, companies could find them- erate headlines; the industry has already shelled out
selves in breach of their insurance policies if they stray £40 billion in compensation. Some claims date back
too far from the path, making it difficult for them to get to the 1980s, making compound interest a significant
cover or payouts in the future. factor. August 2019 saw the supposed final day people
• Though Covid-19 initially seemed to be a nightmare for could no longer make any claims – though in 2020, new
the insurance industry, investors have predicted there court rulings have opened the door for even more new
are long-term gains to be made by insurers. Reinsur- claims.
ance broker Willis Re estimated a total of $13 billion • The increase in celebrity scandal in recent years has
was invested into insurance companies in the first six led to a rise in celebrity ‘disgrace’ insurance, giving

91
 Insurance chambersstudent.co.uk

companies a payout when their beloved stars get can-

celled. The payouts could cover re-creating materials
the celebrity appears in and reimbursing the cost of
the celebrity’s contract.
Practice Areas

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Addleshaw Goddard Cooley HFW Reed Smith
Allen & Overy Covington & Burling Hogan Lovells RPC
Ashurst Debevoise & Plimpton K&L Gates Sidley Austin
BLM DLA Piper Kennedys Simmons & Simmons
Bryan Cave Leighton DWF Linklaters Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Paisner Eversheds Sutherland Mayer Brown International Meagher & Flom (UK)
Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Mishcon de Reya Slaughter and May
Clyde & Co Deringer Norton Rose Fulbright Stephenson Harwood
CMS Herbert Smith Freehills Pinsent Masons

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chambersstudent.co.uk Intellectual property

Intellectual property

Intellectual property • Issue court proceedings and prepare cases for trial
by taking witness statements, examining scientific or
In a nutshell technical reports and commissioning experiments and
Copyright lawyers, patent attorneys and trade mark at- tests. Junior lawyers may find themselves conducting
torneys work to protect their clients’ intellectual prop- consumer surveys and going on covert shopping expe-
erty assets. Technical solutions to technical problems ditions.
are deemed to be inventions, usually protectable via pat- • Instruct and consult with barristers. Solicitor advo-
ents that provide their proprietor with the exclusive right cates can appear in the Intellectual Property Enter-
to stop others working in the claimed area for a period of prise Court; the advantages of having a specialist IP
usually up to 20 years. Preparing a patent specification is barrister for higher court hearings are obvious.
a highly specialised task requiring particular scientific/ • Draft commercial agreements between owners of IP
technical expertise and knowledge combined with an un- rights and those who want to use the protected inven-
derstanding of the complex application procedures. tion, design or artistic work. The most common docu-
ments will either transfer ownership or grant a licence
Trade marks used to sell goods or services are protect- for use.
able by way of a registration procedure and provide a po- • Work as part of a multidisciplinary team on corporate

Practice Areas
tentially perpetual monopoly right. The aesthetic shape transactions, verifying ownership of IP rights and draft-
and way a product is designed is also protectable via ing documents enabling their transfer.
registered design protection for a limited period of time.
Unregistered rights also exist for a time for various de- Realities of the job
signs of products.  Copyright, on the other hand, lasts • Lawyers must be able to handle everyone from com-
during the lifetime of the creator and for a period after pany directors to inventors. Clients come from manu-
their death, and arises automatically on the creation of facturing, the hi-tech sector, engineering, pharma-
such products as music, artwork, works of literature or ceuticals, agrochemicals, universities and scientific
reference, databases, and web pages. institutions, media organisations and the arts.
• A degree in a relevant subject is common among pat-
A single product (e.g. a mobile phone) will be protected ent lawyers. Brand and trade mark lawyers need a
by several different forms of IP in countries all around curiosity for all things creative and must keep up with
the world. For would-be competitors wanting to make or consumer trends. Both need a good sense for commer-
sell something similar, a first costly hurdle is simply find- cial strategy.
ing out what these rights are and who owns them. In the • Attention to detail, precision and accuracy are all im-
worst-case scenario, getting it wrong or overlooking an portant. You must be meticulous, particularly when
IP right might result in being on the wrong end of a court drafting, as correct wording is imperative. Every aspect
injunction or costly damages (fearsomely so in the US), has a time limit. In trade mark, design filings and pros-
and ignorance is no defence! The work of an IP lawyer ecution, you will live by deadlines.
is not only specialist in itself, but increasingly it requires • In patent filing, procurement and strategy, you’ll need
close collaboration with other specialists in areas such to work seamlessly with a patent attorney. There are
as  IT,  media,  competition,  telecommunications,  life sci- hardly any solicitors who are also patent attorneys (and
ences and employment. vice versa).
• The volume of information and paperwork involved can
What lawyers do be huge on patent matters, though on the plus side you
• Search domestic, European and international registers could get the opportunity to visit research labs or fac-
of patents, trade marks and registered designs to es- tories to learn about production processes etc.
tablish ownership of existing rights or the potential to • The stakes can be high. Commercial research and de-
register new rights. velopment in the pharmaceutical sector is motivated
• Take all steps to protect clients’ interests by securing by profit, not philanthropy. The investment involved will
patents, trade marks and registered designs; appeal have been colossal, and even a day’s loss of sales can
unfavourable decisions; attack decisions that benefit be eye-watering. Success or failure in litigation can
others but harm the lawyer’s own client. dramatically affect a company’s share price.
• Write letters to require that third parties desist from • Manufacturing, pharmaceutical and research compa-
carrying out infringing activities or risk litigation for nies usually employ patent specialists and there tend
damages and an injunction. to be in-house legal teams at all the larger companies.

93
 Intellectual property chambersstudent.co.uk

In the media, major publishers and television compa- • The Digital Economy Act increased the maximum sen-
nies employ in-house IP lawyers. tence for copyright infringement from two to ten years
in prison. Enforcement so far seems to be more target-
Current Issues ed at copyright infringement for commercial purposes
• During a recession, research and development budgets rather than personal use.
are slashed as companies hunker down and take their • According to the World Intellectual Property Organiza-
eyes off their ambitions. This means fewer products tion (WIPO), at the end of 2018 China had filed the most
will need patenting, licensing and copyrighting. How- patent applications of any country: the circa 1.5 million
ever, the tech sector is looking resilient during this re- applications it filed accounted for more than half of all
cession; if anything the pandemic has been something filings.
of a heyday for the tech sector. And the pandemic has • Intellectual property disputes don’t only concern
naturally generated life sciences patenting work. commercial businesses. In 2012, the Welsh Govern-
• Post Brexit, the UK is required to follow EU IP regula- ment became embroiled in a copyright clash over two
tions until the transition period ends at the end of 2020. pictures of the poet Dylan Thomas that were used in
IP protections will remain for both regions irrespective Visit Wales promotions, which a former BBC journalist
of whether or not the UK is able to make a deal with claims copyright ownership of. With the case ongoing,
the EU. The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) the government has been criticised by Plaid Cymru for
plans to clone existing EU trade marks that are held spending more than £700,000 of public money in legal
by British inventors. Applicants are being encouraged fees so far.
to send matching requests to both the UKIPO and the • The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) re-
European Union Intellectual Property Office. cently ruled against Nestlé’s bid to register its four-
Practice Areas

• In July 2019, the UK Intellectual Property Office ap- finger KitKat as a trade mark after an objection by
proved a multimedia trade mark for the first time in Cadbury, which raised interesting questions in the IP
its history. Toshiba registered the ‘motion mark’, which circuit about whether a product’s shape alone could
shows origami-style polygons appearing and disap- distinguish it enough to justify a trade mark.
pearing around its logo. The UK updated trade mark
legislation in 2020 to include moving images, holo-
grams and sound.

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Addleshaw Goddard Dentons Hogan Lovells Simmons & Simmons
Allen & Overy DLA Piper Lewis Silkin Slaughter and May
Arnold & Porter DWF Linklaters Stephenson Harwood
Ashfords Eversheds Sutherland Mills & Reeve Stevens & Bolton
Baker McKenzie Freshfields Bruckhaus Mishcon de Reya Taylor Vinters
Bird & Bird Deringer Muckle Taylor Wessing
Brabners Gateley Legal Norton Rose Fulbright TLT
Bristows Gowling WLG (UK) Osborne Clarke Ward Hadaway
Burges Salmon Harbottle & Lewis Pinsent Masons Wedlake Bell
Charles Russell Speechlys Herbert Smith Freehills Reed Smith Wiggin
CMS Hewitsons RPC Womble Bond Dickinson UK

94
chambersstudent.co.uk Litigation

Litigation

In a nutshell Realities of the job

Litigation solicitors assist clients in resolving civil dis- • Work is driven by procedural rules and the timetable
putes. Disputes can concern anything from unpaid bills of the courts. Good litigators understand how best to
or unfulfilled contract terms to problems between land- manoeuvre within the system while also developing
lords and tenants, infringement of IP rights, construction- winning case strategies. 
related claims, the liabilities of insurers, shipping cases, • The phenomenal amount of paperwork generated
defective products, media and entertainment industry means that young litigators spend much of their time
wrangles… the list is endless. And that’s just in the com- sifting through documents, scheduling and copying
mercial sphere. The most common types of litigation them in order to provide the court and all other parties
involving private individuals are discussed at length in with an agreed bundle of evidence. 
our personal injury overview. • Litigators need to express themselves succinctly and
precisely. 
If disputes are not settled by negotiation, they will be • Unless the claim value is small, the solicitor’s job is
concluded either by court litigation or by an alterna- more about case preparation than court performance.
tive form of dispute resolution. The most common other Solicitor advocates are gaining ground, and once prop-
methods are arbitration and mediation. The former is erly qualified they can appear in the higher courts.

Practice Areas
often stipulated as the preferred method in commercial Nonetheless, barristers still dominate court advocacy
contracts, and is essentially a private court, while the lat- and the performance of some solicitor advocates has
ter is generally achieved through structured negotiations been criticised by the judiciary. 
between the parties, overseen by an independent media- • Trainee workloads largely depend on the type of firm
tor. These methods can still be problematic: arbitration is and the type of clients represented. Big City firms won’t
almost as expensive as litigating, mediation is not nec- give trainees free rein on huge international banking
essarily adequate for complex matters, and some argue disputes – they might not even go to court during their
that opponents can use alternative dispute resolution as training contract – but they will be able to offer a small
a means of ‘bleeding’ money from each other or as covert contribution to headline-making cases. Firms handling
interrogation.  much smaller claims will often expect trainees to deal
with all aspects of a case, from drafting correspond-
Confusingly, there are two divisions of the High Court ence and interim court applications to meetings with
dealing with civil cases – the Chancery Division and the clients and settlement negotiations. 
Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) – and each hears different • There are a number of litigation-led law firms that han-
types of cases. For instance, the Chancery Division han- dle cases of all sizes, and these present the best op-
dles matters relating to trusts, probate, insolvency, busi- portunities for a litigation-heavy training contract. The
ness and land law, while the QBD hears various contract competition for litigation jobs at NQ level is fierce, so
law and personal injury/general negligence cases.  concentrate on litigation-led firms if you are certain of
your leanings. 
• The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requires all
What lawyers do  trainee solicitors to gain some experience working on
• Advise claimants on whether they have a valid claim, disputes. People tend to learn early on whether they
and defendants on whether to settle or fight a claim are suited to this kind of work. At big City firms, the
made against them.  SRA’s Practice Skills Standards can be fulfilled by a
• Gather evidence and witnesses to support the client’s litigation crash course. Experience in specialised are-
position; develop case strategies.  as, like real estate litigation and employment, can also
• Issue court proceedings or embark on a process of al- satisfy the requirement. 
ternative dispute resolution if correspondence with the • Despite a few firms starting up in-house advocacy
opposition does not produce a satisfactory result.  units, the courts remain dominated by barristers, who
• Represent clients at pre-trial hearings and case man- are felt to have the edge when it comes to the skills and
agement conferences.  expertise needed to advocate. If you are determined to
• Attend conferences with barristers and brief them to become both a solicitor and an advocate, certain areas
conduct advocacy in hearings, trials and arbitrations.  of practice have more scope for advocacy – for exam-
• Attend trials, arbitrations and mediations with cli- ple, family, crime, employment and lower-value civil
ents; provide assistance to barristers.  litigation. 

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 Litigation chambersstudent.co.uk

Current issues • The threat to London grew after Singapore announced

• Many businesses have turned to law firms for advice as its UN-backed mediation convention in 2019. Signed by
the effects of the pandemic – supply chain disruption, 46 countries including China, the US, India and South
weaker cashflow increasing creditor risk – have left Korea, the proposals provide for enforcement of medi-
many unable to fulfil the obligations laid out in their ated agreements across borders and currently exclude
contracts. This includes renegotiating contracts and the EU and UK.
invoking any ‘force majeure’ clauses. A major question • Artificial intelligence is shaking up various legal prac-
increasingly being asked is whether the outbreak or its tice areas, not least litigation. According to a Consilio
consequences amount to a force majeure event, that survey, legal professionals predict that litigation analy-
is, an unforeseeable circumstance that prevents some- sis will be the second most heavily impacted legal task
one from fulfilling a contract. affected by AI after e-discovery. The key drivers for AI
• Litigation on both sides of the Atlantic is increasing as in UK litigation are managing data and litigation costs,
asset values drop and cashflow is put at risk. Research the challenge of doing more higher-risk work with less
from Freshfields has shown that sectors with the larg- resources, and judicial support for predictive coding
est decline in market capitalisation include commercial and other tech measures. The key uses of AI in UK liti-
aerospace, air and travel, oil and gas, banks, insurance, gation include disclosure document review, predicting
and automotive assembly. judgments and analysing data. If you haven’t jumped
• Practitioners operating in the litigation and dispute on the tech bandwagon, now is as good a time as any.
resolution sector can expect to see some fairly sig- • Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing sectors for
nificant changes to the constitutional landscape in the litigation.
wake of the EU referendum. Wholly domestic court • Today’s corporations are much more mindful of their
Practice Areas

processes are unlikely to be affected, but litigation and non-legal obligations and public perception than their
other forms of dispute resolution with cross-border predecessors. Future litigation is increasingly likely to
facets are directly affected by the EU legal framework. take into consideration that a legal or fiscal win might
If, post-Brexit, the UK’s legislation were to conflict with not be viewed as a victory if it’s publicly deemed to be
that of the EU, there would be a marked drop in effi- conducted in an ugly manner.
ciency, parallel proceedings might produce conflicting • The same research points out that while litigation born
judgments, and the enforcement of decisions could out of the 2008 crisis has centred on allegations of
also prove problematic. Litigators may also decide that fraud, negligence and bad faith, litigation emerging
the risk of pursuing cross-border disputes with EU from the pandemic will instead centre on issues of al-
counterparties is commercially unjustifiable. location and assumption of risk.
• London has long been a popular forum for international • Many anticipate a sharp rise in the number of class ac-
litigation and arbitration, but in recent years a number tion filings in many countries around the world in the
of other financial centres, including Singapore, Dubai form of consumer claims, securities litigations, mass
and Qatar, have been setting up English-speaking employment claims and insurance claims. In the UK,
commercial courts staffed by British and international recent procedural and legislative changes have also
judges in an effort to challenge London’s dominance. made it easier to initiate class actions.
London’s reputation as a hub of sophisticated financial • The 2008 crisis showed that some instances of litiga-
markets and legal systems might be at risk if the con- tion born out of crisis can take years to resolve their
clusion of the Brexit process sees Europe’s financial many issues. For example, litigation revolving around
centre migrate towards the continent, taking its dis- the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 is still con-
putes and the legal services with it. tinuing today. 

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chambersstudent.co.uk Litigation

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Litigator with Clyde & Co.

Practice Areas
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Addleshaw Goddard Clifford Chance HFW Reed Smith
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Clyde & Co Hogan Lovells RPC
& Feld CMS Howes Percival Simmons & Simmons
Allen & Overy Cripps Pemberton Greenish Irwin Mitchell Skadden, Arps, Slate, Mea-
Ashfords Debevoise & Plimpton Kingsley Napley gher & Flom (UK)
Ashurst Dechert Latham & Watkins Slaughter and May
B P Collins Dentons Lewis Silkin Squire Patton Boggs
Baker McKenzie DLA Piper Linklaters Stephenson Harwood
BDB Pitmans DWF Macfarlanes Stevens & Bolton
Birketts Eversheds Sutherland Mayer Brown International Taylor Vinters
Brabners Foot Anstey Michelmores TLT
Bryan Cave Leighton Freshfields Bruckhaus Mills & Reeve Travers Smith
Paisner Deringer Mishcon de Reya Trowers & Hamlins
Burges Salmon Gateley Legal Muckle Ward Hadaway
Charles Russell Speechlys Gowling WLG (UK) Norton Rose Fulbright White & Case
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Herbert Smith Freehills Osborne Clarke Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Hamilton Hewitsons Pinsent Masons

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 Pensions chambersstudent.co.uk

Pensions

In a nutshell 2012. Pensions lawyers help companies with restructur-

Pensions law revolves around long-term management ing and re-funding their pension schemes where there is
of large sums of money. Pensions lawyers advise on the such a shortfall and advise on the particular issues aris-
creation, structuring and funding of pension schemes, ing where companies collapse. Public sector occupation-
their management and the resolving of any associated al pensions are also subject to the will of the government,
disputes. Often created under the form of a trust, pen- and lawyers have to be able to anticipate and negotiate
sions are highly regulated and governed by a vast amount amendments to schemes.
of complex and ever-changing legislation. Solicitors typi-
cally advise employers, trustees of pension funds and Most pension schemes are set up in the form of a trust
pension providers. and therefore strict rules apply to those in charge of ad-
ministering the money. Trustees often seek legal advice
There are several different types of pension scheme that on the discharge of their duties and litigation frequently
individuals may buy into; broadly these can be divided occurs where they or other parties have failed to admin-
into ‘occupational pensions’ and ‘personal’ or ‘individual’ ister the funds diligently.
pensions. All employers will soon be required to offer
their employees membership of a pension scheme – roll-
Practice Areas

out of this system began in October 2012 with the big- What lawyers do
gest employers. An overwhelming majority of individuals • Draft documentation relating to the creation, amend-
who contribute to this form of retirement saving will be ment, closure or freezing (closing funds to new mem-
members of an employer-sponsored occupational pen- bers) of pension funds.
sion scheme. • Advise employers on their obligations towards mem-
bers and pension funds.
Most pensions are subject to specialist tax regimes, • Advise on who can become a member of a pension
which makes them very attractive as long-term invest- fund and when to pay out of a fund.
ments. Members are entitled to tax relief on contributions • Advise on restructuring or securing pension funds
and a tax-free allowance applies to pension income. So- which are underfunded or in financial difficulties, in-
licitors structure pension funds to take maximum advan- cluding on issues associated with the Pension Protec-
tage of the tax regime and advise on compliance with the tion Fund.
law and regulations in this area.  • Advise on regulatory and legislative compliance with
tax regimes.
Pensions teams also work very closely with a firm’s em- • Handle disputes and litigation related to pension
ployment and corporate departments. Mergers and ac- schemes.
quisitions of businesses may involve the movement of • Advise trustees of pension funds on their duties.
employees from one company to another, alongside the • Advise companies, pensions providers and trustees on
assets of the target company. This change of ownership their interactions with the Pensions Regulator, which
will have implications regarding who has responsibility regulates UK work-based pension schemes.
for funding the pension schemes, and raise questions • Assist the corporate teams on M&A deals by undertak-
over which employees (old or new) can become members ing due diligence on potential liabilities.
of a scheme and whether the target company’s pension • Negotiate amendments to pension plans with clients.
scheme will even continue to exist or if it will be merged
into or amended to mirror that of the bidding company. Realities of the job
• If you’re working to corporate deal timetables then the
Pension funds need to be well funded, managed and hours can be long.
invested for the money to grow enough to support the • Pensions law is technical, highly regulated and often
fund’s members in their retirement. Pensioners are living closely intertwined with tax law, which means a lot of
longer than had been predicted or planned for, and some time spent reading and interpreting complex statute
companies are struggling to find the resources to keep books. A keen eye and ability to understand very tech-
paying members’ pensions for longer periods of retire- nical information is essential.
ment alongside funding the scheme for current employ- • Pensions lawyers need to think long-term and antici-
ees. Such issues affect the public sector just as much as pate what policy decisions and legislative proposals
private enterprise – for example, Royal Mail was relieved the government may make in the area.
of its £38 billion pension deficit by the government in

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chambersstudent.co.uk Pensions

• Contentious negotiations with employee/trade union both sexes, meaning women will see their pension age
representatives often arise over proposed amend- increase faster than that of their male peers. Many
ments to employees’ pension plans (especially in the women affected by the change (it will predominantly
public sector). hit those born between 1953 and 1955) have com-
• Clients call every day for advice on small issues such plained they were not properly informed of the accel-
as when to pay funds out of a pension scheme. erated timetable and will subsequently be left thou-
• Pensions lawyers need to be personable and able to sands of pounds worse off as a result. Despite protests,
explain complex law in layman’s terms. October 2019 saw a High Court ruling that it does not
constitute discrimination.
Current issues • Pension liberation scams have become increasingly
• While a large amount of the UK’s pensions legislation prevalent since the pension freedoms were introduced
has its roots in the EU, the majority of this is written into in April 2015. Scammers target individuals with offers
UK law and will still apply post-Brexit. Broader eco- of one-off investments, higher returns or the ability to
nomic developments as a result of Brexit are also likely access their pension pot before the age of 55. A re-
to have an effect on pension legislation after the UK port published by the University of Portsmouth in 2020
officially withdraws from the EU: if the market crashes, found that pension fraud scams cost pension schemes
so do many people’s pensions. £6 billion a year on average.
• The government is currently facing a huge deficit in • Gig economy workers such as Uber, Deliveroo and
pensions. Superfunds aren’t regulated by the Pruden- Hermes drivers have historically been considered self-
tial Regulation Authority but instead by The Pensions employed and thus ineligible for company pension
Regulator – this means they won’t face solvency re- contributions, but this could change in the near future

Practice Areas
quirements at all. There’s understandably much con- following a court ruling that Hermes couriers should
sternation over superfunds, both politically and finan- be classified as workers rather than self-employed. Al-
cially, as the delay in reaping what you sow is very long. though, as of 2020, there was no word on their pension
• The compulsory retirement age of 65 has been abol- scheme, Hermes did pay its gig workers if they had to
ished, and from 2019 the state pension age (SPA) will self-isolate, indicating a move to more robust employ-
increase for both men and women to 66 by October ee benefits. Various businesses may need to start set-
2020. The government is planning further increases, ting aside money for pensions if this trend continues.
which will raise the SPA to 67 between 2026 and 2028 • The Supreme Court ruling that heterosexual couples
and then to 68 between 2037 and 2039. The SPA is can form civil partnerships will have an impact on pen-
going to be kept under review and could change again sions going forward, as pension schemes provide sur-
in future. vivor benefits to those who outlive their partners. Ar-
• The above ruling led to a class action court case ranging this could be simpler in future for couples who
brought by a group of public sector workers. The work- live together but do not wish to marry.
ers won the case that stated the changes to their pen- • In 2018, the European Court of Justice determined that
sion schemes were classed as age discrimination. The a trans woman should be able to access her state pen-
ruling also found that this is in theory true for all public sion at age 60 despite not having annulled her mar-
sector pension schemes, putting the government £4 riage.
billion out of pocket to cover the pensions. • A long-term effect of interest rates being kept low to
• The equalisation of SPA came into force in Novem- stimulate the economy during the coronavirus crisis
ber 2018, two years earlier than initially planned, and will be pensions being worth a lot less than people as-
brings women’s retirement age in line with men’s. The sume they’ll be getting. This exacerbates the already
move has drawn fierce criticism from several quarters difficult problem of the retirement savings gap, leaving
because the change coincides with the SPA raise for people with less than they need to survive in old age.

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Addleshaw Goddard DWF Linklaters Slaughter and May
Allen & Overy Eversheds Sutherland Macfarlanes Squire Patton Boggs
Baker McKenzie Freshfields Bruckhaus Mayer Brown International Stephenson Harwood
BDB Pitmans Deringer Norton Rose Fulbright TLT
Burges Salmon Gateley Legal Osborne Clarke Travers Smith
Clifford Chance Gowling WLG (UK) Pinsent Masons Womble Bond Dickinson UK
CMS Herbert Smith Freehills Reed Smith
DLA Piper Hogan Lovells Simmons & Simmons

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 Personal injury chambersstudent.co.uk

Personal injury

In a nutshell • There is a mountain of paperwork, including witness

Personal injury and clinical negligence lawyers resolve statements and bundles of evidence.
claims brought by people who have been injured, either • Claimant lawyers have close contact with large num-
as a result of an accident or through flawed medical bers of individuals and need good people skills.
treatment. • Defendant lawyers need to build long-term relation-
ships with insurance companies. Clin neg defendant
The claimant lawyer usually acts for one individual, but lawyers need to be able to communicate well with
sometimes a claim may be brought by a group of people medical professionals and health sector managers.
– this is a class action or multiparty claim. The defendant • PI lawyers have large caseloads, especially when deal-
lawyer represents the party alleged to be responsible for ing with lower-value claims.
the illness or injury. • There is some scope for advocacy, although barristers
are used for high-stakes or complicated hearings and
In most PI cases the claim against the defendant will be trials. Solicitors appear at preliminary hearings and
taken over by the defendant’s insurance company, which case management conferences.
will then be the solicitor’s client. Local authorities are
common defendants in relation to slips and trips, while Current issues
Practice Areas

employers usually end up on the hook for accidents in • In an attempt to limit fraudulent claims, the govern-
the workplace. In a majority of clinical negligence cases, ment will be cutting personal injury claim compensa-
the defendant will be the NHS, although private medical tion from April 2021 onwards. The reform proposes
practitioners and healthcare organisations are also sued. fixed tariff compensation awards for soft-tissue in-
juries that take less than two years to heal, which is
significantly less than current estimated average dam-
What lawyers do ages. For example, for injuries lasting 18 to 24 months,
• Manage the progress of a case over a period of months, current estimated average damages are £4,750 – the
even years, following an established set of procedural proposed fixed tariff compensation award is £3,910.
rules. • Claims under £5,000 for road traffic accidents or under
• Attempt to settle the claim before trial or, if a case £2,000 for other accidents will now be handled by the
goes to trial, brief a barrister and shepherd the client small claims court (which previously dealt with matters
through the proceedings. under £1,000). This means more serious injuries will
now be handled in small claims court. It is important
Claimant solicitors to note that solicitors can’t recover legal costs from
• Determine the veracity of their client’s claim and estab- defendants in small claims court, which means these
lish what they have suffered, including income lost and cases will no longer be cost-effective for law firms,
expenses incurred. The value of the claim (so-called making it more difficult to get legal representation.
‘quantum’) will be based on this. • The Ministry of Justice proposed a new claims portal,
• Examine medical records and piece together all the to be developed by insurers, for claimants in low-value
facts. Commission further medical reports. PI claims. This would run alongside an existing portal,
• Issue court proceedings if the defendant doesn’t make currently accessible only by claimant lawyers. ‘Official
an acceptable offer of compensation. Injury Claim’ – the portal – will be for those looking to
make a personal injury claim of up to £5,000. The idea
Defendant solicitors is to make the process simple and accessible, especial-
• Try to avoid liability for their client or resolve a claim ly to those without legal help. Claimants, representa-
for as little as possible. tives and compensator organisations have been able to
• Put all aspects of the case to the test. Perhaps the vic- register with the site since January 2020; it’s currently
tim of a road traffic accident (RTA) wasn’t wearing a set to go ahead from April 2021.
seatbelt? Perhaps the claimant has been malingering? • The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offend-
ers Act of 2012 (also known as LASPO or the Jackson
Realities of the job reforms) withdrew legal aid for most clinical negli-
• Personal injury work is driven by the procedural rules gence claims, placed a ban on referral fees in personal
and timetables set out in the Civil Procedure rules, injury cases, and ruled that successful claimants can
which are strictly enforced by the courts. no longer recover success fees or after-the-event in-
surance premiums from the losing party. As a result,

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chambersstudent.co.uk Personal injury

the legal sector has become more competitive, with • The coronavirus pandemic prompted the creation of
some 3,500 firms in 2016 competing for the same pop- the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Personal Injury Protocol,
ulation of claims according to PwC, and larger PI firms which was launched in March 2020 and lasted until
have been diversifying into related areas like clinical 30 June 2020. A total of 155 law firms and insurance
negligence. Mergers have been the only option for companies signed up to it with the idea of mitigating
some firms, further adding to the trend for consolida- the impact of Covid-19 on access to justice for injured
tion in the legal market. Law firms are also investing claimants. Under the new protocol, organisations
more time and money in marketing strategies in order agreed to freeze all limitation dates in personal injury
to target clients directly. cases and implement a hotline which covers failure to
• The NHS paid out £2.36 billion in clinical negligence comply with the freeze.
damages in 2018-19, an increase of almost 50% on the • NHS Resolution launched the Clinical Negligence
previous year. The NHS Confederation, a lobby group Scheme for Coronavirus in order to support changes in
for the service, proposed measures including setting provisions of care that arise from the Covid-19 pandem-
fixed recoverable legal costs for low-value cases of ic. It is expected that claim numbers could increase
compensation up to £25,000 and a voluntary alterna- again in the aftermath of coronavirus.
tive compensation scheme for birth injury cases. In • 2020’s lockdown period resulted in a dramatic decline
2019-20, total payments decreased by 1.5% to £2.32 in the number of personal injury claims being filed: the
billion, despite the NHS actually receiving more new Compensation Recovery Unit recorded 94,733 claims
clinical negligence claims (a 9.4% increase from 2019 in the second quarter of the year, a 35% decline com-
to 2020). The use of alternative dispute resolution such pared to the same period in 2019.
as mediation has also increased, a welcome develop-

Practice Areas
ment for many.

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Blaser Mills Law DWF Irwin Mitchell
BLM Foot Anstey Kennedys
Clyde & Co Hodge Jones & Allen Leigh Day
Solicitors Limited

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 Private client and charities chambersstudent.co.uk

Private client and charities

In a nutshell Realities of the job

You have money. You need to know how best to control • An interest in other people’s affairs is going to help. A
it, preserve it and pass it on: enter the private client law- capacity for empathy coupled with impartiality and ab-
yer. Solicitors advise individuals, families and trusts on solute discretion are the hallmarks of a good private
wealth management. Some offer additional matrimonial client lawyer. You’ll need to be able to relate to and
and small-scale commercial assistance; others focus ex- earn the trust of your many varied clients.
clusively on highly specialised tax and trusts issues, or • Despite not being as chaotic as other fields, the techni-
operate predominantly in wills and probate. cal demands of private client work can be exacting and
an academic streak goes a long way.
Charity lawyers advise on all aspects of the activities of • A great deal of private client work is tax-based, par-
non-profit organisations, including the defence of lega- ticularly involving income and estate tax. Specialists
cies bequeathed to a charity in a will. These specialists in this area also need their corporate tax knowledge
need exactly the same skills and knowledge as private to be up to scratch as it’s not unusual for the families
client lawyers, but must also have the same kind of com- they work for to have multimillion-dollar businesses to
mercial knowledge as corporate lawyers. their names.
• The stereotype of the typical ‘country gent’ client is far
Practice Areas

from accurate: lottery wins, personal injury payouts,

What lawyers do property portfolios, massive City salaries and success-
ful businesses all feed the demand for legal advice.
Private client lawyers • If you are wavering between private clients and com-
• Draft wills in consultation with clients and facilitate mercial clients, charities law might offer a good bal-
their implementation after death. Probate involves the ance. Charities range from small voluntary organisa-
appointment of an executor and the settling of an es- tions to large, global behemoths.
tate. Organising a house clearance or even a funeral is • Your charity clients may have more worthy goals than
not outside the scope of a lawyer’s duties. those of your friends working for big business, but
• Advise clients on the most tax-efficient and appropri- they’ll need advice on many of the same issues: from
ate structure for holding money and assets. Lawyers how to incorporate, to supply contracts, to the duties
must ensure their clients understand the foreign law of management and trustees.
implications of trusts held in offshore jurisdictions. • Charities law still conjures up images of sleepy lo-
• Advise overseas clients interested in investing in the cal fund-raising efforts or, alternatively, working on a
UK and banks whose overseas clients have UK inter- trendy project for wealthy benefactors. The wide mid-
ests. dle ground can incorporate working with a local au-
• Assist clients with the very specific licensing, sales ar- thority, assisting a local library or school to establish
rangements and tax planning issues related to owner- an after-school homework programme, or rewriting the
ship of heritage chattels (individual items or collections constitution of a 300-year-old church school to admit
of cultural value or significance). female pupils. Widespread international trust in Eng-
• Bring or defend litigation in relation to disputed lega- lish charity law means that you could also establish a
cies. study programme in Britain for a US university or ne-
gotiate the formation of a zebra conservation charity
Charities lawyers in Tanzania.
• Advise charities on registration, reorganisation, regu-
latory compliance and the implications of new legisla- Current issues
tion. • The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a general increase in
• Offer specialist trusts and investment advice. will and power of attorney enquiries. Many firms have
• Advise on quasi-corporate and mainstream commercial made increased use of phone calls and videoconfer-
matters, negotiate and draft contracts for sponsorship encing to cope with the rise in demand while maintain-
and the development of trading subsidiaries, manage ing safe practice. Mental assessments of clients whose
property issues and handle IP concerns. capabilities are compromised are usually recorded
in person by an adviser – in the wake of Covid-19, this
became impossible. Where medical assessments are
needed, some private medical practices are conduct-
ing doctor’s reports over videoconferencing apps.

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chambersstudent.co.uk Private client and charities

• Tax residencies have also been in the news, due to own right stated that, worldwide, one-third of female
the current restrictions on travel. Civilians are hav- lawyers have experienced sexual harassment. IBA
ing to spend additional time within a country they did president Horacio Bernardes Neto described the insid-
not intend on staying in – possibly making them a tax- ious problem being down to “male-dominated leader-
eligible resident. Chancellor Rishi Sunak wrote to the ship and an inherently hierarchical power structure, with
Treasury Select Committee on 20 April 2020 putting lower-level employees largely dependent on superiors
forward changes to the current legislation; the altera- for advancement.” Firms have stated they are taking
tions would mean that days spent in the UK between 1 the necessary steps to tackle harassment in the work-
March and 1 June 2020 will not count towards the resi- place, with the hashtag #ThatsNotCool encouraging
dency test. staff to report offensive language and behaviour.
• Since the UK voted to leave the EU there has been • The areas of charity and private wealth have long been
much speculation about the impact on the private cli- intertwined – a huge amount of disputes concern sums
ent and charity sector. Some have suggested that the of money left in wills to charities – but the super-rich
UK should become a tax haven to attract business are taking this to a new level. Bill Gates and his wife
post-Brexit (and a lot of wealthy individuals) – more Melinda formed what is now the world’s largest private
likely is an eventual rise in income and inheritance tax, charity – The Gates Foundation – and over the years
and certain tax-relief payments may be restricted. have given away tens of billions of dollars. The multibil-
• In 2018 legislation was passed which will force shell lionaire is also, alongside investment guru Warren Buf-
companies investing in UK property to list their benefi- fett, a founder of the Giving Pledge, an initiative which
cial owners from 2021. This is aimed at stopping crimi- aims to spur philanthropic-minded billionaires to part
nality, but there’s the possibility that certain publicity- with half of their total wealth. You may also remember

Practice Areas
shy clients will choose to invest their money by other how, before the Cambridge Analytica scandal unfurled,
means. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan made the
• HMRC has previously outlined its aim to process 100 quite extraordinary pledge to donate 99% of their Fa-
prosecutions of wealthy individuals and corporations cebook shares.
per year by 2020. Two years prior it brought just over • The rise of social enterprises (commercial organisa-
1,000 prosecutions against individuals alone, partly a tions with social or charitable, rather than simply
result of the new software program ‘Connect’ to ana- monetary, objectives) has blurred the lines between
lyse data and spot suspicious behaviour, as well as commercial and charities law. Many are structured as
heightened access to offshore accounts following the companies listed by guarantee, and don’t have share-
implementation of the Common Reporting Standard in holders (which can make attracting investment diffi-
2018, which increases the use of data sharing between cult), but a range of legal structures exists for these
participating countries. enterprises to make use of, including charitable trusts,
• Away from financial structuring, some private client cooperatives and Community Interest Companies
lawyers are also in the business of reputation man- (profit-making enterprises that must reinvest their in-
agement, and the spectre of #MeToo has presented a come for the benefit of social objectives).
new (and welcome) stick with which to beat those who • The Law Commission review on will making was initial-
abuse their wealth and power. Michael Cohen, Trump’s ly launched in 2017. The Law Commission consulted on
former personal lawyer, may not be the best example laws including the minimum age for making a will and
of a loyal counsel, but his general troubleshooter role whether it should be lowered from 18 to 16. Another
gives an idea of how a different breed of private client proposal is enabling courts to dispense with current
lawyers are called upon in times of need. will formality requirements where it is clear what the
• In June 2018, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) deceased intended. Proposals aimed to take into ac-
reported that sexual harassment and misconduct count conditions such as dementia and new technolo-
claims against UK lawyers had increased by 58% since gies.
2017. The International Bar Association (IBA) has in its

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Baker McKenzie Charles Russell Speechlys Mishcon de Reya LLP Wilsons
Bates Wells Collyer Bristow LLP Russell-Cooke Winckworth Sherwood
BDB Pitmans Farrer & Co Taylor Wessing LLP Withers
Boodle Hatfield LLP Mills & Reeve Trowers & Hamlins Womble Bond Dickinson UK

103
 Private equity and investment management chambersstudent.co.uk

Private equity and investment management

In a nutshell What lawyers do

Private equity  and investment firms operate funds that • Advise private equity firms on how to structure new
pool the investments of anybody prepared to part with funds.
their money for a sustained period of time. Private eq- • Help private equity firms negotiate the terms on which
uity firms use investors’ cash (equity) in combination with investors contribute their money.
money raised from banks (debt) to buy companies or • Act for private funds when they buy and sell invest-
other assets with the goal of selling them on at a profit. ments.
When the targeted company’s assets are used as lever- • Assist clients throughout the fund-raising process.
age and a significant amount of bank debt is employed, This includes the preparation of offer materials and
the transaction is known as a leveraged buyout (LBO). partnership agreements, advising on and documenting
management and compensation arrangements, and
Venture capital is a subset of private equity that sees in- closing fund formation transactions.
vestors put money into startup companies or small busi- • Conduct diligence and negotiate contracts.
nesses in the hope they will be sold to a private equity • Draft the numerous organisational documents neces-
firm or taken public. Although this typically entails high sary to form an investment fund. The private place-
risk for the investor, it has the potential for above-aver- ment memorandum is key – it’s a prospectus detailing
Practice Areas

age returns. This high risk is typically offset by investing the terms of the investment, minimum investor require-
smaller amounts over a shorter timespan. ments, risk factors, who the investment manager is, and
the strategy to be employed by the fund. If the fund is
Investment management  is the professional manage- a limited partnership, it will need a limited partnership
ment of various securities (shares, bonds, etc) and assets agreement, and if it’s a limited liability company, it will
in order to meet specified investment goals. Investment need an operating agreement, as well as an investor
management lawyers advise on the structuring, forma- subscription agreement.
tion, taxation and regulation of all types of investment • Inform and advise clients on the constantly changing
funds. regulatory and compliance issues arising under UK and
international securities and tax law.
A hedge fund is a private, actively managed investment • Provide day-to-day advice with respect to issues such
fund. It aims to provide returns to investors by investing as performance and advertising and brokerage and
in a diverse range of markets and financial products, re- portfolio trading practices.
gardless of whether markets are rising or falling. Using
the derivatives market helps hedge funds achieve this. Realities of the job
• Small teams mean that trainees can get high levels of
A  mutual fund  is a collective investment vehicle that responsibility and client exposure rather than being
pools money from many investors to purchase securities. stuck doing more mundane tasks. You can expect to
The term is most commonly applied to collective invest- be involved in drafting key documents and reviewing
ments that are regulated and sold to the general public. transfer agreements and to play a part in large-scale
negotiations that could involve hundreds of parties at
A real estate investment fund/trust is a publicly traded the same time.
investment vehicle that uses investors’ money to invest in • Structuring funds requires an intimate familiarity with
properties and mortgages. the relevant securities and investment company rules.
Understanding and being able to apply knowledge of
Both hedge funds and mutual funds generally operate key financial legislation is a vital skill.
as  open funds. This means that investors may periodi- • Setting up funds also requires a significant amount of
cally make additions to, or withdrawals from, their stakes tax and general finance industry knowledge. Funds
in the fund. An investor will generally purchase shares in lawyers often work in close collaboration with their tax
the fund directly from the fund itself rather than from the and finance colleagues.
existing shareholders. This contrasts with a closed fund, • Good people skills and a tough attitude are a must. Pri-
which typically issues all the shares it will issue at the vate equity lawyers work closely with clients to offer
outset, with such shares usually being tradable between advice on a wide range of areas and need to be able
investors thereafter. to explain the constantly evolving private fund markets
to them as well as understanding the time-sensitive
nature of fund organisation. Fortunately, clients are en-

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chambersstudent.co.uk Private equity and investment management

trepreneurial and tend to have a good understanding ments.” In its place, Germany is set to become the hub
of the world of business, meaning they can pick up on for European private equity houses, with 46% of re-
issues quickly. spondents seeing it as the most attractive country for
PE-backed investments.
Current issues • On a global scale, the growth of private equity was
• Following the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pan- only increasing prior to Covid-19: 5,102 PE-backed buy-
demic, private equity houses will need to make provi- out deals were completed in 2019, with 2,515 company
sions. PwC noted that they and the companies they acquisitions and sales with private participation tak-
back will need to understand available sources of li- ing place in Europe. 27.5% of all global transactions in
quidity, and whether a sponsor can be the provider of 2019 had private equity involvement on both sides.
liquidity. Commentators suggest that funding is likely • Private equity investors are paying ever closer atten-
to be directed towards infrastructure and technology tion to emerging markets, like the BRICS (Brazil, Rus-
companies. sia, India, China and South Africa), but also countries
• The 2020 lockdown slowed down transactional mar- you might not immediately think of, such as Mexico
kets of all kinds, and private equity was no exception. and Colombia. In 2018, emerging markets attracted a
City AM recorded investments in the UK falling by 17% record $9.4 billion in private equity investment.
in the first half of 2020, with a 27% decline compared • The EU and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have
to the same period in 2019. As in prior periods of un- both been making efforts to extend the rules governing
certainty, investors primarily dedicated their time to banks and investment firms to private equity houses.
the needs of existing portfolios as opposed to new ven- The FCA has been keen to highlight the benefits of
tures. aligning UK policy with that of the European and inter-

Practice Areas
• Prior to the pandemic, commentators predicted 2020 national norms, so Brexit negotiations in this area may
would be the year of a ‘take-private boom,’ with the gap run somewhat smoothly. PRIIPS regulations (which
between private and public company valuations shrink- amplify the standards of protection to insurance-based
ing and private equity ownership becoming widely investment products) came into effect in January 2018
more accepted. and have since come in for some hefty criticism: in
• Brexit continues to shape the investment landscape. In 2020 the European Fund and Asset Management As-
a recent report, PwC found that six out of ten finan- sociation (EFAMA) wrote to the European Commission
cial investors surveyed saw the UK’s exit from the EU calling for urgent review of the regulations.
making the UK “less attractive for private equity invest-

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Addleshaw Goddard Clifford Chance Harbottle & Lewis Ropes & Gray
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer CMS Herbert Smith Freehills Sidley Austin
& Feld Covington & Burling Hogan Lovells Simmons & Simmons
Allen & Overy Debevoise & Plimpton Kirkland & Ellis Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Ashfords Dechert International Meagher & Flom (UK)
Ashurst Dentons Latham & Watkins Squire Patton Boggs
Baker McKenzie DLA Piper Linklaters Stephenson Harwood
Bird & Bird Eversheds Sutherland Macfarlanes Taylor Vinters
Bryan Cave Leighton Freshfields Bruckhaus Mills & Reeve Taylor Wessing
Paisner Deringer Norton Rose Fulbright Travers Smith
Burges Salmon Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver Orrick, Herrington & Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Charles Russell Speechlys & Jacobson Sutcliffe White & Case
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Goodwin Osborne Clarke
Hamilton Gowling WLG (UK) Pinsent Masons

105
 Projects and energy chambersstudent.co.uk

Projects and energy

In a nutshell • The field also encompasses specialists in areas like

Projects  lawyers work hand in hand with finance and construction, real estate, planning, telecoms, health-
corporate lawyers to enable complex construction, re- care and the public sector.
development and infrastructure projects to come to frui- • The financing of a project is riskier for lenders than
tion. A few City firms and the largest US practices domi- other transactions are, as there is no collateral to act
nate the biggest international projects, but there’s work as security for the loan. For this reason risk is often
countrywide. Many projects relate to the energy sector spread across several stakeholders including the SPV,
(see below), while road, rail and telecoms infrastructure shareholders, the contractor, supplier, etc. The agree-
projects are also big business. UK lawyers also work on ments which govern the relationship between the par-
overseas natural resources and mining projects, while ties are the primary domain of lawyers acting for the
domestically waste and utilities projects provide work for project company.
many regional firms. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) – • Lawyers who act for lenders check over all project
an aspect of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) – has also documentation, paying attention to the risks the lender
been an important source of work. PFI introduced private is exposed to. Site visits and meetings on location are
funding and management into areas that were previously common.
public sector domains. • Internationally, energy lawyers work on the contracts
Practice Areas

and licences agreed between international energy

Some law firms consistently represent project compa- companies, governments and local companies. The up-
nies, usually through a ‘special purpose vehicle’ (SPV) stream component of energy work often involves gov-
established to build, own and operate the end result of ernments as they have the exclusive rights to certain
the project. Often the project company is a joint venture natural resources.
between various ‘sponsor’ companies. An SPV could also • Domestically, lawyers often interact with the Depart-
be partially owned by a government body or banks. Other ment for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Energy
firms consistently represent organisations which com- is a highly regulated sector, and there are government
mission projects. Then there are the firms that act purely programmes and stimuli to encourage certain types of
on the finance side for banks, guarantors, export credit energy projects. EU regulations also frequently come
agencies, governments and international funding agen- into play.
cies. • Some energy lawyers work on energy infrastructure
projects, but usually an energy lawyer is someone who
If a firm has an  energy  practice, most of its work will works on contracts and agreements over (oil and gas)
likely be based around oil and gas. This breaks down into resources already being tapped. For example, they
upstream and downstream work. Upstream refers to the might produce so-called Production Sharing Agree-
locating and exploiting of oil and gas fields. Downstream ments, which detail which proportion of profits go to
refers to everything related to transport, processing and different parties.
distribution – pipelines, refineries, petrol stations, etc. • Because energy companies have very deep pockets,
Many firms that do energy work trumpet their renew- many energy financings happen without the need for a
able energy and climate change expertise, and while this loan (this is called ‘off-balance-sheet financing’).
is a growing area of practice it remains relatively small. • Disputes in the energy sector are often resolved
Power and utilities, and environment/regulatory are two through arbitration, particularly when they have an in-
other areas which are often considered to fall under the ternational element to them (which is often).
energy/projects umbrella.
Realities of the job
• Projects can run for years, involving multidisciplinary
What lawyers do legal work spanning finance, regulatory permissions,
• The work of an energy or projects lawyer mirrors that construction, employment law and much more. This
of a corporate lawyer – drafting, due diligence, getting practice area requires lawyers who enjoy the challenge
parties to sign agreements – with several added layers of creating a complex scheme and figuring out all its
of complexity. possibilities and pitfalls.
• There are several components to any project: financ- • The value of transactions can vary from a few million
ing, development and (often) subsequent litigation. pounds for projects to build domestic waste plants to
Lawyers usually specialise in one of these areas, al- deals worth billions to exploit massive oil fields. You
though they do overlap. have to get your head around these big numbers and

106
chambersstudent.co.uk Projects and energy

understand what they actually mean: often the sum of in far above their initial budgets: at the time of publica-
money involved is the (potential) value of a joint venture tion, Crossrail’s full line opening looked to be delayed
or natural resource deposit. One of the things projects until 2023. Check out our website for a full evaluation
lawyers like about their job is that the product of their of HS2 as an example of projects law in action.
deal-making is tangible: they can usually watch a mine, • The gradual revival of the UK’s solar energy market has
bridge or oil refinery being built before their eyes. included the planning approval of a 350-megawatt so-
• The world’s energy resources have helpfully positioned lar project on Cleve Hill in Kent. Completion is set for
themselves in some of the world’s most politically un- 2022, with construction beginning in spring 2021, and
stable or dubious countries (Venezuela, Russia, Saudi the development is being managed by Hive Energy and
Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria etc.). This adds an extra layer Wirsol. Despite being notorious for grey skies, the UK
of interest and intrigue to many transactions. For ex- has experienced an increase in sunny days between
ample, the due diligence on building a diamond mine in 2013 and 2017.
West Africa might involve consideration of how many • The government’s plans ease planning legislation, an-
AK-47s and armoured personnel carriers the mine will nounced in July 2020, pave a smoother path to con-
need to operate. struct large batteries to store renewable energy from
solar and wind farms across the UK. This change comes
Current issues at a great time to aid projects such as Cleve Hill, which
• Post-lockdown, transport secretary Grant Shapps an- may involve a considerable amount of battery storage.
nounced that approximately £2 billion of fresh funding Minister for Energy and Clean Growth Kwasi Kwarteng
has been allocated to infrastructure projects across noted that “removing barriers in the planning system
the UK to boost the market. The fund will help towards will help us build bigger and more powerful batteries,

Practice Areas
upgrading roads and railways as well as emphasising creating more green-collar jobs and a smarter electric-
cycling and walking. ity network.” This is yet another development towards
• In the early days of Covid-19, the offshore industry was achieving the 2050 target; plus, the enhancement of
hit hard with the drop in oil’s value and the price war. the UK’s electricity grid and integration of low-carbon
Estimates suggested up to 20% of the offshore work- power could save the energy system up to £40 billion.
force could be laid off and staffing cuts may remain in • Nuclear projects were on the up as of 2019 but the
place until 2021. The Oil and Gas Authority has signed market now faces not only rising costs and cheaper
off on a southern North Sea gas project that will see renewables, but domestic opposition and rocky rela-
the development of 410 billion cubic feet of gas re- tions between London and China which have affected
serves across six southern North Sea gas fields. Hom- the progression of certain projects. At present, only the
ing in on the industry’s five-year target, a few oil and Hinkley Point C project looks set to go ahead.
gas projects are in the works: the Mariner Project, Faw- • The UK’s last deep coal mine, Kellingley Colliery in
ley Refinery, Western Isles Project and the Rosebank North Yorkshire, closed just before Christmas of 2015.
Project. The $7 billion Mariner Project is on the larger Since then, the proportion of the UK electricity gener-
side and is expected to produce more than 300 million ated by coal has dropped considerably. In 2017 more
barrels of oil over the next 30 years. Production started electricity was generated by renewable and nuclear
in August 2019 in the North Sea, providing jobs to more sources than by coal and gas for the first time, and the
than 700 people onshore and offshore. UK set a record coal-free run in 2020 after going two
• Current large-scale rail projects in the UK include months without burning any coal for energy produc-
Crossrail and High Speed Two (HS2). Both have faced tion.
numerous delays and their final costs are set to come

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Addleshaw Goddard Clyde & Co Latham & Watkins Simmons & Simmons
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer CMS Linklaters Slaughter and May
& Feld Dentons Mayer Brown International Squire Patton Boggs
Allen & Overy DLA Piper Memery Crystal Stephenson Harwood
Ashurst DWF Mills & Reeve Sullivan & Cromwell
Baker McKenzie Eversheds Sutherland Norton Rose Fulbright TLT
Bevan Brittan Freshfields Bruckhaus Orrick, Herrington & Trowers & Hamlins
Bird & Bird Deringer Sutcliffe Vinson & Elkins RLLP
Bryan Cave Leighton Gowling WLG (UK) Osborne Clarke Watson Farley & Williams
Paisner Herbert Smith Freehills Pinsent Masons White & Case
Burges Salmon Hogan Lovells Shearman & Sterling Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Clifford Chance

 
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 Real estate chambersstudent.co.uk

Real estate

In a nutshell • Property departments are known for offering trainees

Property lawyers, like their corporate colleagues, are es- plenty of independent responsibility: often you’ll be
sentially transactional lawyers; the only real difference is dealing with 20 or 30 small property files (sales, leas-
that real estate deals require an extra layer of specialist es, licences to assign) at the same time.
legal and procedural knowledge and there aren’t quite so • Your days will be busy, but generally the hours are
many pesky regulatory authorities. The work centres on more sociable and predictable than in other transac-
buildings and land of all types, and even the most oblique tional practices.
legal concepts have a bricks-and-mortar or human basis
to them. It is common for lawyers to develop a specialism Current issues
within this field, such as residential conveyancing, mort- • Property practice has always followed and will always
gage lending and property finance, social housing or the follow the market. In an economic downturn, especially
leisure and hotels sector. Most firms have a property de- a global one, there’s less demand for properties and
partment, and the larger the department the more likely new developments, so values drop and conventional
the lawyers are to specialise. Note that ‘property’ and bank lending becomes increasingly hard to find.
‘real estate’ are entirely interchangeable terms. • Despite the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to loom over
us, we’ve seen recent market activity that has bucked
Practice Areas

the trend for recession conditions: the UK’s housing

What lawyers do market has in fact been performing well. The March
• Negotiate sales, purchases and leases of land and lockdown prompted several predictions of a fall in
buildings and advise on the structure of deals. house prices, but the unusually busy summer season
• Record the terms of an agreement in legal documents. saw a continuity in rising prices and activity. The Fi-
• Gather and analyse factual information about proper- nancial Times reported stats from both Zoopla and Na-
ties from the owners, surveyors, local authorities and tionwide that respectively showed that in August 2020
the Land Registry. sales were 76% above their five-year average and that
• Prepare reports for buyers and anyone lending money. UK house prices were at an all time high for that month.
• Manage the transfer of money and the handover of So why are we witnessing this boom? Well, the prop-
properties to new owners or occupiers. erty market’s short-term immunity has been created by
• Take the appropriate steps to register new owners and mortgage payment and stamp duty holidays as well as
protect the interests of lenders or investors. furlough schemes and bans on repossession. But the
• Advise clients on their responsibilities in leasehold re- negative impact won’t be on standby for long.
lationships and on how to take action if problems arise. • Once these measures are removed, the Centre for
• Help developers get all the necessary permissions to Economic and Business Research (CEBR) has report-
build, alter or change the permitted use of properties. ed that house prices will drop by around 14% by early
• Manage property portfolio investments and advise real 2021. However, chancellor Sunak’s £3.8 billion stamp
estate funds. duty holiday is due to come to an end in March 2021,
so we may see a short-term rise for those rushing to
Realities of the job benefit from the reduction. CEBR’s analysis nonethe-
• Property lawyers have to multi-task. A single deal less suggests that “average house prices are forecast to
could involve many hundreds of properties, and your be 13.8% lower in 2021 than in 2020.”
caseload could contain scores of files, all at different • The Big Smoke seems to be the only place in the UK
stages in the process. You’ll have to keep organised. which has resisted the impact of the stamp duty reduc-
• Good drafting skills require attention to detail and tion. Not even Rishi Sunak can battle those high prices
careful thought. Plus you need to keep up to date with in the capital!
industry trends and standards. • Brexit’s effect on the property market is dependent on
• Some clients get antsy; you have to be able to explain the effect it has on the economy as a whole. The hous-
legal problems in lay terms. ing market is mainly influenced by wages and interest
• Despite some site visits, this is mainly a desk job with a rates, and a large number of economists expect that
lot of time spent on the phone to other solicitors, estate Brexit will suppress wages. But the actual effects of
agents, civil servants and consultants. Britain’s exit from the EU will depend on how the ne-
• Most instances of solicitor negligence occur in this gotiations go.
area of practice. There is so much that can go wrong. • Renting still remains difficult for many – especially in
the nation’s capital – due to soaring prices. In part this

108
chambersstudent.co.uk Real estate

has been attributed to investment from abroad, with has stated that evictions have been banned for six
overseas buyers snapping up apartments and town- months. In addition, £180 million has been set aside for
houses as investments guaranteed to make a profit. Discretionary Housing Payments for local authorities
Many of these properties are reportedly kept empty to support renters who are struggling financially. Bail-
after purchase, making this trend doubly contentious iffs have also had restrictions placed on conducting
in the current housing climate. evictions in areas where a local lockdown is enforced.
• Unaffordable housing and a national housing crisis • Social change is creating interest in alternative invest-
are contributing factors to the nation’s increasing ment opportunities. The UK’s ageing population, for ex-
homelessness figures. Figures from the Department ample, makes the retirement living sector a good bet.
for Communities and Local Government show that Student accommodation has also attracted investors
the number of rough sleepers is exponentially rising due to the numbers of international students coming
across the UK. to the UK. If a no-deal Brexit occurs, Jonathan Harris
• Renters affected by Covid-19 will continue to receive of mortgage broker Forensic Property Finance says:
support from the government throughout the harsh “Logic suggests that a fall in sterling would bring an up-
winter. Housing secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP tick in overseas buyers.”

Practice Areas
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Addleshaw Goddard CMS Hewitsons Pinsent Masons
Allen & Overy Collyer Bristow Hogan Lovells Reed Smith
Ashfords Cripps Pemberton Greenish Howes Percival Russell-Cooke
Ashurst Dechert Irwin Mitchell Sidley Austin
B P Collins Dentons K&L Gates Simmons & Simmons
Baker McKenzie DLA Piper Kingsley Napley Slaughter and May
Bates Wells DWF Linklaters Squire Patton Boggs
BDB Pitmans Eversheds Sutherland Macfarlanes Stephenson Harwood
Bevan Brittan Farrer & Co Maples Teesdale Stevens & Bolton
Birketts Fladgate Mayer Brown International Taylor Vinters
Blaser Mills Law Foot Anstey Memery Crystal Taylor Wessing
Boodle Hatfield Fox Williams Michelmores TLT
Brabners Freshfields Bruckhaus Mills & Reeve Travers Smith
Bryan Cave Leighton Deringer Mishcon de Reya Trowers & Hamlins
Paisner Gateley Legal Muckle Ward Hadaway
Burges Salmon Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Norton Rose Fulbright Wedlake Bell
Charles Russell Speechlys Goodwin Osborne Clarke Winckworth Sherwood
Clifford Chance Gowling WLG (UK) Paul Hastings (Europe) Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Clyde & Co Herbert Smith Freehills

109
 Restructuring and insolvency chambersstudent.co.uk

Restructuring and insolvency

In a nutshell company has no future then it can be sold or liquidation

Insolvency law governs the position of businesses and can commence.
individuals who are in financial difficulties and unable to
repay their debts as they become due. Such a situation Receivership:  unlike administration, this is initiated by
may lead to insolvency proceedings, in which legal ac- the company’s creditors, not the company itself. A re-
tion is taken against the insolvent entity and assets may ceiver is appointed by the court and must look to recover
be liquidated to pay off outstanding debts to banks and as much money as possible in order to settle the claims
creditors. Before a company or individual gets involved made by creditors. Under receivership, the interests of
in insolvency proceedings, they will probably be involved the creditors clearly take precedence over the survival of
in a restructuring or an out-of-court arrangement with the company.
creditors to work out alternative repayment schedules.
The work of lawyers in the field can therefore be non- Liquidation: procedure by which the assets of a compa-
contentious (restructuring) or contentious (insolvency ny are placed under the control of a liquidator. In most
litigation), and their role will vary depending on whether cases, a company in liquidation ceases to trade, and the
they act for debtors or their creditors. What follows are liquidator will sell the company’s assets and distribute
some of the terms you’ll come across in this practice area. the proceeds to creditors. There are two forms: voluntary
Practice Areas

liquidation brought about by the company itself or com-

Debtor: an individual or company that owes money. pulsory liquidation brought about by court order.

Creditor:  a person or institution that extends credit to Distressed M&A: the sale of a portion or all of an insol-
another entity on condition that it is paid back at a later vent business is an efficient way to preserve going-con-
date. cern value and avoid the potential for substantial loss of
value through a piecemeal liquidation.
Bankruptcy: a term used in the US to describe insolvency
procedures that apply to companies, but not in the UK, Pre-pack sale: refers to a deal made with an interested
where the term applies to individuals only. buyer to sell the insolvent company’s business and as-
sets, negotiated before an administrator is appointed and
Restructuring:  a significant modification made to the completed immediately on appointment. Such schemes
debt, operations or structure of a company with its credi- are becoming increasingly popular and more frequently
tors’ consent. After a restructuring, debt repayments be- used in the current economic climate.
come more manageable, making insolvency proceedings
less likely.
What lawyers do
Insolvency proceedings: generic term that covers a vari-
ety of statutory proceedings aimed at rescuing or wind- Debtors’ lawyers
ing up an insolvent company. • Meet with clients to assess the gravity of the situation,
highlight the available options and advise on the best
Insolvency proceedings include the following actions: course of action to follow. In a restructuring, advise the
insolvent company on the reorganisation of its balance
Company voluntary arrangement (CVA): if it is clear that sheet (such as closing down unprofitable businesses
a business could survive if debt repayments were re- or refinancing its debt) and assist in negotiations with
duced, it can enter a CVA agreement with its creditors. creditors.
Under this legally binding agreement, a struggling com- • Assist in insolvency filings, and once proceedings have
pany is allowed to repay some, or all, of its historic debts commenced, work closely with the insolvency office-
out of future profits, over an agreed period of time. holders (that is, those appointed as administrators, re-
ceivers or liquidators) and accountants to achieve the
Administration:  when in administration, a company is goals set for the insolvent company.
protected from creditors enforcing their debts while an • Provide advice to directors of insolvent companies, ex-
administrator takes over the management of its affairs. plaining their duties to creditors. Advise on the sale of
If the company is fundamentally sound, the administrator assets or mergers and acquisitions of troubled compa-
will implement a recovery plan aimed at streamlining the nies.
business and maximising profits. If it is apparent that the

110
chambersstudent.co.uk Restructuring and insolvency

• Assistclients in insolvency litigation and appeals. • Restructuring and insolvency situations are under-
Provide preventive advice to debtor clients on liability standably tense for both debtors and creditors, and
management and ways to avoid insolvency proceed- lawyers sometimes need to deal with difficult people,
ings. so they must be able to hold their ground and show
they are not easily shaken or intimidated.
Creditors’ lawyers
• Meet with creditor clients to assess the validity of their Current issues
security over the insolvent company, the strength of • Covid-19 has created a boom in this area and some
their position in the creditors’ pool and the best course growth in junior lawyer headcount. Accordingly, June
of action to ensure full recovery. 2020 saw the UK government introduce the Corporate
• Assist in negotiations with debtors and insolvency of- Insolvency and Governance Act.
ficeholders. • The Act, considered to be the most far-reaching and
• Represent clients in insolvency litigation and appeals. fundamental shift in UK insolvency law in generations,
• Assist in the tracing and valuation of debtors’ assets. has introduced new measures to assist companies in
• Provide training to their clients on how to deal with in- financial turmoil due to the pandemic. One such meas-
solvent companies. ure gives businesses more space and time to restruc-
ture by placing a stay on creditors’ rights. The UK has
Realities of the job also introduced new restructuring regimes in the edu-
• Large City firms deal almost exclusively with large- cation sector, which aim to support higher education
scale corporate restructurings and insolvencies, and providers at risk of insolvency.
the representation of creditor groups in these matters. • The UK’s restructuring and insolvency legislation is not

Practice Areas
Smaller regional firms mostly assist on smaller corpo- taken from EU regulations, so leaving the EU will have
rate and personal insolvency cases. little effect on domestic cases. Brexit will, however,
• Corporate insolvency as a practice area is extremely complicate the processes for implementing cross-bor-
varied, as proceedings affect every aspect of the insol- der restructurings and insolvencies, leaving some to
vent company. Lawyers therefore need to be conver- suggest that the UK’s reputation and attractiveness as
sant in a variety of legal disciplines or know when to a location for international restructuring and insolven-
refer matters to specialists in employment, banking, cy will be undermined as a result. International compa-
property, litigation, corporate, etc. nies may increasingly seek to commence proceedings
• When financial difficulties arise in companies, the rap- in an EU member state rather than the UK, in order to
id deployment of a legal team is necessary to provide ensure automatic recognition across the EU.
immediate assistance. This area of law is extremely • The EU introduced a new directive (2019/1023) in June
fast-paced and lawyers are often asked to deliver solu- 2019 to reduce the likelihood of insolvency and the
tions overnight. need to place companies into administration. The di-
• Insolvency and restructuring involves mountains of rective puts several preventive measures in place to,
paperwork, so lawyers need to be organised and able among other reasons, provide access to information
to prioritise their workload, particularly when dealing and early warning to at-risk companies.
with multiple assignments. With so much at stake, at-
tention to detail is paramount when drafting asset sale
agreements or documents to be filed at court.

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Addleshaw Goddard Cripps Pemberton Greenish Kirkland & Ellis Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Dentons International Meagher & Flom (UK)
& Feld DLA Piper Latham & Watkins Slaughter and May
Allen & Overy DWF Linklaters Squire Patton Boggs
Ashfords Eversheds Sutherland Mayer Brown International Stephenson Harwood
Ashurst Foot Anstey Michelmores Stevens & Bolton
BDB Pitmans Freshfields Bruckhaus Mills & Reeve Sullivan & Cromwell
Birketts Deringer Norton Rose Fulbright Taylor Wessing
Bryan Cave Leighton Gateley Legal Osborne Clarke TLT
Paisner Herbert Smith Freehills Paul Hastings (Europe) Ward Hadaway
Burges Salmon Hogan Lovells Pinsent Masons Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Charles Russell Speechlys Howes Percival Sidley Austin White & Case
Clifford Chance Irwin Mitchell Simmons & Simmons Womble Bond Dickinson UK
CMS

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 Shipping chambersstudent.co.uk

Shipping

In a nutshell  • Despite the perils and pleasures of dealing with clients

If you’ve ever been online shopping, (as most of us did and instructions on the other side of the world, the
during lockdown), there’s a good chance your parcel will hours are likely to be steady beyond those internation-
have travelled to you by ship. In fact, shipping accounts al rescue moments. 
for 90% of all global trade; more than 50,000 ships reg- • Non-contentious work touches on the intricacies of in-
istered in over 150 counties make up the world fleet and ternational trade, so it’s as important to keep up with
are responsible for keeping international trade afloat. sector knowledge as legal developments. 
• Dealing with a mixed clientele from all points on the
Shipping lawyers deal with the carriage of goods or social compass: you’ll need to be just as comfortable
people by sea, plus any and every matter related to the extracting a comprehensible statement from a Nor-
financing, construction, use, insurance and decommis- wegian merchant seaman as conducting negotiations
sioning of the ships that carry them (or are arrested, with major financiers. 
sunk or salvaged while carrying them). Despite being the • Contentious cases are driven by the procedural rules
preserve of specialist firms, or relatively self-contained and timetable of the court or arbitration forum to which
practice groups within larger firms, the discipline offers the matter has been referred. A solid grasp of proce-
varied challenges. The major division is between ‘wet’ dure is as important as a strong foundation in tort and
Practice Areas

work relating to accidents or misadventure at sea, and contract law.

‘dry’ work involving the land-based, commercial and con- • Some shipping lawyers do come from a naval back-
tractual side. In extension, disputes or litigation relating ground or are ex-mariners, but you won’t be becalmed
to contracts mean there is also a contentious side to dry if the closest comparable experience you’ve had is
work. While some lawyers in the area may be generalists, steering Tommy Tugboat in the bath as long as you can
it is more common to specialise.  show a credible interest in the discipline. 
• Old superstitions thought it bad luck to have women
aboard a ship. Though not an all-boys club, parts of the
What lawyers do shipping world are still male-dominated; women law-
yers and clients are more commonly found on the dry
Wet lawyers side. 
• Act swiftly and decisively at a moment’s notice to pro- • In the UK, shipping law is centred around London and
tect a client’s interests and minimise any loss.  a few other port cities. Major international centres in-
• Travel the world to assess the condition of ships, inter- clude Piraeus in Greece, Hong Kong and Singapore.
view crew or witnesses and prepare cases.  Some trainees even get to work in these locations. 
• Take witness statements and advise clients on the
merits of and strategy for cases.  Current issues
• Handle court and arbitration appearances, conferenc- • Analysts
originally thought  the escalating trade war
es with barristers and client meetings.  between the US and China (which many feared would
cause another recession) is unlikely to affect the ship-
Dry lawyers ping industry. However, in response to mainland China’s
• Negotiate and draft contracts for ship finance and new national security law, the US ended its extradition
shipbuilding, crew employment, sale and purchase treaty and  30-year-old  reciprocal tax  exemptions on
agreements, affreightment contracts and the registra- shipping income  with Hong Kong in August 2020.  As
tion and re-flagging of ships.  a result, US shipping companies will now have to pay
• May specialise in niche areas such as yachts or fishing, taxes in both the US and Hong Kong, while Hong Kong-
an area in which regulatory issues feature prominently.  based shipping companies will be subject to gross in-
• Handle similar tasks to wet lawyers in relation to con- come tax when sending cargo to the US. The US had
tractual disputes but are less likely to jet off around the been Hong Kong’s second biggest trading partner, with
world at the drop of a hat.  China taking first place. More than six other countries,
including the UK, have so far ended their extradition
Realities of the job agreements with Hong Kong.
• Wet work offers the excitement of international assign- • Uncertainty around Brexit continues to affect the out-
ments and clients, so lawyers need to react coolly to look for many industries and shipping is no different.
sudden emergencies and travel to far-flung places to In the last year, the UK fleet decreased by over 30%
offer practical and pragmatic analysis and advice.  as a result of Brexit-related concerns. A worst-case

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chambersstudent.co.uk Shipping

scenario for UK companies would be likely to include muz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard then arrested the Brit-
tariffs on trade with the EU, potentially resulting in a ish-flagged ‘Stena Impero’ oil tanker and held it for two
shortage of fresh produce and rising food prices. Brexit months for allegedly breaking maritime law by turning
could also give rise to disputes if contracts drafted pre- off its tracking devices. The UK and the US joined forc-
Brexit make vague reference to the EU or presume the es to protect ships travelling through the area, further
existence of UK membership in the EU.  increasing tensions. The Iranian vessel was held in Gi-
• Cruise ships proved to be instrumental in identifying braltar for six weeks, before reportedly setting sail for
how the Covid-19 virus spread and gave indications of Greece. It was renamed ‘Adrian Darya 1’.  
its severity and presence in those without symptoms. In • The climate crisis is having a significant impact on the
February 2020, a passenger who had been aboard the shipping industry. It is now mandatory for ships to use a
‘Diamond Princess’ in Hong Kong tested positive for new environmentally friendly fuel, which has reported-
the virus. The ship was quarantined in Japan, where of- ly impacted the ability of many ships to run profitably.
ficials carried out 3,000 tests: some people were test- On another note, Google shipped hardware rather than
ed multiple times to analyse how the virus spread over flying it in 2018, which reduced its per-unit, transport-
time. More than 700 of the 3,711 passengers and crew related emissions by 40%. The company aimed for its
members tested positive, with 18% having no symp- delivery of hardware to customers to be carbon-neutral
toms.  Analysts used data from the ship to show that by 2020. In addition, several Japanese companies have
the case fertility rate in China was just over 1%, despite teamed up to produce the world’s first zero-emission
the WHO’s estimate of 4%.   tanker by 2021. In August 2019, the UK government
• The UK classified seafarers as key workers during said that from 2025 all new ships it ordered must be
the pandemic, but  international  lockdown restrictions fitted with zero-emission technology. The latest Inter-

Practice Areas
prevented crew changes and meant that roughly half national Maritime Organization Greenhouse Gas Study
a million seafarers were stuck at sea.  Since the  out- indicated that despite a 40% increase in sea trade be-
break of the virus, only 25% of crew changes actually tween 2008 and 2018, CO2 emissions from the ship-
took  place.  Following  the  UK’s  International Maritime ping sector fell by more than 10%.  The organisation
Summit, 13 countries agreed to allow crew changes.   also revealed it’s on track to halve emissions by 2050.
• Tensions between Iran and the UK flared up after the • China has signed a $1.1 billion deal with Sri Lanka to
UK seized a tanker transporting Iranian oil off Gibral- take control of its deep-sea port at Hambantota – a
tar in July 2019, following suspicions it was carrying move that reflects its ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative to
oil to Syria against EU sanctions. Despite UK warships increase trading links to Europe. 
shadowing British oil tankers through the Strait of Hor-

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard HFW Pinsent Masons Watson Farley & Williams
Birketts Kennedys Reed Smith
Clyde & Co Norton Rose Fulbright Stephenson Harwood

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 Sports, media and entertainment chambersstudent.co.uk

Sports, media and entertainment

In a nutshell Theatre and publishing

Advertising and marketing lawyers offer advice to en- • Advise theatre and opera companies, producers,
sure a client’s products or advertisements are compliant agents and actors on contracts, funding and sponsor-
with industry standards, plus general advice on anything ship/merchandising.
from contracts between clients, media and suppliers, to • Advise publishing companies and newspapers on con-
employment law, corporate transactions and litigation. tractual, licensing, copyright and libel matters.
Entertainment lawyers assist clients in the film, broad- • Assist with immigration issues.
casting, music, theatre and publishing industries with
commercial legal advice or litigation. Sports lawyers rep- Sports
resent organisations and individuals active in the indus- • Assist with contract negotiations, be they between
try, and can operate in a broad range of practice areas clubs and sportspeople, agents and players, sporting
such as finance, IP, telecommunications, negligence and institutions and sponsors, broadcasters and sports
privacy. Reputation management lawyers advise clients governing bodies.
on how best to protect their own ‘brand’, be this through • Handle varied employment and immigration issues.
a defamation suit or an objection to invasion of privacy. • Defend sportspeople accused of doping offences or
other unsporting behaviour.
Practice Areas

• Advise on corporate or commercial matters like takeo-

What lawyers do vers, public offerings, debt restructuring and bank-
ruptcy, or the securing and structuring of credit.
Advertising and marketing • Enforce IP rights in the lucrative merchandise market
• Ensure advertising campaigns comply with legislation and negotiate on matters affecting a sportsperson’s
or regulatory codes set out by the Advertising Stand- image rights.
ards Authority (ASA) or Ofcom. • Work on regulatory compliance issues within a sport or
• Advise on comparative advertising, unauthorised ref- matters relating to the friction between sports regula-
erences to living persons and potential trademark in- tions and EU/national law.
fringements. • Offer reputation management and criminal advice.
• Defend claims against allegations that their work has
infringed regulations or the rights of third parties. Reputation management (defamation and libel)
• Bring complaints against competitors’ advertising. • Claimants’ lawyers advise individuals – commonly ce-
lebrities, politicians or high-profile businesspeople – on
TV and film the nature of any potential libel action or breach of pri-
• Advise production companies on every stage of the vacy claim, usually against broadcasters or publishers,
creation of programmes and films. before it either settles or goes to court.
• Assist on the banking and lending transactions which • Defendants’ lawyers advise broadcasters or other pub-
ensure financing for a film, as well as tax exemption lishers on libel claims brought against them. With the
rules for UK films. burden of proof on the defendant, the lawyers must
• Help engage performers, negotiate a multitude of an- prove that what was published caused no loss to the
cillary contracts, and negotiate distribution and world- claimant or was not libellous.
wide rights. • Help clients stay out of hot water by giving pre-pub-
lication advice to authors, editors or production com-
Music panies.
• Advise major recording companies, independent labels
and talent (record producers, songwriters and artists). Realities of the job
• Advise on contracts, such as those between labels and • Advertising lawyers must have a good knowledge of
bands, or between labels and third parties. advertising regulations, defamation and IP law.
• Offer contentious and non-contentious copyright and • Many advertising disputes will be settled via regulatory
trademark advice relating to music, image rights and bodies but some, particularly IP infringements, end in
merchandising. litigation.
• Offer criminal advice when things get old-school rock • Entertainment lawyers need to be completely im-
‘n’ roll. mersed in their chosen media and have a good grasp of
• Assist with immigration issues. copyright and contract law.

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chambersstudent.co.uk Sports, media and entertainment

• Reputation management lawyers need a comprehen- maintaining compatible systems comes with commer-
sive understanding of libel and privacy laws and an cial advantages.
ability to think laterally. Individual claimants will be • In a deal of unparalleled size and impact in TV and film
stressed and upset, so people skills, patience and re- history, 2019 saw Disney close its $71 billion acquisi-
sourcefulness are much needed. tion of 21st Century Fox. Sparking international con-
• Working in media, entertainment or sports is often as- cern surrounding potential antitrust infringements,
sumed to be a glamorous affair. However, lawyers op- the Department of Justice cleared the vertical merger,
erating in these areas are preoccupied with the legal leaving Disney with an estimated 40% control over the
issues arising from them, leaving little time for hobnob- pre-Covid-19 global theatrical box office.
bing with celebrities. • The US National Women’s Soccer Team has been em-
• Landing a job as a media, libel, sports or entertainment broiled in a long-running legal battle over equitable
lawyer is extremely tricky. While many have an interest pay. Despite being a far more decorated outfit that
in the field, the number of vacant positions is severely their male counterparts – ranked first in the world, with
limited. Successful candidates usually have previous four World Cup trophies under their belt – the debate
experience in a relevant sector, but even this will only concerning equable pay continues. In part due to spon-
get you so far; previous legal experience is also a must. sorship and advertising deals, the team reportedly earn
six times less in bonuses than the men’s side, prompt-
Current issues ing the USWNT to file a lawsuit against US Soccer
• Social media and digital marketing make up a larger seeking to remedy the monetary chasm.
portion of advertising than ever before. Web-based • Another seminal sporting decision emerged recently
interactive and data-driven targeted advertising is when the IAAF ruled that Caster Semenya, South Af-

Practice Areas
throwing up all kinds of data protection, privacy and rican 800m Olympic champion, will be required to
commercial concerns, especially as regulators contin- medically reduce her testosterone levels in order to
ue to adjust to the specific issues raised by digital mar- continue competing on the world stage. Semenya lost
keting. After damning evidence emerged surrounding her appeal against the IAAF after challenging what
Facebook’s involvement with Cambridge Analytica – a she believed to be “discriminatory” new regulations
third-party data-mining company which covertly har- that required female athletes with DSDs (differences
vested users’ data for electoral purposes – the Federal in sexual development) to chemically alter levels of
Trade Commission (FTC) ordered Zuckerberg’s com- testosterone through the use of hormones.
pany to pay a staggering $5 billion fine for deception • Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown measures had
of its users in July 2019. an unprecedented impact on the sports sector. The
• With the upcoming 2020 US presidential election, English Premier League, Football League and Scottish
social media policies relating to political advertising FA each decided to suspend matches, and with that
will once again be in the limelight. Controversially, comes the question as to whether these circumstanc-
Facebook’s current policy sees that politicians are es release an organisation from its various contractual
exempt from the platform’s third-party fact-checking obligations. Deloitte predicted that the impact on the
programme. Other platforms have banned political ad- Premier League’s revenues would amount to around £1
vertising altogether, and Twitter took the first step in billion.
flagging several of Donald Trump’s tweets for “violat- • The pandemic also resulted in significant growth in
ing Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity” but subscriptions to streaming services such as Netflix,
kept them up as “it may be in the public’s interest for Disney+ and NOW TV. According to Ofcom, an estimat-
the Tweet(s) to remain accessible.” ed 12 million users acquired access to a new streaming
• In both traditional and social media, calls for the ASA subscription during lockdown. Due to the timing of the
to crack down on adverts deemed harmful or mislead- launch of Disney+ (coinciding with the start of UK lock-
ing have increased in recent years. This has resulted in down), there was an increased take-up in it, making it
the ASA banning adverts deemed to objectify the body the third most subscribed service behind Netflix and
– such as Protein World’s ‘beach body ready’ ad – or to Amazon Prime Video. The demand for news broadcast-
reinforce gender stereotypes, like Gap’s little scholar/ ers also increased, making up 58.8% of TV broadcast
social butterfly ad. viewing.
• Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the me- • Many film and production companies were forced to
dia sector will have to make adjustments to the way suspend production as a result of Covid-19. Eventually,
it operates. Cross-border licensing arrangements will the UK government pledged £500 million to a scheme
have to be reassessed, while the laws surrounding IP, aimed at restarting film and TV production, which will
data protection, cyber risk and e-commerce may also be available to films spending 50% or more of their
change as the UK disentangles itself from the body budget in the UK.
of EU legislation. It is, however, likely that the UK will
implement laws that reflect existing EU legislation, as

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 Sports, media and entertainment chambersstudent.co.uk

Media Defence:
online we catch up with the lawyers protecting
journalists from oppressive regimes.
Practice Areas

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard Paisner Harbottle & Lewis Pinsent Masons
Ashfords Charles Russell Speechlys Hogan Lovells Reed Smith
Baker McKenzie CMS Latham & Watkins RPC
Bates Wells DLA Piper Lewis Silkin Simkins
Bird & Bird DWF Mills & Reeve Squire Patton Boggs
Brabners Farrer & Co Mishcon de Reya Taylor Wessing
Bristows Foot Anstey Northridge Law Wiggin
Bryan Cave Leighton Gowling WLG (UK) Osborne Clarke Womble Bond Dickinson UK

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chambersstudent.co.uk Tax

Tax

In a nutshell and tax-efficient way to avoid conflict with, and poten-

Tax lawyers are a permanent feature in almost every tial penalties imposed by, HMRC.
industry, but they are most in demand (and most highly • If you don’t already wear specs, expect to after a cou-
paid) when it comes to transactional and regulatory mat- ple of years of poring over all that black-letter law. The
ters for corporate clients. Private client lawyers also in- UK has more pages of tax legislation than almost any
creasingly have to be tax experts when advising high net other country, and there are new changes implement-
worth individuals on how to structure their wealth. Navi- ed every year.
gation of this highly analytical and complex practice area • In time extra qualifications, such as the Chartered Tax
often necessitates a degree of proficiency in mathemat- Adviser exams, will be useful.
ics and an interest in accountancy. • Don’t expect to be on the side of the angels: you may
end up spending your time advising big businesses on
Tax lawyers in the private sector ensure that clients how to avoid paying tax without breaking the law.
structure their business deals, assets or day-to-day op-
erations in such a way that they take advantage of legal Current issues
breaks and loopholes in tax legislation. A public-sector • Covid-19 sent shockwaves through the tax world as
tax lawyer is primarily employed to provide advice and much as it did anywhere else. The enormous level of

Practice Areas
assistance regarding regulations, but also works on in- public spending required to keep the economy togeth-
vestigations, audits and prosecutions of tax-evading or- er during the 2020 lockdown has prompted fears of
ganisations. Although this is predominantly an advisory tax hikes in the future. At the time of writing, sources
practice area, on occasion matters can veer into litigation within the government were suggesting there would
territory. be no “horror show of tax rises,” but some changes will
surely be necessary to address what is now a £2 trillion
national debt.
What lawyers do • The dramatic events of 2020 have also intensified calls
• Ensure that clients take advantage of legal breaks and for increased transparency surrounding tax havens
loopholes permitted by tax legislation. and corporates avoiding paying tax in the UK (through
• Handle tax planning for clients, making sure they un- technically legal but morally dodgy methods). The Fi-
derstand the financial ramifications of purchases. nance Bill 2020-21 aims to take action against those
• Address the ownership and disposal of assets, includ- who promote and market tax avoidance schemes.
ing advising on structuring corporate portfolios in the • With the housing market having ground to a halt dur-
most tax-efficient way. ing lockdown, the Treasury attempted to rocket-boost
• Offer transactional advice when working with corpo- a recovery via a temporary increase in the residential
rate lawyers on M&A deals, joint ventures and property stamp duty land tax (SDLT) nil rate band for the pe-
portfolio acquisitions. riod of 8 July 2020 to 31 March 2021. The threshold in
• Deal with investigations or litigation resulting from England and Northern Ireland has been increased from
prosecution by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs £125,000 to £500,000.
(HMRC, sometimes referred to as ‘the Revenue’). This • The Digital Services Tax (DST) came into effect on 1
litigation is always conducted against or brought by April 2020, despite rumours to the contrary. This rep-
the government. resents a 2% tax levied on UK digital services revenues
• Work alongside private client lawyers on matters of pri- including social media services, internet search en-
vate wealth. gines and online marketplaces. Targeted against inter-
net giants, the tax only affects large businesses which
Realities of the job have annual global revenues of more than £500 million
• This is an intellectually rigorous, rather cloistered area and more than £25 million attributable to UK sales.
of law and is ideally suited to the more academic prac- • It’s no surprise that businesses affected by the DST
titioner. have attempted to get around the problem, with Ama-
• Corporate tax lawyers are very well paid, treated with zon making a move to increase seller fees in Septem-
reverence by their colleagues and find intellectual ber 2020, essentially passing the 2% levy down the
stimulation in their work. chain.
• Lawyers must not only have the ability to translate and • Taxation of giant tech companies looks likely to be one
implement complex tax legislation, but must also be of the most contentious points in the negotiation of a
able to advise on how to structure deals in a legitimate

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 Tax chambersstudent.co.uk

UK-US trade deal post-Brexit, with most of the target- • Britain’s social care crisis has only got worse in recent
ed tech firms based in America. years. Over-40s in the UK may be expected to pay
• On Brexit more broadly, many cross-border facets of more tax to contribute towards the cost of care later
the UK’s VAT and corporate transactions are regulated down the line. This is currently being examined by the
by EU law. For example, the EU currently offers tax re- Department of Health and Social Care, but finances
lief for cross-border mergers, so UK businesses may surrounding social care are a touchy subject, as dem-
find themselves incurring greater tax costs as a result onstrated when Theresa May’s 2017 proposal to alter
of leaving the EU. Double tax treaties will still be in how care is paid for drew widespread criticism and
place with many countries as the UK leaves the EU and prompted a swift U-turn.
enters the transition period, but many aspects of tax
legislation will be open to adaptation. Boris Johnson’s
new ‘free ports’ idea is similar to that of Singapore’s:
having ports where goods can come through with
little-to-no import taxes and an easier time of things
regulatory-wise.
Practice Areas

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard CMS Kirkland & Ellis Simmons & Simmons
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Dentons International Skadden, Arps, Slate,
& Feld DLA Piper Latham & Watkins Meagher & Flom (UK)
Allen & Overy DWF Linklaters Slaughter and May
Ashfords Eversheds Sutherland Macfarlanes Squire Patton Boggs
Ashurst Foot Anstey Mills & Reeve Stephenson Harwood
Baker McKenzie Freshfields Bruckhaus Norton Rose Fulbright Travers Smith
Brabners Deringer Osborne Clarke Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Bryan Cave Leighton Gateley Legal Peters & Peters Solicitors White & Case
Paisner Gowling WLG (UK) Pinsent Masons Withers
Burges Salmon Herbert Smith Freehills RPC Womble Bond Dickinson UK
Clifford Chance Hogan Lovells Sidley Austin

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chambersstudent.co.uk Tech, telecoms and outsourcing

Tech, telecoms and outsourcing

In a nutshell little-known internet auction site eBay. Six years later

Technology, telecoms and outsourcing lawyers distin- he moved to head up Skype’s legal team.
guish themselves from general commercial advisers be- • The ability to think laterally and creatively is a must,
cause of their specific industry know-how. They combine especially when the application of a client’s technology
a keen understanding of the latest advances in various or content throws up entirely new issues.
technologies with a thorough knowledge of the ever- • High-end private sector outsourcing involves complex,
changing law that regulates, protects and licenses them. high-value and increasingly multi-jurisdictional work.
As forms of media and new technologies converge, cli- Mostly, it is the larger law firms that handle such deals.
ents have come to rely on technology lawyers’ innovation In the public sector, deals involve UK government de-
and imagination in offering rigorous legal solutions to partments, local authorities and the suppliers of ser-
maximise and protect income and ideas. vices to those entities.

The majority of the top 50 firms possess dedicated Current issues

groups of tech lawyers. There are also specialists within • Digital tech currently contributes around £150 billion
smaller commercial firms and a number of niche firms. At to the UK economy and in 2019 grew six times faster
some firms work related to technology and outsourcing than any other sector. There have been concerns about

Practice Areas
might be grouped with areas like IP and contracts under a North-South divide since London attracts a large
a general ‘commercial’ umbrella. amount of talent, leaving companies in Manchester
and Leeds in need of employees. That said, in 2019
Manchester was the fastest growing city in Europe in
What lawyers do terms of tech investment: investment increased 277%
• Advise on commercial transactions and draft the req- between 2018 and 2019, from £48 million to £181 mil-
uisite documents. There is a heavy emphasis on risk lion. It’s been argued that this growing reputation for
management. the UK being a technology leader could help protect
• Assist in the resolution of disputes, commonly by ar- the economy in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
bitration or other settlement procedures as this is a • Tech has been one of the few sectors to continue to see
court-averse sector. Many disputes relate to faulty or rising investment in throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
unsatisfactory software or hardware. Between 23 March 2020 and 27 April 2020, the level
• Help clients police their IT and web-based reputation of investment in UK tech startups increased by 34%
and assets. Cybersquatting, ownership of database compared to the same period in 2019.
information and the Data Protection Act are common • The prospect of Brexit still causes concern in terms of
topics. recruiting talent – opting out of EU free movement will
• Give clients mainstream commercial, corporate and fi- further limit the accessible talent pool. Brexit could
nancial advice. also have a major effect on data laws and investment,
• Specialised outsourcing lawyers represent customers though how this will pan out will depend heavily on the
and suppliers in the negotiation and drafting of agree- UK’s future relationship with the EU.
ments for the provision of IT or other services by a third • The European Commission is currently pushing what it
party. refers to as the Digital Single Market, a wide-ranging
raft of measures designed to unify regulations and
Realities of the job business practices in tech-related industries and ser-
• You need to be familiar with the latest regulations and vices. In addition to the abolition of mobile roaming
their potential impact on your client’s business. Does charges in 2017, the Commission plans to implement
a website need a disclaimer? What measures should 5G across the whole of Europe by 2025. In the first sig-
your client take to protect data about individuals gath- nificant divergence from EU law as a result of Brexit,
ered online? the UK decided not to implement the new EU copy-
• You need a good grasp of the jargon of your chosen in- right law reforms known as the EU Copyright Directive,
dustry, firstly to write contracts but also so you can un- which aimed to give content creators more rights and
derstand your clients’ instructions. Read trade journals more control over where their material appears online.
like Media Lawyer and Computer Weekly or magazines • According to Deloitte, 5G is set to “become the connec-
such as Wired or New Scientist. tivity technology of choice in the next decade or two.” It
• In this frontier world, gut instinct matters. One in-house has had a staggered launch in the UK since May 2019.
lawyer made what looked like a risky move from BT to Although it was the last network provider in the UK to

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 Tech, telecoms and outsourcing chambersstudent.co.uk

launch 5G, O2 was the only company to do so without cates in France – filed the day GDPR legislation came
using the controversial telecoms company Huawei. into effect – Google was fined a record €50 million by
Conspiracy theories surrounding 5G have grown dra- the French regulator for failing to sufficiently inform
matically during the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to users about how Google collected personal data to tai-
vandalism of 5G masts and general infrastructure that lor adverts. Meanwhile, the ICO issued a £180 million
has affected mobile coverage. fine – the biggest to date – to British Airways following
• The ensuing irony was that following Covid-19 lock- 2018’s hacking scandal.
down measures, there was a significant increase in the • The first month of GDPR saw a sharp rise in the num-
need for digital connectivity and an increase in demand ber of complaints to regulators across Europe, signi-
on telecoms companies. In response, major players in- fying public interest in the new regulations. Between
troduced various measures such as more proactive 2017/18 and 2018/19, the number of data protection
monitoring of traffic. Netflix, for example, cut stream- complaints received by the ICO nearly doubled, stand-
ing quality in Europe for 30 days in order to lessen the ing at 41,661.
demand on internet bandwidth. • Information harvested by data consultant Cambridge
• In response to concerns over privacy, the EU created Analytica from Facebook was allegedly used to influ-
the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which ence both the US presidential election and the EU ref-
came into force on 25 May 2018. It places much more erendum. The scandal has since led to the closure of
onerous restrictions on organisations that process Cambridge Analytica, while Facebook was fined £5 bil-
data, requiring that records be kept of all personal lion by the Federal Trade Commission, the largest fine
data, that organisations gain and be able to prove ac- ever imposed by the US regulator.
tive consent before collecting data, as well as being • In mid-2019, the Competition and Markets Authority
Practice Areas

able to show what it’s used for, who it goes to, and the launched its new Digital Markets Strategy, which aims
protections in place to ensure it does not fall into unin- to better regulate anti-competitive behaviour and en-
tended hands. Non-compliance can mean a maximum force consumer protection in the technology market-
fine of €20 million or 4% of a company’s global turno- place.
ver if it’s higher. Following complaints by privacy advo-

Read our True Pictures on...

Addleshaw Goddard Burges Salmon Deringer Pinsent Masons
Allen & Overy Charles Russell Speechlys Herbert Smith Freehills RPC
Ashurst Clifford Chance Latham & Watkins Simmons & Simmons
Baker McKenzie CMS Linklaters Slaughter and May
Bird & Bird Dentons Mayer Brown International Squire Patton Boggs
Bristows DLA Piper Morrison & Foerster (UK) TLT
Bryan Cave Leighton Eversheds Sutherland Norton Rose Fulbright Travers Smith
Paisner Osborne Clarke
Freshfields Bruckhaus

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 Here they are.

20 life-changing opportunities.
20 spaces for future partners.
20 chances to start your
career with an ambitious,
international firm.

At Stephenson Harwood,
we’re looking for the most
inquisitive, driven people
to join us.

Have you got what it takes?

To find out more, visit
shlegal.com/futuretalent

Stephenson Harwood.
We welcome the best.

Follow us
@shfuturetalent
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