Private Equity

Expert Analysis

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• New US Development Entity Will Spur Investment In Africa

  

  The global emerging-markets private equity community is abuzz with the prospect of a new U.S. development funding institution coming on the scene this year that is expected to increase competition among existing funding institutions and spur first-time investment, especially in Africa, say Thomas Trimble and John Bryant of Winston & Strawn LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.

• Handling Corporate Congressional Probes In The Trump Era

  

  President Donald Trump’s approach to crisis communications has changed the game enough to demand companies' consideration of a whole new set of options. John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications and Bill Pittard of KaiserDillon PLLC discuss whether corporations can successfully use similar tactics.

• Common Stockholders Can Wa[i]ve Appraisal Rights Goodbye

  

  The Delaware Court of Chancery recently held that language in an agreement requiring minority stockholders to waive appraisal rights was enforceable. Though the case is already on appeal, practitioners should make sure agreements with drag-along rights include unambiguous waiver provisions whenever possible, say attorneys at Goodwin Procter LLP.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2

  

  Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• Trends Suggest Cartel Enforcers Face Headwinds In 2019

  

  Judged purely by enforcement statistics, 2018 was a down year for cartel enforcement. But authorities are training their sights on new sectors, theories and targets, and considering additional ways to further sharpen their enforcement stick and sweeten the leniency pot, say John Terzaken and Elizabeth French of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 1

  

  Contrary to what the New York City Bar Association concluded in an ethics opinion last year, lawyer-directed nonrecourse commercial litigation funding does not violate New York rules on sharing fees with nonlawyers, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• 7 Questions To Add To Your Lateral Partner Questionnaire

  

  Law firms should redesign the vetting process for lateral candidates so it directly addresses sexual harassment and assault issues, says Howard Rosenberg of Decipher.

• Q&A

  A Chat With Reed Smith Chief Marketing Officer Sadie Baron

  

  In this monthly series, Amanda Brady of Major Lindsey & Africa interviews management from top law firms about the increasingly competitive business environment. Here we feature Sadie Baron, chief marketing officer at Reed Smith LLP.