Private Equity

Expert Analysis

• What UK's New Merger Controls Mean For Private Equity

  

  Expansive notification and approval requirements under the U.K.’s new merger control regime — the National Security and Investment Act — along with a lack of clarity about when they go into effect, pose unique challenges for private equity sponsors, as well as their investors and portfolio companies, say attorneys at Kirkland.

• Assessing SPAC Risk After SEC Pumps Brakes On Market

  

  The current lull in special purpose acquisition company activity following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent risk advisories offers SPAC parties an opportunity to ramp up due diligence on targets and to evaluate prior accounting of warrants to ensure regulatory compliance, say Julie Copeland and Ellen Graper at StoneTurn.

• Virus-Related Chancery Rulings Show High Bar For M&A Exits

  

  Two recent Delaware Chancery Court decisions concerning attempts to cancel acquisitions amid COVID-19 show the importance of deal language in the pandemic era, particularly where material adverse effect and ordinary course covenants are concerned, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Judge's Rebuke Of Mass. AG Has Lessons For All Attorneys

  

  A Massachusetts federal judge’s recent rebuke of the state Attorney General’s Office for refusing to respond to discovery requests in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healey highlights six important considerations for attorneys who want to avoid the dreaded benchslap, say Alison Eggers and Dallin Wilson at Seyfarth.  

• Font Considerations To Give Your Legal Briefs An Edge

  

  Following the D.C. Circuit’s recent notice discouraging use of the font Garamond in legal briefs, Jason Steed at Kilpatrick looks at typeface requirements and preferences in appellate courts across the country, and how practitioners can score a few extra brief-writing points with typography.

• Make Profitability Management Part Of Your Law Firm Culture

  

  As the legal industry continues to change in the post-pandemic world, law firms should adapt to client demands by constantly measuring and managing the profitability of their services, says Joseph Altonji at LawVision.

• 4 Trends In Discoverability Of Litigation Funding Documents

  

  Recent rulings shed light on how courts and international arbitration tribunals decide if litigation funding materials are discoverable and reaffirm best practices that attorneys should follow when communicating with funders, say Justin Maleson at Longford Capital and Michele Slachetka and Christian Plummer at Jenner & Block.

• 7 Lessons For Young Lawyers Starting Their Careers

  

  This year's law graduates and other young attorneys must recognize that the practice of law tests and rewards different skills and characteristics than law school, and that what makes a lawyer valuable changes over time, says Vernon Winters, retired partner at Sidley.

• How SPACs Can Avoid Failed China Reverse Mergers 2.0

  

  As red-hot special purpose acquisition companies hungry for de-SPAC transactions set their sites on Asia, practitioners can look to the failed Chinese reverse mergers of the early 2000s for lessons about regulation, due diligence and misrepresentation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents

  

  The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.

• Opinion

  Revise Mansfield Diversity Mandates To Also Benefit Veterans

  

  The well-intentioned efforts and salutary purposes of the legal industry's Mansfield Rule diversity metric are tainted by the Diversity Lab initiative's omission of veterans, who are underrepresented at large law firms and entitled to advantageous treatment based on more than 200 years of public policy, says Robert Redmond at McGuireWoods.

• Key Considerations For Build-To-Rent Developers

  

  As real estate developers and investors flock to the build-to-rent asset class, they should pay attention to some key issues, such as potential conflicts with local land development codes, says Jim McNeil at Akerman.

• Tips For Managing Cybersecurity And Privacy Risks In M&A

  

  Cybersecurity and privacy issues in M&A transactions should no longer be an afterthought and should be treated on equal footing as other parts of the due diligence process, like tax, real estate and intellectual property, say David Kessler and Anna Rudawski at Norton Rose.

• Bankruptcy Litigation Could See More Third-Party Funding

  

  The next few years could be an opportune time for bankruptcy litigants to capitalize on the advantages of third-party financing as the obstacles to its use — including attorney ethics issues and prohibitions against champerty — seem to be clearing at a slow but steady pace, say Daniel Simon and Natalie Rowles at McDermott.

• Asset Management Takeaways From SEC Risk Alert On ESG

  

  Kelley Howes and Kaela Colwell at MoFo highlight key asset management industry considerations following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent risk alert on environmental, social and governance investing — the latest of several developments demonstrating the SEC’s increasing focus on investor protection in this area.