Posted on

Interview with… Duygu Doğan Şahiner – Partner at Kılınç Law & Consulting

What was it that made you want to become a lawyer?

I have wanted to be a lawyer since I was a child. I especially wanted to wear that robe, defence people and work in a big crowded office. My family has always stood by me and supported me in this regard.

You head Kılınç Law & Consulting’s Dispute Resolution, Maritime, Innovation & Fintech Departments. What are the skills and attributes needed to succeed as you have done in your career so far?

When I took the Maritime Law in my last year of university, I realized that the thing I desire most in my life was to become a maritime lawyer. For this reason, I first worked in offices that would improve myself in these areas. Later, I started to work on Technology, Innovation and Fintech fields in order to improve myself and adapt to the changing world. Even if the departments I am in charge of do not have any direct connection, I can state that the first thing people do in order to work in these areas is to be interested, to read and not to avoid research. As there is a constant change in these areas, as in every job, it is very important to never lose your determination, enthusiasm to work in your area.

 In your opinion, are women lawyers treated differently by clients and colleagues compared to their male counterparts?

This is one of the most sensitive points of our office. Especially the employment of female lawyers is more than male lawyers in our office. The reason for this is the clear stance shown by me and our other partners on this discrimination. Due to the fact that, as in every sector, female lawyers can encounter serious discrimination. It may be that women are not taken seriously enough because of their clothing, speech or simply being women. Even I am more active in the field of maritime law and I can say that I have been seriously discriminated against while working in the field because in an area where the industry is dominated by men, it was impossible for a female lawyer to prove herself, to pave the way and to be given a chance to advance. However, this situation is completely the opposite for both us and the prestigious Clients at the moment. Everyone works equally and harmoniously, without discrimination between men and women.

What has been your experience as a woman working in the legal industry?

As I replied in the previous question, I encountered serious resistance, especially in the maritime trade sector. As a matter of fact, male dominance in the sector makes the working conditions of a woman incredibly difficult. Sector is questioning whether you have sufficient knowledge as a lawyer woman, being asked to be supported by a male lawyer, and if you are of a naiver character, your ideas are never taken into account.

What factors do you think have improved the role of women in the legal profession in Türkiye?

Education is essential reason for improving the role of the women in the legal profession in Türkiye. The increase in the rate of women lawyers and the success of women lawyers in this field have largely destroyed the society’s judgments in this direction.

What are your reflections on the diversity and inclusion culture in the legal profession in Türkiye?

This subject is very sensitive to me. Many factors, such as the challenges of the profession and society’s view of women in the professional world, encourage me to do more about diversity. Due to the fact that I am a member of many women’s associations as a person and I am actively working in these associations. I strive to ensure that women, especially female lawyers, do not feel alone and have more space in the business world.

 How do you define the culture at Kılınç Law & Consulting?

The firm is majority female and welcomes many different ethnic identities. Our firm also values the different backgrounds bring to the management of the firm and out of the partners and heads of departments of our firm; the majority of the decision makers in the firm are female which is quite unique in Turkish Legal Market.

Moreover, our firm values the LGBTQIA+ community and currently employs two individuals from the community. As a law firm, we know, understand and value the uniqueness of every individual and believe that melting different points of views, backgrounds and ethnic or gender identities in a single pot equals success in every business and especially in the legal profession.

Also, our firm and the partners of our firms takes active part in various diversity, equity and inclusion associations such as ACMP (Association of Change Management Professionals- https://www.acmpglobal.org/page/about_acmp#), KAGİDER (https://www.kagider.org/en/corporate/about-kagider) and PWN (https://pwnistanbul.net/en/who-we-are/). Through our efforts in these associations, we aim to show the success we have had with our diverse team and to spread an inclusion culture in Türkiye.

How do you see the new generation of women lawyers?

I realize that there are more female lawyers working in our profession right now. All these female lawyers are eager to improve themselves and to be able to do more. Frankly, I think that female lawyers are more successful and do their work with greater devotion.

 If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you be?

If I wasn’t a lawyer, I would probably be a painter or a sculptor.

Which women have inspired you the most?

I will give a name that is not related to legal world. Türkan Saylan is a name that I am most impressed with and I want to be as successful as her one day. She was a Turkish medical doctor in dermatology, academic, writer, teacher. Also the founder of called “Association for the Support of Contemporary Living. Her research on war and leprosy as a female doctor in her own time fascinates me.

In your career so far what achievement are you most proud of?

From the first day I started my profession, I worked with great devotion and care. Frankly, I have received the reward of this effort with the cases I have won, the projects and works I have carried out. The achievement I am most proud of is; being a partner in Kılınç Law and Consultancy Office at such a young age. Compared to my peers, I am very happy to be rewarded for my efforts in an office that has achieved great success in the international arena.

How do you manage your current work / life balance?

It was very difficult at first to strike a balance between work and private life due to the fact that it takes a lot of effort and effort to carry out the profession in the best way. For this reason, sometimes you may not have your own private life. At this point, I can say that my husband is my biggest supporter. It’s not me, but my husband, who keeps my work and home life in balance and organizes the time needed. I can’t say thank you enough to him.

When you look back at your career and the knowledge you’ve gained, what advice would you give to female students who are about to enter the legal industry?

The beginning of the profession is very difficult for everyone, regardless of male or female. For this reason, I recommend that all students who start their legal internship never give up, examine/review every file and document in detail in the office where they will work. While they are students, they can work to improve their English during the summer months, or they can do summer internship in law firm in order to understand the working life of law firm.

Posted on

Interview with… Seray Özsoy Yavuz – Partner at Kılınç Law & Consulting

What was your route into law?

Although I did not have any lawyers in my family that I would regard as a role model and take inspiration from; since I was a child my goal was to become a successful lawyer.

I think the analytical thinking principles associated with the legal sector, being fair and defending what you believe in; as well as the literature I have read in my childhood brought me closer to a career in law.

When I decided to become a lawyer, I decided that I wanted to work in the commercial sector and especially in a department where I would be able to work with companies and in corporate law. During my time as a student at Marmara University, this dream of mine regarding working in the commercial field has further clarified in my mind since the topics have also drawn my attention considerably.

Once I was certain about what I wanted, I went after my goals. I believe that my path has crossed with the right people and I have gained experience in the right places from the right people. At the end of the day, I love my job and the sector I am working in.

What is the most important factor when considering a career in law?

Law is not a subject that is far away from life itself. Therefore, when considering a career in law, one must integrate law into every aspect of their life.

In my opinion, the most important factor in choosing a profession; is to make that profession a lifestyle and to do the job where you can reach professional satisfaction by enjoying the job you do. Out of personal experience, when you are in the right field and working with the right people on the same mission, your career proceeds successfully in accordance with the path you have envisioned for yourself.

You head Kılınç Law & Consulting’s M&A, Capital Markets, Competition Law and Projects Departments. What are the skills and attributes needed to succeed as a corporate lawyer like yourself?

I believe the key to success consists of three main elements;

The first is always to work and never stop producing new ideas.

The second is to always seek information about what you do and to keep this information up-to-date and fresh by doing research on and on.

Last but not least, always be the best version of yourself while doing your job.

Naturally, there is no single path, to reach success and as with anywhere else, in the legal sector numerous factors should be considered together and these all have different effects on achieving success. Furthermore, I believe there are several personal qualities that any lawyer should possess, such as being reliable, direct, brave, fair and effective, taking initiative, and always working with a schedule and systematically.

Above everything else, having managerial duties, being a lawyer, and providing services as a consultant to companies in their commercial activities simultaneously requires an effective working method, ability to multitask and as a whole competence in the roles, you undertake.

First of all, taking a role as a manager in a law firm and leading several departments requires reaching certain legal competence in various fields and having sufficient knowledge and experience. In addition to the qualities such as providing good corporate management throughout the office; it is necessary to have a

competent team, an equal, diverse, transparent, and decisive vision, and to actively develop personal skills related to the client and personal communication every day.

As a corporate lawyer, providing consultancy services to companies starts by understanding the given task and activities of the company you provide services to. At that point, speaking the same language with the client and guiding them in their legal affairs becomes extremely important. Providing the most suitable legal infrastructure for the needs of the companies in line with their commercial decisions at the requested time and guiding them in the right legal way can be counted among the main duties of corporate lawyers. In this respect, it is extremely important to have negotiation and client management skills.

What has been your experience as a woman working in the legal industry?

Women are extremely strong and competent at everything they do and I am glad to have the chance to observe this day by day.

The obstacle women are facing in the legal industry has not been employment in the sector but being in a managerial position. Women’s participation in every stage of managerial roles is necessary and provides improvement to any company let alone the legal sector. As a woman in law, that is also tasked with the management of several departments, I believe we should be one of the pioneers in changing the ever-present patriarchal order in the sector and the country itself. I take pride in women’s determination and hard work day by day and am sure that given the chance; we can accomplish anything and everything we put our heart into.

One of the most important issues I have experienced as a woman and manager in the legal industry is that; the point of view, analysis, and inclusion of women at any step of decision-making always cause positive outcomes.

Strong emotional intelligence in women, empathy, motivation, attention to detail, result-oriented approach and planning, as well as our ability to look outside of the box cause positive effects to the office integrity, business management, and stability. This is the perfect recipe for success.

As previously mentioned, I believe women in my position should be pioneers in providing excellent examples to those who are still unfamiliar with women in the legal sector and set an example for the younger generation of women to aspire for more.

What factors do you think have improved the role of women in the legal profession in Türkiye?

First of all, we are successful and we bring success to any firm or company we participate in. This will further become the case as the employment of women increases, especially for a culturally result-oriented country such as ours.

I believe the increase in international activities in the sector has also further improved the employment and the role of women in the legal profession, simply because in an international project you do not only share knowledge or exchange ideas; but also, professional culture. In this manner, I believe the exchange of cultures has also shown that diversity in a firm or company brings extreme value to the table.

Law is a field that requires analysis and a detailed approach. The fact that women are more systematic and planned, and since their analytical competence is highly developed; the role of women in the legal sector improves in parallel.

What are your reflections on the diversity and inclusion culture in the legal profession in Türkiye?

Today, individuals who have different perspectives and different lifestyles in Turkey have made many attempts to fight and are still fighting inequality in order to maintain their living standards in a diverse environment. Such movement has created awareness in the society to create fair, equal, and diverse living standards both professionally and socially. The first outcome of these movements was the implementation of more diverse and inclusive culture in corporate business life and therefore the legal sector.

Diversity and inclusion in regards to gender, origin, sexual orientation, disabilities, race, religion, and other factors that create the “essence” of a person develops the tendency of people to treat each other with tolerance and understanding in the workplace. In my opinion, this “essence” adds positive values to workplaces in terms of inclusion, and respect and brings out extremely different perspectives which always ends up improving the final outcome.

How is Kılınç Law & Consulting progressing with its diversity agenda?

As a partner who has been in our family in Kılınç Law & Consulting since the first day of its establishment, I can sincerely say that diversity is among the most important visions of our office. We value every individual who is part of our office and our aim is to uphold the diversity and inclusion culture regardless of race, origin, sexual orientation, or cultural difference, as long as the individual wants to be a part of our family, without any discrimination.

We act with the belief that each person who has been or will be a part of our family is unique with their own identity and most definitely adds a different value to us.

How do you define the culture at Kılınç Law & Consulting?

As Kılınç Law & Consulting, as I mentioned in the previous question, the first thing we care about is people and effort. In this direction, among the main principles of our office, we have always aimed to ensure peace and unity among the teams by giving value to every individual in our office. Our firm culture is driven by different perspectives and different opinions.

Meeting the needs and requirements of our employees correctly and accurately is among our primary goals and to fulfill such a goal, open communication is the absolute key. Since the first day, our main goal has been to develop our office in accordance with internationally valid standards, by keeping up with the ever-developing world, being open-minded, and progressing by self-growth of each individual.

How do you see the new generation of women lawyers?

I observe that the new generation of women lawyers are more investigative and interested in the field. Young female lawyers are determined and extremely more confident which improves their career prospects massively. Especially, the high awareness of the new generation and the new era leadership understanding ensure that the new generation of female lawyers are a lot more versatile and improved personal skills.

Due to the fact that we are in a period that focuses on higher education individually, the competition and selectivity criteria among young female lawyers become more difficult over time. In any case, it is essential for the young generation of female lawyers to bring their talents to the forefront by adapting to current innovations and improving themselves in every way by using the vast options of self-improvement available online.

Since stability, patience and experience are often required for the desired result by the proper implementation of the relevant legal procedures, I hope that if the young generation of female lawyers has the necessary determination and stability, they will bring innovation and new perspectives to our profession and take Turkish legal sector to new heights.

If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you be?

I never considered the idea of working in a field other than law while setting my career goals. But if I had thought of a different option, I think I could have turned to a field related to architecture, design or fashion. It would be exciting and invigorating to design something new by thinking outside of the box and breaking the standard patterns.

Which women have inspired you the most?

I have never had a single role model in this regard. I have tried to model my character by taking different aspects of from determined, successful, and compassionate women who I have crossed paths with in different parts of my life, who I am somehow familiar with, whose honesty and justice I admire, and who always renew themselves.

The women who inspired me the most have always been determined, successful, strong, and enlightened women who have overcome difficulties and never given up on their goals.

My biggest inspiration in life is my mother; she is strong, brave, and always full of life. A wonderful woman who cares a lot about her job, family, and children.

 In your career so far what achievement are you most proud of?

I am very proud of growing together with Kılınç Law & Consulting since its establishment. Our firm, which was established with three people, currently operates with more than fifty lawyers and offices in 6 different countries with recognition from Legal500 in three different practice areas. Apart from our founder, being the first partner of the office at a young age is a very valuable achievement that gives me a special sense of accomplishment.

In addition to individual achievements, what makes me proud the most is the fact that we have a good team and team that causes us to successfully complete each of our projects and always puts us one step ahead with the value they add.

How do you manage your current work / life balance?

I think that it requires a separate effort for lawyers working in law offices that are above a certain volume to be able to sharply separate their business and private life from each other. It is quite difficult for a lawyer to prioritize either business or private life, or to sharply distinguish one from the other. Law at one point, becomes an inseparable part of your life.

In general, I believe the key for such a balance is scheduling. When I schedule my life and act upon this schedule on a daily basis, I usually do not encounter time and business management problems that I cannot foresee. However, in this profession there are times where unforeseeable happens; once that happens or when a problem develops from outside of work, I resort to planning and delegation to retrieve that balance.

After exhausting weeks or months, taking a short break and taking enough time for myself and getting away from the city I am in for a short time, generally helps me to continue my work with the same strength by resetting myself.

One of the most important things I’ve experienced is that if you love what you do and are passionate about your work and you have good chemistry with your colleagues at the place where you do your job, work life does not come across as a place you don’t like. At this stage, getting to know myself and engaging in social activities that are good for me makes me happy in the balance of work and life.

When you look back at your career and the knowledge you’ve gained, what advice would you give to female students who are about to enter the legal industry?

This is a valuable question for me. My biggest advice to female students is to believe in themselves and in their power to achieve anything. Being ambitious seems a little dangerous to me, so I recommend that you always be determined to reach your career goal, work really hard for this goal, and work without giving up.

I think that there is nothing that a woman cannot achieve when she wants to. Being a woman is a beautiful and valuable thing. There should always be the courage to tackle the difficulties and gender discrimination that may arise in achieving the goals set.

I recommend them to reach a certain competence by equipping themselves with up-to-date information, to learn at least one foreign language on a professional level, to be fair and honest, and to always defend what they believe in.

Furthermore, in my opinion choosing the most suitable field for their own interests as a career goal and being happy in the job and place you are in are among the most important steps. For this reason, I recommend that they work in a place where they can develop themselves and in an inclusive environment where they can truly be themselves.

In order to have the necessary legal competency, I recommend the new generation of lawyers to benefit from abroad experience within their possibilities, benefit from internship opportunities while they are studying. The future requires analyzing, multi-dimensional thinkers, guiding their clients in the right way, in this sense; I would advise them to learn about different sectors of commerce other than law, learn about the dynamics in areas such as business management, finance and technology, so that they would be able to predict the next steps and possible legal risks and actions and compile their advice accordingly. Legal sector is intertwined with everything that is around you, so nothing you learn is unnecessary, learn more, read more and never be afraid to speak up for your own values.

Posted on

Focus on… JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic

The law firm JPM Janković Popović Mitić has more than three decades of experience in representing the most prestigious Serbian companies and advising international clients coming to Serbia and the region of Southeast Europe.

Our lawyers have exceptional experience and expertise in providing legal services to the industrial and corporate sectors in as many as 20 legal areas, from energy, banking, transport, manufacturing, and telecommunications, to renewable energy, mining, and the IT industry. Knowledge of the domestic market and decades of participation in the most important business transactions, have made us partners with some of the world’s largest corporations that successfully operate in Serbia.

We successfully respond to international challenges by being a member of the worldwide network of the best local law firms Lex Mundi, which means that we provide clients with legal advice in multi-jurisdictional transactions. We are connected with more than 130 offices in the world and we support foreign clients in matters of taxes, construction, data protection, but also customs, intellectual property, and labor law. In addition to 28 exceptional experts in Serbia, our team also operates in Montenegro, where legal services are provided by 5 experienced lawyers in our office in Podgorica.

In accordance with the developments in the global economy and the growing investments and trade with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union, we formed teams of lawyers who speak German, French, Russian and Slovenian language, which is currently a rarity on the market of legal services in Serbia. As an exclusive service, all legal advice can be obtained in the native language, in one place.

We are a leader in the use of advanced technologies and artificial intelligence in the work on complex international transactions and extremely voluminous documentation items, so we successfully provide clients with the best supervision and absolute control over budgets, services provided, and deadlines. At the same time, our lawyers are focused on the quality of legal advice and real-time support, which enables our clients to make quick decisions in business, fully compliant with applicable laws. We believe in long-term partnerships based on mutual understanding, respect, and exceptional trust. We are proud of the fact that our team is continuously growing and improving business, following world trends, and supporting staff who follow new ways of doing business and new needs of clients.


JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic

If we were to draw a timeline of our history, it would start back in 1991. and we proudly celebrated the 30th anniversary of our partnership and legal practice last year.

At the time, the three partners have been working in a challenging market, with the market economy steadily taking over. The idea was to create a modern multi-practice law firm resembling the western law firms.

JMP unfolded and defined so much of what we today know as making law a successful business, sharing one vision – help businesses achieve their goals by being the added value, rather than only the cost to our clients.

During the 90s, the first ten, more challenging years were marked by international sanctions, hyperinflation, war and even bombing of our country, so it was not without considerable personal risk and, usually, extraordinary out-of-the-box solutions where required. The firm successfully navigated the rough waters of the first 10 years and has entered a much more stable period of time, delivering the highest quality of service to the legal market in Serbia and the SEE region, recognized as such by our clients and peers.

We opened the market and lead the biggest international companies through the economy ‘earthquakes’ and privatization in Serbia and the region. Our first big successful transaction was the acquisition of the local technical gas producer Tehnogas by German Messer Griesheim group. The other big transactions soon followed, like the establishment of the first two foreign banks in Serbia after the II World War, the first hostile takeover, the first 1 billion EUR transaction, the largest private transaction – Maxi supermarkets, and many more.

Parallel and equally successful was our growth in the wider international landscape. We have extended our geographical reach through memberships in Lex Mundi (the world’s premiere network of independent law firms) and our own regional TLA network, positioning us as a one-stop shop for clients requiring multi-jurisdictional legal service. Last year, we established ‘JPM Partner in Montenegro’, with a prominent Vukmirovic Misic law firm, offering the full scope of our services directly to local clients.

During the 2000s, in the era of fast technology and developing new industries, our team grew. We have been bold in reshaping on the inside. Onboard our managing team came one of our colleagues, Dr Jelena Gazivoda, a lawyer who “grew” with the office and brought another managing perspective, expertise and a new angle of looking at the future of our business. Furthermore, with the introduction of the latest legal technology solutions, we are able to streamline the work processes and collaborate more closely with clients, who come from every industrial and corporate sector: energy, banking, transport, manufacturing and telecommunications. Now, we are expanding our services to growing industries, such as renewable energy, IT, digital and life sciences, using innovative solutions and a pro-active approach.

Growing to the 35+ lawyers in our team, we have embraced changes and remained devoted to a pioneering approach. Our regional presence and international success will still be supported by investing in further development and new people. We keep our attitude essential and uncomplicated, perpetuating the tradition of trust and reliability, that has always been made by individuals for individuals, still guided by the true spirit of partnership.

Posted on

Interview with… Aniekan Ukpanah, managing partner, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie

What are the biggest challenges facing the Nigerian legal market in the next 12 months?
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy continues to be both disruptive and transformative. In the run-up to the 2023 election, uncertainty deriving from foreign exchange market volatility, changes in the legal, regulatory, and fiscal framework governing strategic sectors, and security concerns in certain areas, among other factors.

Together with evolving client, business, and workforce expectations and needs, these issues are likely to continue to demand vigilance, creativity, and innovation in the Nigerian corporate legal marketplace over the next 12 months, requiring further leveraging of technology to drive the adoption and improvement of operational processes and efficiency to sustain and improve client service delivery, including better management of costs and innovatively add value.

Remote and hybrid working, changes in the nature of work and its delivery, and changing workforce career aspirations – signalled by the global ‘Great Resignation’ and in the discernible trends of skilled professionals immigrating to countries offering citizenship and resident opportunities to fill workforce gaps – is creating local workforce and skilled capacity challenges. The need to preserve, upskill and equip talent to strategically support the increasingly complex and diverse requirements of the current and future worlds of work and business in Nigeria is a crucial agenda item among the legal and other professional.

Do you consider sustainability credentials important to your firm’s business?
Absolutely, and this is discernible in our policies and process chain. We constantly evaluate our processes and systems to identify where the greatest impact may be made using measurements and engagement as a guide. We measure our consumption and make use of energy-efficient products to ensure that our carbon footprint is minimal. We utilise renewable energy extensively, buy and source sustainable products and use non-toxic cleaning materials. Also, most of our processes are paperless. We also seek to employ the services of sustainable vendors when outsourcing tasks. Carbon reducing measures form an integral part of the firm’s overall strategy with our aim to achieve and sustain a 0% carbon balance within a reasonable time frame.

What sets your firm apart from competitors?
Clients lie at the heart of what we do. We recognise that we will only be able to attract and retain clients that feel that they are receiving, and will continue to receive, the highest quality, exceptional service from us, and our objective is to ensure that such service standards remain a key part of the value proposition that we offer. We also aim to be a one-stop-shop for our clients’, leveraging on local and cross border experience of almost 40 years to be chief business facilitators, supporters, problem solvers, and trusted advisers in all matters, including drawing from our diverse backgrounds to provide advice that is consistently sound on legal principle and always aims to be commercially viable, practical and holistic. Market feedback hails the commerciality of our approach.

We have created a sub-firm, U-Law, which provides affordable basic legal services specifically to startups and early-stage businesses and is designed to be a one-stopshop providing high-quality support utilising streamlined processes.

Are there specific practice areas you see as particularly thriving, which you intend to bolster in coming years? Are there any new areas of practice that
 have emerged recently?
We see scope for growth across all our practice areas and will continue to support innovation and diversification across the board to ensure that we align our service delivery with evolving client expectations. We see interesting trends in newer practice areas such as FinTech, data protection, renewables, infrastructure, compliance (including ESG) and merger control and consumer protection, entertainment and potentially, mining.

How active are members of your team in terms of thought leadership?
Several of our practitioners are market leaders who are ranked as leaders by
independent publications committed to thought leadership in the form of articles and updates, media interviews and participation on public panels, as well as regulatory advocacy initiatives, including the following:

  •  co-drafting the Companies and Allied Matters Act which provides for SMEs and MSMEs;

 

  •  assisting Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and other Nigerian government ministries, parastatals, and regulators with reviews of the laws regulating private equity and venture capital; and

 

  • producing a mapping exercise report on the framework for impact investments inNigeria.

 

  • We recently produced an FMITI mapping exercise report on the framework for impact investment in Nigeria.

 

  •  serving on the legal and regulatory committees of various private equity
    associations (AVCA, GPCA, PEVCA) and sitting on the board of the Nigerian
    Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

 

  • the firm is a key member of the FinTech Association of Nigeria and has been
    headed many thought-leadership and market initiatives on behalf of the
    association, such as drafting a regulation on digital lending, carrying out a market investigation on cryptocurrency for submission to the Government to aid the drafting of its policy on cryptocurrency, for assimilation by the Central Bank and members of the Nigerian legislature, and drafting best practice policies for lending documents for FinTech lending issues;

 

  •  the firm’s regulatory advocacy and high level of knowledge is such that
    Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access, a DFID-funded organisation (EFINA)
    has hired us in connection with the screening and due diligence verification
    exercises on twelve shortlisted companies for the EFINA Fintech Challenge.

 

What are your firm’s policies on diversity and inclusion?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are, central to our culture and core values. The firm’s 1983 founding philosophy was to cultivate a culture of excellence in service delivery, based purely on merit and performance and free of bias of every kind. We are proud that the firm within one year of inception achieved gender parity and we continue to seek to sustain such historical parity for every cadre of employment to date. We remain actively committed, to providing opportunities and pursuing initiatives that provide equal opportunity regardless of socio-economic background, sex, gender, ethnicity, tribe, disability, and every other potential source of bias. We believe that our
broad diversity contributes to our creativity and innovative, collegiate approach that helps to achieve the best outcomes.

What effect will the recently introduced Petroleum Industry (PIA) Act 2021 have on the type of instructions the firm undertakes? Do you expect to see an uptick in instructions in the regulatory sector? With the PIA and the instability of the oil market in mind, do you expect to see companies stepping up their investments in the Nigerian oil and gas sector?
The PIA has disrupted the petroleum industry. Upstream, midstream, and downstream players and service providers must assess its fiscal, licensing and regulatory and operational, and compliance requirements, and impact on existing and newly proposed deals, lending, funding, and insurance arrangements as well as interactions with and within the now-diversified regulators of the sector. We expect more investments and divestments will also continue, including in relation to marginal fields, with increasing participation by local players either alone or in technical partnerships
with foreign partners. Regulatory support will be required with applications for transaction approval and in determining whether existing unexpired upstream licenses should be converted to PIA licences to gain fiscal advantages (subject to waiving obligations and disputes involving state-owned counterparties) or preserved until licence expiration as the PIA permits. Additional guidance on transitional arrangements involving the state-owned NNPC on the PIA’s fuller implementation is expected around February 2023, and may also inform demands for legal services, advice and solutions in the next 12 months.

ANIEKAN UKPANAH

Aniekan Ukpanah is the firm’s Managing Partner and heads Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie’s banking & finance, project finance, infrastructure and PPP, real estate, and intellectual property teams. He advises on the structuring and financing of large-scale construction, infrastructure and energy projects, the capital and money markets, and syndicated loans. He co-led the team that advised an international financial institution on a US$50,000,000.00 facility to one of the top five Nigerian banks, and advises investors in the gas sector, including one of the largest extractors of natural gas in the world, in relation to various Nigerian oil & gas projects. In addition to legal services, he provides client training and presents papers on security for bank lending, secured credit transactions and legal issues associated with PPPs. Aniekan is ranked as an Eminent Practitioner for his Banking & Finance work, and as a Leading Lawyer in the Corporate/M&A sections of Chambers Global Directory, the International Financial Law Review (Expert Guides) and the Legal 500, and is commended in Who’s Who Legal. Slightly outside of his banking and finance focus, Mr. Ukpanah acted as team leader in a World Bank/USAID-funded project to devise a ‘road map’ to guide foreign investors who wish to invest in Nigeria. He is a member of the governing council of Obong University, the first licensed private university in Akwa Ibom State. He also chairs and serves on the boards of various private limited liability companies.

CAREER TIMELINE
1989 Joined Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie as an associate.
2000 Became a partner at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie
2019 Became the Managing Partner of Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie
2021 Was ranked as an eminent practitioner by a leading global legal directory for his banking & finance work
Posted on

Interview with… Dr Jelena Gazivoda, managing partner, JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic

What are the biggest challenges facing the Serbian legal market in the next 12 months?

It is rather difficult to predict what the upcoming 12 months will bring and how they’ll affect our everyday life as well as the business environment in Serbia and consequently the Serbian legal market. The Serbian economy has been adversely affected by Covid-19 primarily with respect to the number and scale of FDIs which represent a key generator of economic growth. After a gradual recovery since 3rd quarter of 2020, we are all facing different global challenges that consequently affect the legal profession and Serbian legal market in a different manner. In changed economic circumstances, it is expected that the clients would like to economically optimize their operations and consequently cut down the costs. It is expected they would like to receive good quality services for more complex tasks at a more preferable price. Therefore, the great challenge for the law firms would be to retain the clients under sustainable prices as the price sensitivity usually leads to price dumping by competition, which clearly points out 4 biggest challenges law firms will face with: (a) client retention in changed circumstance, (b) how to tempt the request for price decrease for more complex matters, (c) increased competition, (d) risk of losing perspective fee-earners, (e) problems in talent acquisition. I am of the standing that these challenges will spread over time for at least the next 3-5 years and it would be really interesting to revert to this forecast in one year to see how realistic we have been today.

Do you consider sustainability credentials important to your firm’s business?

We are diligently observing the global trends in the legal profession development, all motivated to the improvement of our performance and better understanding and supporting client needs.

In such an endeavour we have reviewed the sustainability requirements and credentials from several angles – (a) primarily in better understanding of how the business of our clients, as well as our business, could be improved by the decrease of carbon emissions, implementation of green agenda and increase of diversity and inclusion, and (b) how to best integrate these matters into the legal services we are providing as well as how to better support our clients in the changing business environment and their changed business policies and agendas.

Have ESG considerations prompted you to re-evaluate the service you provide?

We trust that ESG considerations affect the quality of the services we provide as well as that the legal profession could contribute to the great impact on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

Although the Serbian market is not developed to the level to comply with ESG considerations on a wider scale, we are trying to remain aligned with the widespread initiatives for:

(a) digitalization of files as well as conservative electricity consumption and carbon-free efforts (environmental),

(b) diversity initiatives, community engagement and limited pro bono work (social),

(c) improvement of innovations, their inclusions in corporate governance, recruiting, etc. (governance).

The improved quality we are gaining from these processes mirrors the services we are providing to our clients.

Where do you feel your clients need the most legal support in the next 12 months?

We expect the increased need for legal support in the following sectors and matters in the next 12 months – energy and infrastructure, refinancing, corporate restructuring, bankruptcy and liquidation, contract repudiation, litigation/arbitration, labour law and healthcare. Such needs are inter-related with the global developments and, unfortunately, the great recession we are all facing with.

What sets your firm apart from competitors?

What we offer at the Serbian legal market is a synergy of more than 30 years of experience, excellence in quality and manner of providing legal service, commercial angle to the service we provide, tailor-made solutions that fit the particular issue at hand, profound understanding of clients’ needs (usually deriving from our long-term relationship), the dedication of our core team members to each and every client, teamwork and inner and external cohesion, flexibility to clients’ needs, availability on the first-call, continuous upgrading of our team members, legal tech in the service of better project management and, cost management equally important to the clients.

We create trust and invest ourselves into trust and excellence to the best interest of our clients and the high reputation of our profession.

 Are there specific practice areas you see as particularly thriving, which you intend to bolster in coming years? Are there any new areas of practice that have emerged recently?

We foresee the emerging areas of law driven by the further development of technology, such as privacy and cybersecurity, liability insurance in an epoch of the advanced technology and artificial intelligence, IP, creative industries, gaming, digital asset management, life science and healthcare, as particularly growing and commercially prosperous.

Hand in hand with these practice areas, we still see energy, projects and infrastructure, environmental law, having the lead and being accompanied by increased demand for labour lawyers and, in future, lawyers specialized in elder law.

 How active are members of your team in terms of thought leadership?

We are continuously enhancing the number of our team members capable of thought leadership. This role has traditionally belonged to firm’s Senior Partners, but the prospects for the most valuable members of our team being part of JPM for more than 10 years and being dedicated to the enhancement of teamwork and team spirit are gradually opening. They are selected based on their reputation for providing excellent legal service and unique commercial insights on issues they are advising, as well as their capacity to work in teams, create good energy within their teams and combat any discrepancy with the team spirit and firm values and culture.

What are your firm’s policies on diversity and inclusion? Does your firm have any specific diversity initiatives?

JPM is dedicated to the principles of diversity which we have embedded in our corporate culture, everyday business life and our corporate structure.

We strongly support and promote gender diversity and we are one of the very rare law firms in Serbia that has promoted a female partner into a Senior partner position. We are equally proud of the 3 female partners representing our core team. Our strategy includes specific targets for increasing the proportion of women among our senior attorneys as well. JPM

supports their professional development and is very proud of their professional successes, publications and public speeches.

As an exclusive member of the Lex Mundi for Serbia, JPM participates in the Lex Mundi Stars mentoring program available to Associates from Year 2 onwards, with special emphasis on female associates, through which candidates are paired with more experienced Partners from our office and other Lex Mundi firms. JPM is also participating in initiatives and programmes of leading international law firms promoting and supporting diversity.

We believe that recruiting, hiring, and promoting people of different cultures, backgrounds, beliefs, and preferences, is contributing to the quality of our work and makes it more versatile, creative and complete.

What does innovation mean to you? Can you tell us about any specific innovation initiatives at your firm?

We have recognized that innovation is a key to adaptation to changed circumstances in the legal market globally. We have focused on client needs and end-to-end client-centred experience.

We have designed alternative fee arrangements, made efforts in finding new ways to communicate with our clients (using, inter alia, client portals and learning about client needs and developing specific brief coaching and training), improved our website accessibility and developed better legal analytics and better CRM platform. The Serbian legal market is still not developed for the concept of a virtual law firm but we are investigating its benefits of it and would be ready for the next step when the time comes. All of this would not be possible without a step-by-step change in firm culture and the introduction of legal tech.

What technological changes have you implemented at your firm to improve the legal services you provide to your clients?

JPM has executed multiple levels of technological changes to improve the legal services and make them better understood and better evaluated by the clients. These changes include the implementation of an advanced document management system, cloud-based legal management software enabling secure storage of firm and client documents and overall data, technologically improved billing system providing the clients with a clear breakdown of provided services, time spent, fees, and costs; application of Luminance platform for document review and analysis upgraded by the Luminance special package for litigation and arbitration matters; improved CRM system based on NEXL platform.

Being a member of Lex Mundi, JPM has the access to Lex Mundi Equisphere, launched in 2020, enabling an innovative approach when outsourcing multi-jurisdictional legal services, enabling the creation of a legal team tailored to clients’ geographical footprint and needs.

What is the importance of legal networks with firms throughout Europe? Are they still bringing in the bigger clients to Serbian firms?

Legal networks are nowadays inevitable – they are not just a source of additional work coming from referrals, but an important tool to preserve the high level of responsiveness to the changed needs of our clients, representing and sometimes substituting a “one-stop-shop”, what has appeared to be an expectation of a client, especially in smaller legal markets, like Serbian market.

I personally see them also as a generator of a developed knowledge base, and an opportunity to remain up to the level of the best international standards in providing legal services, to get acquainted with the novelties that have not become yet our legal reality and to be ready to face the different challenges when they occur.

In the end, our profession is still based on good personal contacts that one can well establish in working on a particular project, but these contacts are truly developed on occasions when you meet your colleagues in person and discuss your mutual passion for law.

Yes, they are still bringing the bigger clients and are commonly met in cross-border transactions of higher value.

JPM is the sole Serbian member of Lex Mundi, and it is closely co-operating through different initiatives of “stronger together” and “best friends” informal initiatives.

Is the number of boutique firms in Serbia sustainable or is a consolidation inevitable?

The number of boutique law firms in Serbia in a notion of true boutique law firms, as recognized globally, in my opinion, is still very low, as the Serbian legal market is not yet developed to the level to support and instigate the wider establishment this type of law practise. There are a few of them operating mainly in the sector of financial services and arbitration, while the majority of law firms in Serbia are still either commercial law firms with departments providing legal advice in almost all legal sectors, or traditional law firms in the old-fashion sense, focused on general legal practice and representation in court and administrative proceedings. The further developments of boutique legal practice would be affected by an increased market need for high-quality expert legal services, with a specific professional orientation, which is expected to be a trend in the future, in circumstances of changed advocacy culture and more sophisticated clients’ needs, requiring more tailor-made approach than one-size-fits economically efficient legal advice.

 How are Serbian firms dealing with the wave of succession issues in the pipeline? What are the new generation of leaders bringing to the table?

Succession issues represent a part of the maturing process of the Serbian legal market and I see it as a normal and needed process which can contribute to the improved quality of legal services and equal and sustainable development of regional bar associations in Serbia.

Succession issues are beneficial as they open the internal processes of evaluation of firm culture, its values and readiness for adaptation. They lead to reconsideration of the firm’s policy of retaining its existing talents and attracting new ones.

The new generation of leaders is expected to be more adaptable, more flexible, more compromise-oriented, quick and sharp, to adopt new values and develop a less conservative and critical culture within the firm, to be less subjective, to give new energy and completely different approach.

2017 – Advisor to the Veolia Central Europe & Eastern Zone in Competitive Dialogue. PPP Project entails treatment and disposal of separately collected residual municipal waste generated in 13 municipalities of the City of Belgrade, as well as treatment and disposal of construction and demolition waste generated across the entire territory of the City of Belgrade, in addition to remediation by landfill gas capture of the existing landfill body.2018 – Advising the Client as a future natural gas transmission operator in all aspects of the construction of the new natural gas transmission system – an interconnector connecting the natural gas transmission systems of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary.

2019 – Acting as legal advisor to China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Ltd, being the Concessionaire parent company and a Project sponsor. The Motorway Concession Project entails the development, design, financing, construction, completion, operation, and maintenance of the motorway, currently being one of the largest infrastructure projects/concessions in southeast Europe.

2020 – Advised BASF as part of a global transaction between BASF and Lone Star, with a purchase price on a cash and debt-free basis of €3.17 billion.

2020-2021 Advising Pepsico and Mattoni 1873 on the acquisition of Knjaz Milos, a producer of mineral water and soft drinks in the countries of former Yugoslavia

Posted on

Focus on… Soliman, Hashish & Partners

Soliman, Hashish & Partners is a full-service corporate law firm that is recognized internationally as one of the leading financial and corporate law firms in Egypt by IFLR 1000, Chambers and The Legal 500.

SHP works exclusively with well-structured multinational clients and focuses on Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking & Finance, Energy & Electricity, Construction, Public Procurement, Telecom, Media and Technology (“TMT”), Real Estate, Capital Market, Intellectual Property Rights (“IPRs”), Dispute Resolution and Employment.

SHP acted/continues to act as local legal counsel to private and public sector entities including, inter alia, governments, NGOs and leading multinational companies working mainly in the sectors of Agriculture, Banking & Finance, Construction, Cement, Consultancy, Diplomatic Services, Energy & Electricity, Food, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Pharmaceutical, Steel, TMT, Tourism, Transport and Water Treatment.

Firm timeline

01-2015 – establishment of the firm, gained 1st international recognition by Who’s Who Legal

01-2016 – 1st expansion

2017 – gained an international recognition by Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and IFLR

01-2018 – 2nd expansion

01-2022 – 3rd expansion

 

Key clients

Posted on

Interview with… Frederic Soliman and Mohamed Hashish, managing partners, Soliman, Hashish & Partners

What are the biggest challenges facing the Egyptian legal market in the next 12 months?

Frederic Soliman: I believe that the biggest two (2) challenges facing the Egyptian legal market in the next 12 months will be mainly the impact of the Egyptian Pound’s devaluation vs USD and recruitment.

Do you consider sustainability credentials important to your firm’s business?

Mohamed Hashish: Yes, for sure that’s why our firm is the only law firm in Egypt that participated in the foundation of the Global Compact Egypt Network, which is the official business-led network of the United Nations Global Compact (“UNGC”) where I am proud of being acting as Secretary General/Board member.

Have ESG considerations prompted you to re-evaluate the service you provide?

Mohamed Hashish: We started our law firm from scratch based on the ten principles of the UNGC and we decided to exclusively represent only large corporations that are also committed to these principles aiming at maintaining the highest quality legal services that our respected clients are looking for.

Where do you feel your clients need the most legal support in the next 12 months?

Frederic Soliman: We believe that our clients will likely need legal support within the practice areas of corporate governance, labour law, financing, litigation and restructuring.

What sets your firm apart from competitors?

Frederic Soliman: We committed ourselves to the top business ethics and international standards and be practical business lawyers, responsiveness, to the point, providing legal solutions, alternatives and always accessible.

Are there specific practice areas you see as particularly thriving, which you intend to bolster in coming years? Are there any new areas of practice that have emerged recently?

Frederic Soliman and Mohamed Hashish: Projects developments, M&As, restructuring and litigation are in our opinion particularly thriving while fintech, greenfield investment and capital market have recently emerged.

How active are members of your team in terms of thought leadership?

Mohamed Hashish: We train our team daily and expose them to different experiences and leadership roles to build up new real leaders.

What are your firm’s policies on diversity and inclusion? Does your firm have any specific diversity initiatives?

Mohamed Hashish: We do have our law firm a detailed policy for diversity and inclusion that is aligned with the Egyptian laws and culture.

What does innovation mean to you? Can you tell us about any specific innovation initiatives at your firm?

Mohamed Hashish: We believe in Thomas Jefferson’s saying, “if you want something you’ve never had. You must be willing to do something you’ve never done”. This exactly what innovation means to us. We have been doing our best efforts since the establishment of our law firm not only to keep developing our firm but also the entire practice in Egypt. We have been working on multiple products in collaboration with multiple international players since a while that will be announced soon in Egypt, which products will be the first of their kinds within the region.

What technological changes have you implemented at your firm to improve the legal services you provide to your clients?

Mohamed Hashish: We use the best available technology to keep increasing the efficiency and performance at our law firm and provide our clients with the desired quality of legal services.

With more boutique firms springing up in the Egyptian legal market and international firms expanding to the MENA region, what do you think the challenges will be that the established national players will face in light of a changing legal landscape?

Frederic Soliman and Mohamed Hashish: Locating the real good lawyers along with the ethical competition are on top of all challenges we have in Egypt.

As the first sovereign in the MENA region to issue a green bond, how would you assess the potential and challenges for green finance in Egypt?

Mohamed Hashish: Egypt is a very attractive market, especially when it comes to finance (including green finance). Due to the hard work of the government in the past few years in improving the business environment in the country, Egypt managed to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) in multiple sectors, including mainly the financial services sector. The banking sector in Egypt can be generally described as Bloomberg well-said that ‘a profit bonanza for Egyptian banks is ripening the industry for acquisitions. If only there were more willing sellers.’

Have there been any areas of practice in your firm that have been particularly affected by the end of the State of Emergency in October 2021?

Mohamed Hashish: Ending the State of Emergency is for sure a good step but it does not really affect our specific areas of practice.

Posted on

Interview with… Baldvin Bjorn Haraldsson, managing partner, BBA Fjeldco

Has Iceland’s relied-upon tourism sector weathered the impacts of Covid-19? Have you seen or are you expecting a resurgence in Iceland’s tourism soon?

The tourism sector was likely the most hard-hit by the pandemic in term of revenue losses and the need for layoffs. Companies within the tourism industry were however the recipients of a fair proportion of the government assistance programs put in place over the course of the pandemic, mitigating the damage and hopefully paving the way for a swift recovery. There has been a visible resurgence in tourism numbers after the rules limiting access to the country were relaxed and businesses allowed once again to operate as they did previously. The recovery is reflected in the statistics regarding the number of arrivals to the international airport in Iceland, which has seen over a seven-fold increase in May of 2022 compared with May the year before.

Are you seeing a growth in foreign investment in the Icelandic market? Which area do you think will be most influenced?

There has been a steady growth in foreign investments here in Iceland over many years. The sectors which seem to be most influenced are fintech, biotech and tech more generally, for example with regard to data collection and mining and telecommunications. Controlant, Kerecis, Lucinity, Mila and more could be named as good examples of companies which have been the subject of such investments recently.

The firm stands out in the field of M&A, capital markets, banking and finance. Is the focus to consolidate these areas? Or are you looking to expand your expertise into other practice areas?

The focus is not to consolidate, but rather to increase our market share in all these areas, as well as in tax, competition and litigation. Furthermore, the firm has a significant practice in the field of renewable both in Iceland and abroad, which the aim is to expand even further.

In the next five years, which areas of practice are you anticipating will be the key area of focus?

As usual it will be financing, corporate restructuring, and renewable energy, which is growing to be an important part of the firm’s operations.

Will law firms in Iceland continue to embrace the changes to working patterns, which were originally impacted by Covid-19, such as remote working? In what instances will firms go back to the ‘normal’ methods of working, such as face-to-face meetings?

I think the preferred method of working and communicating will remain in person, due to its many advantages and firms will in most cases return to pre-covid methods when possible. The change primarily appears in the fact that both clients and those whom you are working opposite are more receptive to remote meetings, when necessary, which has the effect of mitigating the need the rescheduling of meetings and can increase the efficiency of firms’ operations. In other words, it is a very good option to fall back on but perhaps not the preferred method when given the choice.

What sets your firm apart from competitors?

What sets us apart from our competitors is firstly that we have buckets of experience in working with large international law firms. During the course of that work, we have drawn from their expertise and approach towards projects and clients. Secondly, our advice is consistently top-notch and delivered on time. Thirdly we are able to provide advice most all angles of corporate work to meet the requirements of our clients. We are also able to provide advice in Iceland, the UK and France, in all of which countries we have a base of operations and lawyers qualified to operate there and provide advice on the basis of the laws that apply there.

What does innovation mean to you? Can you tell us about any specific innovation initiatives at your firm?

Innovation means either a new approach towards existing market requirements and solutions or entering in to new markets which have not yet been penetrated by Icelandic law firms. We have been active since 2016 in providing advice on regulatory frameworks in renewable energy in foreign countries, both directly and through international development banks. This initiative has taken years to prepare and, as mentioned before, is becoming an important part of our operations.

Do you consider sustainability credentials important to your firm’s business?

Sustainability credentials are important for all firms, and we are no exception to that rule. Our sustainability credentials are reflected in our portfolio of projects and in particular our renewable energy work.

Posted on

Focus on… DLA Piper Denmark

DLA Piper Denmark is one of the largest law firms in Denmark and is the only Danish law firm in a global network. This enables us always to provide a strong team and perform cross-border services and to draw on the knowledge and insight of our 6,600 fellow lawyers throughout the world.

In Denmark DLA Piper is a premier commercial law firm with a strong national and international practice – particularly within corporate M&A, Banking and finance, restructuring and insolvency, capital markets, Project Development and Real Estate. We are more than 350 people in offices located in Copenhagen and Aarhus and we have access to new technologies, cross-border capabilities with global reach and sector-specific experience.

Over the past 4-5 years DLA Piper has entered into the Danish market and become a strong and competitive key-player known for its cross-border capabilities and deal flow of landmark M&A-cases.

We overlay our global practice groups with global sector teams, which are designed specifically to reflect our clients’ business markets. Sector teams are cross-practice, and when advice is required the DLA Piper lawyer acting on a specific matter will be well versed in that relevant sector; as well as in regulatory, risk and the wider legal issues relevant to the sector our clients operate in.

Nordic presence As part of a global law firm DLA Piper is the only global law firm in Denmark with a truly pan-Nordic presence, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs in the Nordic countries as well as around the world. The cooperative relations between the DLA Piper offices in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland have enabled us to set up a unique Nordic platform, where we can provide cross-border assistance to our clients. We act as one firm and compile cross-disciplinary teams of highly skilled lawyers. In the Nordics, we have more than 465 lawyers organised in sector groups, which share experience and discuss market tendencies across national borders. This contributes to ensuring the key qualifications required, locally as well as globally.

Responsible business We are proud to be signatories of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). Our support for the initiative underlines our commitment to responsible business.Over the course of our six-year partnership with UNICEF, DLA Piper has pledged $7.5 million through fundraising and pro bono legal support to improve child justice and protect children’s rights worldwide.

We have a Global Scholarships programme that supports outstanding law students in developing countries reach their potential and contribute to the rule of law in their communities. And our Head Start initiative aims to improve equality of opportunity and break down barriers faced by under-represented groups when entering the legal profession.

Environmental Sustainability In DLA Piper we are committed to taking action on climate change and managing the sustainability of the firm. To achieve this, we remain firmly focused on the areas where we have greatest control and impact: energy, carbon emissions, waste and procurement.

We undertake initiatives to reduce our own operational environmental impact and we believe that our greatest contribution to a sustainable environment is the advice and support we provide to our clients – both in managing their own environmental impacts, and assessing and responding to climate-related risks and opportunities. We also make an active contribution to international climate policy discussions, and the development of investments in low-carbon technology and infrastructure.

Our strategic approach to the environment is embedded across the firm through our Global Sustainability Initiative (GSI), which is the tool we use to determine priorities and monitor progress. The GSI is governed by a committee of senior leaders from across the firm that meets quarterly to discuss progress against strategic focus areas. In addition to senior partner representatives and environmental lawyers, the GSI includes representatives from the most relevant functions of our business for implementing change – Corporate Responsibility, Procurement, IT, Risk and Facilities Management.

Pro bono DLA Piper is deeply committed to pro bono. Our pro bono efforts focus on three areas: the rights of children, access to justice and the rule of law, and assisting asylum seekers, refugees, and stateless people. Our work is both global and local. We provide direct service to individuals and organizations that could not otherwise afford counsel, while helping to build a pro bono culture in the legal profession around the world.

Diversity and Inclusion

At DLA Piper, diversity, inclusion and equality are a part of how we live our values. We are one of the world’s largest law firms, with lawyers and staff in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our people reflect the diversity of our clients and the many communities and markets where we work.

With offices worldwide, our efforts to understand, value and incorporate differences are woven into our culture. We are on a journey and, like most law firms, we still have some distance to travel. But with strategic approaches within our geographic regions, we’re making great progress.

Posted on

Interview with… Martin Lavesen, managing partner, DLA Piper

What are the biggest challenges facing the Danish legal market in the next 12 months?

Experience over the last two years has shown us that the biggest challenges tend to be unpredictable. Digitalisation of our business is an important step on the road to the fourth industrial revolution and sets the agenda for both our clients and us as a law firm. We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. Added to this come a waxing and waning globalisation as well as climate change. Our clients are facing an environment in transition and incessant regulatory reform, and our priority is to help our clients navigate these waters.

Do you consider sustainability credentials important to your firm’s business?

The growing focus on S&ESG issues has radically changed companies’ business landscape. Many of our clients face more intense scrutiny and increased regulatory requirements. Through our S&ESG client offer, we help clients navigate these challenges, so they can create sustainable value.

Businesses increasingly expect that lawyers proactively support them in predicting and handling S&ESG issues, and they choose law firms with a strong track record. So, credentials, preferably within client-specific sectors, are an important parameter for clients when choosing an advisor.

Have ESG considerations prompted you to re-evaluate the service you provide?

Because each sector faces its own unique sustainability challenges and requirements, we take a sector-based approach to our S&ESG client work. All employees and partners have access to S&ESG training and, all our lawyers are trained in sustainability issues, so they can apply this knowledge to their existing sector expertise.

Because each sector faces its own unique sustainability challenges and requirements, we take a sector-based approach to our S&ESG client work. All employees and partners have access to S&ESG training and, all our lawyers are trained in sustainability issues, so they can apply this knowledge to their existing sector expertise.

We support clients at all stages of their sustainability transition. For those at the beginning of their journeys, our support includes developing roadmaps, benchmarking their performance against their peers, and reviewing their reporting and disclosure. For clients at more advanced stages, we help embed change by drafting and implementing policies, and ensuring that S&ESG considerations are included in due diligence reviews.

What sets your firm apart from competitors?

DLA Piper Denmark is a part of the third largest law firm in the world and the only ”truly global” law firm in Denmark and the Nordics. To be a part of a global network with all the inherent possibilities for setting international teams and carrying out assignments as well as drawing on knowledge across borders are factors that differentiate us from our competitors in Denmark.

How active are members of your team in terms of thought leadership?

Globally as well as in Denmark, DLA Piper is actively involved in publishing of thought leadership. Many of our global publications are available on the portal DLA Piper Intelligence and in addition to contributing to international reports and delivering overviews of legislations in jurisdictions throughout the world, we develop local knowledge material, including our podcast (in Danish) Keeping abreast of law.

What are your firm’s policies on diversity and inclusion? Does your firm have any specific diversity initiatives?

We are a part of the diversity and inclusion policy which applies throughout DLA Piper and is part of our international Sustainability Report.

Moreover, there are additional local initiatives, which we implement within the area diversity, and which are described in the section about Corporate Social Responsibility (in Danish) in our annual report for 2021.

What does innovation mean to you? Can you tell us about any specific innovation initiatives at your firm?

Innovation is an important element in DLA Piper’s strategy, and thanks to our dedicated focus on innovation, we have been recognised as Most Innovative Law Firm 2021 by the Financial Times. DLA Piper’s Global Co-CEO, Simon Levine, has also been named Most Innovative Leader and our firm won the award for Most Innovative Law Firm Transformation for its Law& brand.

What technological changes have you implemented at your firm to improve the legal services you provide to your clients?

DLA Piper has under the umbrella Law& developed a number of tech-based solutions aimed at clients. Law& delivers solutions beyond traditional legal services to help your business succeed. From consultancy to cutting-edge AI, it integrates technology and first-class commercial and legal knowhow.

In-house, the most recent examples of legal tech include the implementation of solutions for automatic time recording and document automation.