Member of Schellenberg Wittmer’s Management Committee
2012
Partner at Schellenberg Wittmer
2006
Foreign Associate in a leading US firm in New York
2003
Associate at Schellenberg Wittmer
2004
LL.M., Harvard Law School
2002
Bar Admission in Switzerland
What are the main differences between French and German-speaking Switzerland?
One would think that it would be easy to identify differences between the French and the German-speaking part of Switzerland, especially for someone like me, who has Swiss-German parents, but who grew up in the French part and now splits his time between Geneva and Zurich. While there are indeed cultural differences, they are subtler than one would think. I believe we essentially all share the same roots, the same values, and the same business-friendly approach, but with different sensitivities on some topics.
At Schellenberg Wittmer, which is one of the very few fully-integrated law firms in Switzerland with offices of approximately the same size in Geneva and Zurich, we have learned how to handle these different sensitivities and have, over the years, created a very healthy balance. I am proud to say that the cohesion among partners and across offices is excellent: we all share the same vision, the same team-spirit and work on many cases across offices. Working together is the best way to foster cohesion.
In terms of markets, they main types of industries present in the French and German-speaking may be a little bit different. For example, the pharma industry is more present in the Swiss German part. But all in all, the markets are nevertheless very similar.
Which recent change of the legislation has impacted the market noticeably?
As an arbitration lawyer, I will mention the revision of Chapter 12 of the Swiss Private International Law Act, which governs international arbitrations seated in Switzerland. The revision was adopted in 2020 and has entered into force on 1 January 2021. Switzerland has always been one of the most popular seats for international arbitration proceedings. Swiss arbitration law has indeed proven itself over the years to be very modern and arbitration-friendly. But it did not mean that it could not be improved in some areas. The recent light revisions of the law have made Switzerland even more attractive for international arbitrations. The revised law increases legal certainty, integrates modernized features of arbitration while maintaining what made it a success over the years: it is short, pragmatic and liberal.
Which is value-adding legal tech tools you developed to offer your clients?
Technology and innovation are paramount to the firm’s long and short-term strategic objectives. In the past years, we have significantly invested in the expansion of our digital and innovations team.
Some examples from 2020 include:
The implementation of an exhibit management solution that expedites and partly automates the management, citation, bundling and stamping of exhibits for legal submissions in arbitration and court proceedings;
Broadening the use and expertise of FlexLaw by Schellenberg Wittmer, a subsidiary that combines consulting, staffing, project management and technology expertise to provide efficient and flexible e-discovery and legal support services;
Cooperating with CourtQuant to assess the potential of AI-based case outcome prediction solutions for the Swiss market;
A new e-billing solution to deal with bespoke client requirements;
As lead counsel in a multi-jurisdictional matter involving multiple court proceedings and settlements with several thousand case parties, we developed a bespoke online platform based on Relativity® that provides legal and other experts with centralized access to relevant information, documents, and analytics. The development was made possible by the unique combination of the firm’s legal, data and technology know-how and its close cooperation with an established technology partner of the firm.
Since Switzerland is known to be a safe and stable country, do you think there could will be an increased interest from investors in the future due to the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has brought?
I think so. Switzerland has always been a safe, stable and attractive market for international investors. I see no reason why this would change. On the contrary, I think many investors will look for the safest places to invest, probably more than ever in these uncertain and difficult times, and Switzerland remains one of the safest places in the world for investors.
What are the main challenges for female partners in their law career and how do you tackle those in your firm?
Historically, women have been underrepresented at partner-level and in senior management positions in law firms, especially in Switzerland, probably due to stereotypes/biases, inflexible workplace structures and inadequate access to mentoring, to name just a few obstacles.
We at Schellenberg Wittmer have been committed to breaking away from those past realities. We believe that gender diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion are key to the firm’s on-going success, strategy, growth and vision.
To tackle the challenges female lawyers face in their careers and foster diversity and inclusion, we have, a few years ago, set up a dedicated task force and since then implemented a number of measures, including: training within the firm and at partner-level on diversity and on unconscious biases, specific mentoring and networking programs for female lawyers, more flexible working and parenthood policies, including at partner level, to name just a few.
Tangible results have already occurred. While we are still not where we should be, we have one of the highest ratios of female partners in the Swiss market and are one of the very few large Swiss firms with a female partner in its management committee.
What would you single out as the key distinguishments of your firm?
Unlike most of the Swiss firms of our size, we operate in a truly integrated manner across our Zurich, Geneva and Singapore offices. This brings added value to our clients and has created a distinctive working atmosphere, which we call our “SW Spirit” – it is a true testament of the importance we give to teamwork, collaboration, friendship, diversity and innovation. And I believe we are of the most diverse Swiss firms.
Switzerland can showcase a booming fin- and medtech industry; what do you think will be sectors which provide opportunities for investors in the next two to three years?
I think that the pharma and life sciences industry will be growing and provide opportunities for investors. Another obvious sector is artificial intelligence.
What does innovation mean to you and how can firms be better at it?
Innovation is key. As a law firm, we always need to innovate, to think out of the box and to improve ourselves. I think the last few months have confirmed that we cannot take anything for granted and that we need to be agile. Agility is probably key to any strategy nowadays and is linked to innovation. Innovation in technology. Innovation in capability building. Innovation in our offerings to clients.
Since becoming managing partner, what’s surprised you most about running a firm?
I cannot say it was a surprise, because I knew it, but running a law firm which is a partnership is different from running a corporation. A partnership is a special framework. You cannot simply decide and implement your decisions, like in many other corporations. You need to spend time listening to your partners, understand their concerns and priorities, to then find a balanced consensus. And whatever you decide, you need to think about the cohesion amongst partners and across offices. It sometimes takes more time than you think, but it is worth it. You always need to put people first, because our people are our strongest asset – for us and for clients.
CA Advocates (Pourgoura & Aspri LLC) is a progressive law firm with an all in-demand specialism. Our firm has a very well-established practice advising on the business side of the law. Our core specialisations encompass the wide range of matters likely to be encountered by the firm’s clients, locally and internationally, including commercial, corporate, banking, financing, shipping and real estate law. We are a boutique law firm with deep resources, operating from our two offices in Nicosia and Limassol.
What makes us competitive in our industry is that our focus and mission is to establish an ongoing and long-term relationships through our commitment and the high-level of personalised service to the client in an efficient and affordable manner.
Additionally, we are a growing team of specialists eager to deliver a great service to the clients and solutions to their business affairs. We advise on matters of cross-border merges and joint ventures, to project financing, shareholder affairs and negotiation, banking services, migration services. Finally, we are active and up-to-date with all the legal obligations set by our Regulators, the Cyprus Bar Association.
CA Advocates is an active member of the Cyprus Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners, and the Cyprus Insolvency Practitioners Board. Additionally, we are also an approved registered service provider by the Committee of Supervision and Control for the Cyprus Investment Programme which consists of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Interior and Invest Cyprus.
Finally, we regularly advise on a range of internationally-relevant, multimillion-dollar transactions, from IPOs on major stock exchanges to EU mergers. Often, the firm partners with high-profile international firms, with whom we maintain trusted working relations. The law firm joined Nextlaw Global Referral Network in 2019, enabling it to connect its clients to high quality lawyers around the world. Nextlaw Global Referral Network is the largest legal referral network in the world, with more than 650 member firms, 30,000 lawyers covering 200+ countries.
CA Advocates (Pourgoura & Aspri LLC) was established in May 2011 by Celia Pourgoura and Alexia Aspri, by opening its first office in Nicosia. In June 2014, the two partners saw an opportunity for expansion, and proceeded with the establishment of a second office in Limassol.
What would you single out as the key distinguishments of your firm?
MP: The Swedish market is mature and comparatively international and Vinge one of a limited number of firms capable of offering real breadth and depth. This is not least because of the understanding of local market conditions that comes from being long-established, and well-networked, and because we have been fortunate enough to work on some of the most high-profile cross-border projects over the years. It has also served us well that we have remained young at heart and on our toes.
Do you predict an expansion or contraction of new names coming onto the Swedish market, whether that’s more international firms or boutiques?
MP: The trend in recent years has been towards new boutiques setting up. This trend is likely to continue. International firms wanting to achieve a foot print need to factor in the maturity of the market and make a realistic analysis of what they could add in addition to what already is on offer. There has been a tendency to try to chase PE mandates, resulting in relatively large number of M&A-centric firms, some of which may face challenges in M&A downturns.
What does innovation mean to you and how can firms be better at it?
MP: We consider that innovation should capture all new ways of delivering legal services, and not only tech solutions. The important thing in order to remain innovative is truly to understand what clients want: in our experience, this may differ greatly as between clients even within the same industry. Generally, the key thing is to have a sensible baseline approach to the expectations which you aim to meet. We also believe in involving all our people in the internal innovation process: we have established an innovation panel which includes both fee-earners and business services staff, and through which all new ideas and concepts are channelled. This helps us ascertain which ideas to pursue and where to focus our efforts.
What impact will the middle-market squeeze have and who do you think will be the winners and losers?
MP: The middle market firms capable of identifying and daring to stick to their key strengths will come through this challenging period. Throughout 2020, we have seen the usual “flight to quality” that we often experience during uncertain times. This is particularly true on the transactional side.
What can be done to address the fact that gender representation is far lower in the senior ranks than at the associate level?
MP: For us, it was important to set a real, measurable target to address the gender imbalance in our senior ranks. In 2014, we went out to say that 50 % of our new partners during the period 2015 -2019 should be women, since this reflected how we recruited at graduate level. In the period, we achieved some 43 percent of our new partners being women. We have now set a corresponding target for the next five-year period. Our experience is that the target means that our ambition to achieve a better gender representation at senior level is clearly visible, including to our own women. Today we have a good balance between women and men amongst our senior associates, which is a big step from where we were in 2014.
The Swedish legal market is faring quite well though the Covid storm, but how are you futureproofing your practice for the uncertain times ahead?
MP: Given our market position and the uncertainty that the pandemic brings, our full-service offering is serving us very well. We are boosting areas where we believe there is still potential for growth through hires and by developing our own internal talent. We also carry out substantial investments in training and development of our lawyers: it is our firm belief that our future starts with our people.
With Stockholm being a unicorn hub, are there any significant growth companies on the market you might expect to see go public soon?
MP: The IPO pipeline remains substantial. At the same time, there is also interest from international investors in local growth companies. In other words, there are often two potential avenues for these companies, both of which may be very attractive.
Can you tell me how you are implementing legaltech innovation for the benefit of clients?
MP: Following the AI hype which enveloped many law firms a few years ago, we have, like others, reverted to more of a “back to basics” approach. Document automation remains one focus, client portals another. The important thing is to have an ongoing conversation with clients in order to understand their actual needs.
Is Sweden maintaining its reputation as an East-West arbitration hub?
MP: Yes, there is still substantial interest from parties to East-West agreements to arbitrate under the auspices of the rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. In 2019, Russia, Germany and US represented the most common party nationalities in SCC proceedings, outside Sweden. The SCC continues to handle between 170-200 cases per year, of which approximately 50 % are international.
What do Swedish lawyers get right that others in the region don’t?
MP: I think we are relatively similar to many of our good friends among leading Nordic law firms. However, we have seen substantial competition from both international firms present in the market and those who handle mandate on a “fly-in”-basis for a very long time. Whether this is a differentiator is difficult to say – but it does mean that we have been influenced by how international law firms handle projects for many years.
IBLAW is one of the leading multi-practiced regional law firms offering full-service legal support across a wide range of services, sectors and industries. IBLAW serves an impressive portfolio of local and international clients across wide range of services and industries of all types and sizes in both the private and public sectors. Founded by Senior Partner Dr. Salaheddin Al-Bashir on 1997, on a vision of a truly modern law , the firm has quickly grown to include 33 members of highly resourceful and diverse attorneys and consultants.
IBLAW combines a unique advantage of its unparalleled experience in public policy and legislative drafting with a broad based practice in regulatory affairs and compliance. While our policy work spans vertical to cover all spheres of positive law from multilateral international treaties down to secondary legislation, it also spans horizontally across different sectors and subject matters including Public Sector Reform, Restructuring, Tax, Governance, anti-corruption and the Rule of Law, Economic and Judicial Reform, Privatization, Finance and Regulation of Public Utilities, Private Sector Participation, Investment Regimes and Special Economic Zones and Sector Strategies and its associated legislation including Information Technology, Communication, Tourism, Capital Markets and Finance.
IBLAW provides solid experience in established areas of practice, with up to date knowledge of frontier legal developments, in privatization and PPP, banking & finance, project finance, corporate & commercial, capital market, international trade, intellectual property rights, telecommunications, information technology and litigation.
Our continuous involvement in flagship projects, complex transactions and high-profile contentious work enabled us to work affectively with demanding clients, other service providers and other law firms. IBLAW has gained formidable experience in managing complex legal projects, working effectively with multiple stake holders, manage complex work schedules, and ensure the quality and timely delivery of output.
Successful factors of IBLAW:
Extensive expertise in the Jordanian Companies’ Law and related regulations, drafting complex multi-party infrastructure, utilities and real estate development agreements and concessions;
Extensive practical experience in International Transactions & Privatization Projects;
Extensive experience in key multilateral and international agreement, including WTO Agreements;
Solely represented the Government of Jordan in the WTO speedy accession of the Kingdom , and the signature of the US Jordan Free Trade Agreement;
Distinguished expertise to work with local and international teams to achieve effective and sound legal instruments that are consistent with best practices, and fit well within the country’s institutional and legal system;
In-depth knowledge to handle all kind of projects effectively through transferring the legal concepts and experience from one area of practice to another with the required analysis;
Unique specialty in franchising and licensing, arrangements;
Practical experience of intellectual property aspects of antitrust and unfair competition matters;
Excellent network of worldwide reputable professionals;
Represented the Jordanian Government, investors or lending institutions in virtually every large concession transaction in the Kingdom;
IBLAW has played a significant role in shaping the Intellectual Property Rights regime in Jordan, distinguishing itself as a leader in this field;
IBLAW has been recognized as one of the most prominent law firms in the country in M&A transactions, IBLAW has taken the lead in advising, and managing the IP portfolio in major M&A transactions with flawless efficiency and in record time;
On a regional level, IBLAW has provided legal support to the Palestinian National Authority, the Government of Tunisia and the American Moroccan Chamber of Commerce;
IBLAW has helped guiding its clients in the telecommunications industry through all their transactional and regulatory needs.
Dr. Salaheddin Al-Bashir is the Founder and Senior Partner of the International Business Legal Associates- IBLAW, one of the largest and leading law firms in Jordan. IBLAW specializes in Intellectual Property rights, policy work, project finance and Privatizations, and Corporate and commercial work.
Dr. Al-Bashir is currently heading IBLAW Policy team in advising on the legal frameworks of NEOM Area, Red Sea Area, and the Royal Commission of Mecca City. Moreover, Dr. Bashir is leading the advisory team of IBLAW in connection with the National Law Reform Commission Project led by the Saudi Royal Court. Dr. Al-Bashir is one of the leading members of the consortium working with the Saudi Royal Court on supervising the implementation of the judicial reform project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The advisory work in connection with the said projects involves researching the legislation of Saudi Arabia as well as determining the polices that must continue into the new projects. Finally, the advisory work involves creating a futuristic social, economic, and institutional legal framework to these areas.
Dr. Al-Bashir represented private companies and sovereign states in a wide range of arbitration matters including BOT contracts, telecommunications regulatory structures, construction and development contracts before Jordanian and regional arbitration fora, the International Chamber of Commerce – International Court of Arbitration (ICC), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in addition to being named by the Government of Jordan as a conciliator to the ICSID.
Dr. Al- Bashir had previously served as a minister in the Government of Jordan; he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Government Performance, Minister of Justice, Minister of Prime Ministry Affairs, and Minister of Industry and Trade. During his service in the Government, Dr. Al-Bashir presided the Economic Committee of Government, Legal Committee and Public Sector Reform Committee. Moreover, during his government service, he championed the program of justice Sector Reform and Economic legislation reform including the IPR legislative Package. Furthermore, Dr. Al-Bashir was appointed by H.M King Abdullah II as a Member of the House of Senates from Nov. 2010 until Oct. 2011. In addition, Dr. Al-Bashir was a member of the Board of Trustee of King Abdullah II Fund for Development and he was appointed by H.M King Abdullah II as a Member of Economic Policy Council and a member of the Judicial Reform Committee for Developing the Judiciary and Enhancing the Rule of Law.
Furthermore, Dr. Al-Bashir served a member of His Majesty’s Economic Consultative Council and the Executive Committee of Kuluna al-Urdun.
Dr. Al-Bashir, taught Private International Law, Intellectual Property Rights, and Commercial Law for undergraduate and graduate students as professor of law at Jordan University for few years.
Dr. Al-Bashir holds a Bachelor’s in Law from Jordan University, an LL.M from Harvard University and a Doctorate from McGill University.
His working languages are Arabic and English.
What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on the legal market in Jordan?
Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented the Jordanian business landscape with unique and unprecedented challenges. Although these challenges are not specific to law firms and offices, the effects have been widespread and have shook the legal market to its very core in terms of the impact it had on enterprises in Jordan and in terms of legal works.
In the beginning, the Government issued orders for a government mandated quarantine and a complete lockdown. This included the closure of Courts and all legal offices. Resultantly, all litigation works, and any legal work dependent on Jordanian courts, came to a grinding halt. All hearings, submissions, and rulings were postponed for months. Obviously, this had adverse effects on the entire legal market, especially firms with a specialized focus on litigation services.
Then, gradually, some of the lock down measures were lifted and enterprises, including the courts and law offices as they were allowed to re-open. However, this reopening was restricted in the sense that only a certain number of employees were allowed to come into work and masks and social-distancing were required. This meant that less people could report to work which lead to decreased productivity. Also, courts would unpredictably shutdown for weeks at a time whenever an outbreak was reported. All this lead to increased instability of the judiciary and procedures and hearings were delayed for months on end.
The judiciary was also specifically affected by some of the Defense Orders. In fact, the most recent Defense Orders, Nos. 21 & 22, target the working procedure of the courts. The order stipulates that aside from witness testimonies, expert reports and the hearing of the final ruling all litigation processes are to be done electronically through a specified portal. This greatly impacts the legal landscape in Jordan as it changes the nature of legal work.
As for legal work outside litigation, the pandemic automatically enhanced the technological utilization of online services; whereby most, if not all governmental bodies are currently heavily relying on online services. Individuals and corporations now have to create accounts for online portals to access necessary online services. For instance, the Company Control Department (CCD) developed an online portal for individuals and companies. Services such as company registration, online depositing of financial statements and other relevant documents is now accessible via that portal. Moreover, individuals and corporations may issue certificates of good standing/to whom it may concern, among many, through the portal and present such certificates to other governmental bodies, which will have the same weight as physical certificates. Although this is accounted for as an advantage, in practice, due to the sudden influx of online requests, tasks are taking twice the time they used to for relevant documents to be issued.
All in all, the effects of COVID-19 on the Jordanian legal market were vast and significant. All legal processes were halted or delayed for months, leading to increased case backload to an already overloaded system. This is further exacerbated by the continuing sudden shutdowns in the wake of outbreaks and the decreased personnel actually reporting to law offices and courts alike. While there is no evidence to provide that case filing has declined in any way, cases closing definitely has, the shutdown have caused delays in all proceedings which could mean that in the next few months courts might be overwhelmed by the case load being handled due to the shutdown decreasing the number of closed cases per/month and not having any real effect new cases being filed, making the turnover in court cases substantially lower.
Lastly, when discussed the impact of the pandemic on the legal market it is impossible to do so without addressing the impact of the pandemic on enterprises in Jordan, as the legal market in Jordan is influenced by the circumstances of enterprises in Jordan, because those enterprises are the client base for the Jordanian legal market.
According to multiple surveys all enterprises reported challenges in terms of cash flow, reduced demand and supply, and disruption in the value chains as a result of measures responding to COVID-19. 39 per cent of surveyed enterprises are operating but with either reduced staff (7 per cent) or reduced working hours (16 per cent) or both (16 percent). While 51 per cent of the surveyed enterprises closed. Micro businesses (55 per cent) and small enterprises (44 per cent) indicated that they lacked the means to keep paying salaries, while medium (33 per cent) and larger enterprises (23 per cent) were more likely to be able to pay salaries for a few additional months. Owning to the fact that the legal sector is a part of the general market and depends on it, it is without a doubt affected by it, and the continuous deterioration of business and enterprises due to the pandemic will manifestly negatively impact the legal market.
What are some of the adaptations which firms have been making in the wake of the pandemic? Are there any which are unique?
Rapid and creative adaptations needed to be made in the face of the effects that COVID-19 had on the legal sector. Most of these adaptations needed to be made to ensure compliance with government measures and to ensure the protection of any firm’s biggest assets, its employees. Some of these adaptations were more general in the sense that they were of somewhat uniform application across all firms and enterprises. Measures like disseminated protective gear, including masks, a ban on indoor smoking, and increased expenditure and emphasis on sanitation services could be seen at almost any firm.
Also, most firms employed Working-from-Home schemes in which employees are instructed to stay home but report to work at the usual hours and complete the usual tasks. The number of employees working from home and the methodology of selecting who works virtually and who reports to the office differs from firm to firm, but almost all offices have something of that effect. This connection via virtual devices has extended to clients and opposing law firms as our meetings and discussions have been held almost exclusively via audiovisual internet calls or teleconference.
Here at IBLAW, we have devised a scheme where all of our employees whose functions entail making trips to the Courts or Ministries or any other public gathering spot are advised to work from home and report their tasks virtually. We have taken this measure with our sights set on making the firm a safe zone by limiting exposure to the outside world as much as possible we have also rearranged employees’ workspace to ensure proper social distancing. The focus of our adaptations to the pandemic have been clear, our focus is the safety of all members of our firm and interactions are limited to only what is necessary.
Do you think law firms in Jordan are likely to embrace any of these COVID-related changes (such as increased remote working) going into the future?
I believe that this would be a question with varying responses amongst different firms. It comes down to each firm’s own experience with COVID-related changes, and the success each had. Speaking on behalf of IBLAW, we have found great success in some of the COVID-related changes such as working from home and meetings via internet calls. We have been able to bridge the figurative “gap” bought on by remote working by placing extra emphasis on clear and constant communication. Some of our biggest strengths at the firm have always been our collaborative spirit and our excellent team-work, thereby our experience with some of these measures has been a successful one.
In the end I believe that to truly address this question, the effectiveness of the mentioned measures needs to be analyzed outside the context of COVID-19 to determine its sustainability and functionality. If it is proven that these measures can continue to be effective in an environment where they are no longer needed to ensure people’s safety, then it would definitely be something we could look into adopting for the long-term.
How much is the rapid development of technology changing the legal market in Jordan?
The rapid development of technology is changing the entire globe not just the legal market in Jordan. Holding a meeting between people at opposite ends of the globe was unheard of 15 to 20 years ago, yet now it has become our norm. This development has led to many cost-cutting and time-saving opportunities as expenses related to travel and accommodation have become close to zero. This has led to decreased overhead while productivity and efficiency is increased due to the saved time.
Perhaps the best example of the change bought on by technological advancements is none other than the recently enacted Defense Orders No. 21 and 22. This order stipulates the use online platform which automates nearly all the steps of the litigation procedure, as opposed to making virtual submission in court. This brings about a massive change to the Court procedure and legal market in Jordan, and holds great promise of increased efficiency and quicker resolutions.
What is the interplay between local and international firms in Jordan? Are there any advantages particular to either?
I would say that there is no specific or defined interplay between local and international firms in Jordan. Generally speaking, the relationship between each other does not differ from the relationship of two local firms or two international firms. Of course, owing to the nature of each one, the nature of work might differ between the two
International law firms tend to be inclined to consult local firms in Jordan in matters of complicated issues within the Jordanian law. International law firms also diverse their risks and seek the support of their other branches when needed, it is also easier for international firms to offer legal services in different countries, as they only need to refer the client to another branch in the country of choice. While local firms have to rely on building relationships with firms outside of Jordan to ensure that a referral is good enough for their international clients. Furthermore, local firms are free to run their firms up to their own standards and choosing the management methods that work best in Jordan.
That being said, IBLAW is an example of a local firm that handles legal work both inside of Jordan and out, and examples of international firms doing the same could be easily found. The reality of the situation is that there is no specific interplay between the firms, each operates within their own mandate and collaboration occurs when the situation calls for it.
Do firms in Jordan typically see greater amounts of inbound or outbound work?
This question truly depends on the nature of the firm itself, as some firms specialize in outbound work and others in inbound work, while many have a balance of both. IBLAW is an example of such firm with both inbound and outbound work. It is a question that depends on specialization and the size of the firm, as bigger. Established and well-known firm in Jordan typically see greater amounts of inbound work, while smaller firms or less known law firms see more amounts of outbound work due to lack of name recognition.
What are some of the advantageous skills and qualifications which would help a lawyer to succeed in Jordan?
Being a lawyer in Jordan is no different than being a lawyer anywhere else in the world in regards to the skills required. The most important factor to take into consideration for any lawyer is that you are a person providing a service. Not to downplay or discredit the social function a lawyer plays by being an advocate of justice and a servant of the court in any way, a lawyer’s main obligation is owed to his or her client. So here at IBLAW when choosing the members of our team we focus on the following qualification:
Commercial awareness; this essentially means possessing knowledge of current developments in local, national and world business, particularly any issues that impact a law firm and its clients. This is important because ultimately law firms are businesses so lawyers must appreciate the commercial significance of meeting deadlines, minimizing costs and handling information confidentially.
Moreover, clients expect their lawyer to fully understand how their businesses work and which social, political and economic issues may affect those businesses. Lawyers, in order to provide pragmatic legal advice to the best of their ability, must appreciate the short and long-term implications of their client’s business proposal, and think strategically about the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, and prospects.
Being Bilingual or multilingual: In this day and age, law firms have clients from different nationalities and represent corporations that operate all over the world. A knowledge in the Arabic language is no longer enough, fluency in the English language as well is vital for lawyer nowadays. Of course, the more language a lawyer speaks the bigger the client base can be.
Teamwork: The ability to work within a team is indispensable and lawyers need to be able to deal with people from all levels of the legal hierarchy from trainees to members of the judiciary. It’s also vital that clients trust their legal representatives, so lawyers need to be personable, persuasive and polite.
Attention to detail; Accuracy is pivotal to the success of any legal career.
Communication skills: Strong oral and written communication skills are crucial. Excellent listening ability is also necessary when working with clients, as a lawyer needs to be able to build relationships and engender confidence. Public speaking is correspondingly required in the role of a lawyer.
Information analysis and research: Absorbing large amounts of information, facts and statistics, analyzing material and distilling it into something manageable is a feature of any law career. Being able to recognize what is relevant out of the mass of information and explain it clearly and concisely to the client is key.Research also plays an immense role in a lawyer’s day-to-day job. It is obligatory when drafting legal documents and advising clients on complicated issues.
Of course in addition to all the above, a legal degree is essential for any person wishing to enter the field of law, especially due to the requirements imposed by the Jordanian Bar Association. We also believe that a lawyer must also be a person of initiative and must be able to take decisive action and respond quickly to any obstacles that may present themselves, this is something we try to teach each member of our team.
What would make a firm stand out from its competitors in your jurisdiction?
Once again, this response would be no different for Jordan than any other jurisdiction in the world. As for IBLAW we pride ourselves by maintaining good client relationships by guaranteeing the following:
Providing transparency and collaboration in pricing. That can be done by offering flat fees, hybrid billing or alternative price structures, asking each client what works best for them and guaranteeing that the clients are never surprised by the legal fees at the end.
Recruiting the right people. IBLAW always tried recruit the best people and invest in training them and making sure they are compensated fairly. Making a poor hiring decision can inhibit growth and reduce chances of long-term success.
Listening to clients; Firms should consistently communicate with their clients and ask them what they want to modify and then act on those suggestions. At IBLAW we try to adapt to client wishes and be flexible enough to address all of the clients’ needs
Improving the workflow; firms should map out the tasks that should be completed and appropriately set out the timeframe it needs, the manpower needed for said task and engage in people and project management in order to obtain the finest outcome without losing time.
Offering an outstanding customer/client experience. This is not the same as the firm providing its clients with good service, it is rather based on ensuring that client feels comfortable and supported spending time with their lawyers from the first meeting until the file is closed, and being treated with respect and civility.
Ensuring cross-fertilization between different legal disciplines. Most firms are organized by practice groups and specialized attorneys. And while IBLAW does have practice groups and specialized attorneys, we ensure cross-disciplinary approach established by tapping into a firm’s wide resources across departments provides for a holistic approach in addressing challenging legal issues and is advantageous for the client.
What changes would you most wish to see/implement in your firm? And in the wider legal market in Jordan?
Although it would be naïve to say that the working environment at IBLAW is perfect, as nothing comes without its deficiencies, I do feel as though we have built a healthy and equal opportunity culture at the firm. We take pride in our collaborative spirit and treat all employees with respect, we emphasize team-work over one-man missions and our goal every time is to fulfil our obligations with everybody playing their part.
That being said, I would like to see a stronger push towards taking on pro-bono work, because while a law firm is a business, I believe that lawyers have the ability to improve their communities and implement real change.
Speaking on Jordan as a whole, I do unfortunately feel like improvements could be made in numerous areas. In terms of the courts and the judiciary, I feel like efforts to stream-line court procedures and increasing the collaboration and information-sharing between government bodies could go a long way in expediting the process and making the courts more accessible to the people. Regrettably, many people are deterred from resorting to courts due to the currently held reputation of long and arduous litigation processes that lead to costs piling up. In the same breath, more transparency and making necessary information more accessible could also facilitate court procedures being more clear and predictable.
As for other firms in Jordan, I do feel like more emphasis could be placed on building a culture of inclusiveness and acceptance. Sadly, many firms in Jordan make decisions regarding hiring and firing people based on their background, religion or gender. The legal market as a whole needs to become more aware of this issue and a more concentrated effort is needed to work towards a resolution.
What are the most challenging aspects of running a law firm as a managing partner?
The biggest challenge for any management position in the legal field is undoubtedly dealing with the human element. Unlike professions such as engineering or business management; a law firm’s success does not depend on any tangible assets, rather, a firm will only go as far as its employees take it. Being a service-based profession, achieving success will depend on the quality of the work provided. This is contingent on two aspects, the merit of those involved and the motivation provided for quality service. Thereby, a managing partner’s job is to equip their firm with the best assets possible, meaning the most qualified lawyers for the job; and creating a work environment that will drive those lawyers to thrive and preform their obligations to the best of their abilities.
Being a managing partner means commitments and responsibilities are plenty while the time to meet them is scarce. Ergo, time-management is of the essence and ability to confidently delegate responsibilities is an absolute must. This entails a managing partner investing their time into training and teaching the lawyers at their disposal, in the hopes that they could build these lawyers up to becoming decision makers and problem solvers. This is achieved by creating a work environment where people are stimulated and are rewarded fairly for their performance.
Further, taking the time to maintain client relations is imperative for the success of a managing partner. A successful managing partner is accessible and highly attentive to client requests, as they must always assure clients that they are receiving the highest standard of care possible. The reality of the situation is that being a managing partner is a time-consuming and burdensome commitment, whereby success will depend on the partner’s ability to divide their attention to where it is needed and on creating and healthy working environment where lawyers are motivated to perform their functions at a high level and grow with the firm, so that they could be the leaders of tomorrow.
Does the lawyer’s role/involvement in client-facing work changed since becoming managing partner?
It does, in the sense that the role of managing partner is very time consuming as explained above; the managing partner is responsible maintaining the firm’s stability, communicating its value system, providing leadership, contributing to professional publications, and for accomplishing the firm’s human resource strategies by determining firm’s structure, establishing the firm’s organizational, operational, and financial strategies and thus there is less time for client-facing time.
Balancing all those duties requires the managing partner to surround him/herself with the right people who can handle clients on their own and that is accomplished by leading strong-willed individuals to achieve common good and setting the tone for client-centred hospitality and service as the importance and attention does not waiver and the clients continue to be the number one priority.
What does diversity and inclusion mean to you? And, is D&I difficult in Jordan?
Diversity incorporates all of the elements that make individuals unique from one another, and while there are endless differences in individuals, most of us subconsciously define diversity by a few social categories, such as gender, race, age and so forth. While inclusion refers to the behaviours and social norms that ensure people feel welcome. Inclusivity is crucial for diversity and creating an inclusive culture proves valuable for employee engagement and productivity.
Personally, diversity and inclusion means fair and equal opportunities to all where everyone is considered to be at equal-footing and success and growth is not dependent on social status or background but rather the merit of each individual. It means that everyone gets presented with the same opportunities and offered the same level of care, and people are rewarded based on how they respond to these opportunities. Diversity and inclusion is building an environment of acceptance where preconceptions are left behind and people are assessed impartially and with a neutral perspective.
In Jordan, challenges with diversity and inclusion might be different than in other parts of the world. Not to simplify matters, but challenges with diversity and inclusion generally present themselves in two contexts, the background of a person and the gender. While great strides have been made into building a more inclusive culture in Jordan, shades of nationality and tribalism are still rooted in society. Positions and opportunities being given or taken away due to a person’s background is an unfortunate yet regular occurrence in the Jordan. Special treatment is afforded to be people based on nepotism, extends into the working landscape and people in both the public and private sector continue to be punished or rewarded based on where they hail from. This is a form of discrimination that has sadly become too normalized in our society, even expected in some cases.
On a personal level at IBLAW, we condemn any such behaviour and we evaluate people based solely off of their performance. Diversity and inclusion in this regard is simply to give everybody a fair shake and not regard a person’s family name or religion but rather the content of their character.
While background is a major source of discrimination in Jordanian society, perhaps the more problematic and prevalent form of discrimination is that based on gender. There is no way around it, women are not given equal opportunities in Jordanian market and suffer from systemic oppression. Once again, major improvements have been made in this regard and the march towards equal rights continues every day. However, we are still not where we need to be as country, and we cannot stop until we get there.
Biesheuvel Jansen advocaten (“BJTK”) is a boutique law firm based in Amsterdam specialised in transactions (including mergers & acquisitions and investment rounds)and projects (including in the renewable energy sector) ). BJTK was founded by 4 senior lawyers from top Tier firms in the Netherlands (Stibbe, Freshfields and Linklaters) in March 2014.
BJTK’s senior-led transactions and projects teams advise on all phases of a transaction or project and offer clients the best of both worlds: the excellent service of the traditional top tier firms combined with the partner attention and entrepreneurial approach of a boutique firm. With that mindset, BJTK’s ambition is to be the preeminent boutique firm in the Netherlands where all its clients benefit from its know-how and network.
What distinguishes its transactions department from other law boutiques in the Netherlands is its focus on the complex and cross border/international transactions. All partners and (senior) associates at BJTK have spent significant time as a transaction lawyer abroad, in particular in the UK and US. Its clients vary from local companies and investors to international public companies, such as ENGIE (Euronext: ENGI), HeadFirst Source Group (Euronext: SOURC), Protelindo (Indonesian Stock Exchange IDX: TOWR) and Koninklijke Philips (NYSE: PHG, Euronext: PHIA).
BJTK is one of the few law firms in the Netherlands which has a team with experienced lawyers who are dedicated to advising on projects and transactions in the renewable energy sector. The renewable energy team has three focus areas: (i) projects (including projects in respect of onshore and offshore wind parks, hydrogen facilities, biomass and biogas plants and solar parks), (ii) transactions (including transactions in the climate and energy technology sector) and (iii) regulatory matters in respect of such projects and transactions.
BJTK offers an innovative approach to its fee arrangements, whereby it offers financial flexibility and openly discusses with clients an approach that is not focused (solely) on hourly rates, but on pre-determined scope of work accompanied by fixed prices. In addition, BJTK is willing to share transaction risk alongside its clients in specific transactions or projects.
Both its transactions team and its projects team are highly recommend in The Legal 500. Legal 500 quotes; ‘a strong ally to have on your side at the negotiation table’, ‘solution oriented’ and ‘They bring value for money. Enthusiastic, competent, result driven individuals.’
In relation to the current pandemic, how would you characterise how Dutch law firms have reacted to continuing to support clients. For example, have firms stepped up in order to provide tech solutions to facilitate court and other hearings or the ease with which clients can track developments/costs?
Dutch law firms, civil law notaries and the courts have made an effort to accommodate (international) transactions, legal proceedings and other legal advice during the pandemic. Examples are online court hearings, online verification of documentation and digital execution of agreements.
To what extent has Brexit affected levels of work as both Dutch and other companies and investors plan for their future businesses and investments?
To date, Brexit has not affected the deal flow at our firm. Though the UK’s withdrawal from the EU does not make future investments from the UK in the Netherlands or vice versa easier, I am confident that we will find the solutions to make these plans for future businesses and investments work for both sides of the North Sea.
To what extent, if any, has the M&A market changed in the past year – in terms of flow or size of deals and the makeup of domestic and international clients?
Judging from the league tables, after a solid Q1, the COVID-19 crisis had a significant impact on the flow and size of deals in the Netherlands during Q2 2020. Though the midmarket deals recovered rather quickly, league tables indicate that the total deal value over 2020 was significantly lower than 2019. For our firm, the makeup of domestic and international clients has remained steady across the board even during 2020.
Looking to the future, what areas of commercial activity do you see being at the fore? Are areas such as green investments, alternative forms of energy and automation some of such areas?
Despite COVID-19 and current economic uncertainties, many dealmakers see increasing opportunities for completing deals in 2021, including in particular renewable investments, digitization (IT) and healthcare. It goes without saying that the pandemic will continue to have an influence on the deal market over this year, but there is a certain level of optimism among dealmakers that its impact on M&A transactions will wane over time.
How is the Dutch nitrogen emissions crisis affecting the construction and agricultural sectors, and what knock-on effects are there for other industries?
In May 2019, the Dutch Council of State ruled that government rules for granting construction permits and farming activities that emit large amounts of nitrogen breach EU legislation. It is reported that up to 18,000 infrastructure and construction projects have been stalled as a result, including the opening of Lelystad Airport. With the resignation of cabinet Rutte III on 15 January 2021 and elections to be held mid March 2021, the knock-on effects for 2021 and for other industries will very much depend on the plans to be implemented by the new government to effectively comply with EU legislation in this respect.
As with many countries, The Netherlands seems to be struggling to meet its climate change commitments. What solutions do you see to this issue in terms of policy and technology?
Unfortunately, the Netherlands are lagging behind on its climate goals. We will need to take further action in order to meet climate change commitments or even more ambitious climate change goals. I believe our next government will need to seriously consider shutting down several coal-fired energy plants in the Netherlands and an action plan for energy saving measures such as improving home insulation. Several political parties have also proposed nuclear energy as means to meet climate change goals. Any new policies will very much depend upon the outcome of the March general elections.
When the government COVID-19 support and recovery package comes to an end next year, what will be the implications for businesses and employees? Do you expect a mass upturn in unemployment and insolvencies?
According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) the total number of businesses and institutions filing for bankruptcy in 2020 stood at the lowest level in 20 years. The number of bankruptcies dropped in almost every sector. Meanwhile, unemployment rose in the first three quarters of 2020 from an average 3.4 to 3.8 percent of the labour force (according to CBS). The fact that fewer companies were declared bankrupt in times of coronavirus cannot be seen in isolation from the government COVID-19 support and recovery packages. The Dutch government also introduced legislation to prevent companies that are in distress as a result of the pandemic from going bankrupt, limiting enforcement by creditors. It is fair to expect an upturn in unemployment rate and insolvencies when these support measures expire. Interestingly, the new Dutch Court Confirmation of Extrajudicial Restructuring Plans (“Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord”) came into force on 1 January 2021 introducing a pre-insolvency restructuring mechanism in the Netherlands.
Which sector do you see as the next growth area for investors?
During the COVID-19 crisis, sectors that have seen tremendous growth are IT and healthcare. I expect these sectors, as well as the renewable energy sector, to continue doing well in 2021. Other sectors in the Netherlands seem to face a period of unprecedented opportunities and challenges ahead. The experience of previous economic downturns has been that the return of confidence could spark a wave of innovation and unleash a consumer rebound. Our firm is ready and able to assist our clients in getting their deals done even in these challenging times ahead of us!
О2 Consulting is a law firm with offices in Moscow, Zurich, Nicosia and Minsk. The firm has been advising clients on Russian and foreign law, tax and corporate finance since 2003. O2’s clients include international and Russian private equity funds, venture capital funds, financial and investment companies, brokers, industry leaders, hi-tech start-ups and business owners. O2’s team has a vast experience in setting up investment funds and related corporate structuring, tax compliance, financial engineering, acting as in-house counsel to funds and advising on M&A / Private Equity / VC deals in various jurisdictions, acting as corporate lawyer accompanying private equity and venture capital structures and supporting complex M&A / JV projects.
The firm’s experts have topnotch Western and Russian education and practice in Russia and abroad, are licensed under the law of Russia and foreign jurisdictions. O2 Consulting team is valued for non-standard solutions, understanding commercial implications of the issue and ability to support the client in making business decisions. The firm focuses on complex transactional work. For each particular complicated project the firm assembles multi-functional team of specialists from different practice areas.
One of the key elements of the company’s leadership comes from a large expertise in various areas of practice:
VC, Private Equity, M&A, cross-border JVs and Corporate: O2 Consulting has one of the biggest and noted corporate / M&A / Private Equity / VC teams in Russia which we doubled within the last 2 years. The firm provides comprehensive legal advice on public and private M&As; cross-border and Russian joint ventures; corporate restructurings; corporate finance and private equity and VC deals governed by English, Russian and US law and the firm is proud of its impressive transactional record in this area.
Intellectual property: The firm offers a unique, global, full-service capability, covering all types of legal support for commercial activities and IP rights protection in Russia and other jurisdictions.
Real estate: O2 has a large and highly developed real estate practice. The firm advises its clients on all matters related to real estate in Russia and other jurisdictions, including structuring of transactions to acquire and sell real estate, full legal support for real estate investment projects, development of optimal project structures, including with co-investor participation; legal and tax aspects of financing and security arrangements, performance of comprehensive due diligence of assets for acquisition, commercial development, agricultural enterprise, production and natural resource use, legal support for implementation of greenfield and brownfield projects, support for various transactions in the spheres of trade, warehousing, office, industrial and agricultural real estate, contractual support for commercial leasing, management and operation of real estate.
Tax: The firm provides tax-planning services to individuals and companies. Virtually any project implemented by O2 Consulting in such areas as M&A, Private Equity, VC, corporate restructuring, Real Estate and Funds is assessed for tax implications, and the firm’s clients conveniently tap into our tax expertise when we handle their projects.
The firm’s tax services include tax compliance for businesses and transactions, tax planning and advice, taxation of financial service and bank transactions, investment target tax due diligence, advice on disclosure of financial information within the scope of information exchange between Russia and other countries.
FinTech: The O2 Consulting team has accumulated considerable experience in supporting financial and digital technology projects and is one of the market leaders in legal support for state-of-the-art financial technologies.
The firm’s specialists support projects with various investment attraction options using the blockchain technology, including independent pre-sales, private and crowd-funding and their combinations, depending on the client’s needs. Besides, we advise on various legal aspects for the new digital financial solutions, multifunctional digital platforms, virtual financial assets, big data and personal identification.
O2 Consulting has it’s finger on the pulse in the latest digital spheres and understands sensitive points and grey zones, as well as trends in the global regulation of this sphere.
Private client: The O2 Consulting team has many years’ experience of supporting projects in the area of private capital, including protection of interests of wealthy families and individuals, growth of wealth of their families and business establishments, prosperous development of their life standards.
The firm’s clients are successful people who are prominent leaders in a wide range of spheres, including top managers, owners of big businesses, patrons of arts, representatives of the art profession, the world of fashion and sports, private entrepreneurs and investors. For many of them, O2 Consulting acts as their counsel and attorneys protecting their interests.
TMT: The firm’s TMT practice comprises both regulatory and transactional work and enjoys a well-deserved reputation among our clients for our tremendous expertise, innovative approach and efficiency. O2 team is capable of resolving most complex industry-specific issues.
The firm is proud to have handled most advanced TMT projects in such areas as artificial intelligence and machine learning, neural networks, Internet of Things, Industrial Internet of Things, tele-healthcare services, cyber security, Big Data, robotics, blockchain, digital assets etc.
Key events
2005 – the company was established and started its activity in Moscow
2010 – after restructuring and re-branding of the company it started operations under the current name(O2 Consulting)
2012 –the company has opened a new office in Zurich
2018 –the company has opened a Cyprus office and an office in Minsk
2019 – 6 new partners joined the company
2019 – the company has opened offices in Kiev and St. Petersburg
With 10,500+ lawyers and professionals in 189 locations in 77 countries, Dentons is today the largest law firm in the world and has more people in more places than any of our competitors.
Dentons’ coverage matches with a significant number of our clients. Where we do not yet have a required presence, we team with referral law firms through our Nextlaw Referral Network, an award-winning global legal network created by Dentons that connects us with other law firms and secures the best legal talent worldwide. With 700+ member law firms in 200+ countries across multiple time zones, member law firms cover more countries in the world than any other global legal network.
Our global strategy has focused on greater geographical coverage. Through opening our own offices and by consolidating special alliances throughout the world, we have become more global in both geography and outlook. Our geographic coverage has greatly increased in recent years and we will continue to expand and enhance our capabilities so that we can provide businesses with multi-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary services, to efficiently support all their global legal requirements.
Uniquely in the legal services market, Dentons does not have a single headquarters or dominant culture. As a law firm we are inclusive of geographies, nationalities and languages, and recognise and encourage the unique talents and potential of our people.
Further, our global size and scale means that when we develop best practices and invest in new technologies in different countries and regions, we share them across geographies for the benefits of all our clients.
Strategy
Across the UK, Ireland and Middle East region (UKIME) we have approximately 1,500+ employees, across six UK offices, nine locations in the Middle East, and one office in Ireland, opened in Dublin in September 2020.
Over the past three years across UKIME we have successfully pursued a strategy of creating stronger ties with key clients, developing a strong value proposition and investing to grow market share. Taking each in turn:
creating stronger ties with key clients: the targeted and professional management of our biggest client accounts has resulted in new panel wins and appointments/re-appointments to a number of global/regional/country panels;
developing a strong value proposition: legal project management now forms an intrinsic part of our client service delivery offering and has proved pivotal to developing successful client relationships; and
growing market share: the Partners we have hired into our UKIME business over the past three years have yielded some major client wins and transaction successes.
We also share our clients commitment to inclusion and diversity. At Dentons we believe inclusion and diversity are key to the success and strength of our business. With a happy, integrated and representative workforce, we make our firm a rich and vibrant place that people want to work at, enjoy working at and where they can realise their full potential. We believe this environment translates into better relationships with our colleagues and better performance for our clients. Our commitment to inclusion and diversity is delivered through our involvement in a range of internal and external initiatives.
We also share our clients commitment to corporate social responsibility. We pride ourselves on an innovative corporate social responsibility programme that makes a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work. Our employees invest a significant amount of their time in to corporate social responsibility projects and pro bono, volunteering and fundraising efforts.
Technology & Innovation
Dentons is responsive to the needs, expectations and requirements of clients in the wider context of globalisation, technological advancement and widespread disruption in the legal industry. We invest in innovation and design technology solutions that benefit our clients and complement our legal services.
We are consistently recognised for being an innovative law firm and our commitment has been widely acknowledged by market recognition. For example, in a survey conducted by BTI Consulting Group, leading global clients ranked Dentons among the top three firms dubbed the “technology titans”, we were also recognised as being one of the 10 most innovative law firms in the world.
All our employees are encouraged to “own” innovation and we have structures in place to identify and implement innovative ways of delivering legal services to our clients.
We are certainly seeing an up take in instructions in financial services and in trade and commercial contracts that directly relate to clients managing their Brexit risks. As the only English speaking common law jurisdiction in the EU, Ireland is an obvious choice for many companies looking to ensure they keep a footprint in the EU. This has translated into workflow and we expect to see that continuing as our clients get a clearer picture of the post Brexit regulatory landscape in the United Kingdom. </div>
A number of international firms have set up offices in Dublin over the last few years. What impact has this had on the Irish legal market?
It has created more competition for talent at every level but for the first time, we are seeing not insubstantial number of partners moving from firms where they have been for their whole careers to join the new international firms. This is a big change in what has traditionally been a static market for talent at partner level.
The full impact of the international firms has not fully been seen in the market given they are all relatively new to the market but clearly now there are a handful of credible international firms that can service their clients’ needs without the constraints of being limited to advising on Irish law, we expect to see significant leakage of cross jurisdictional work in particular over the coming years.
Does having an international presence offer an advantage in attracting clients from overseas, e.g. US-headquartered companies?
There is no doubt that having international offices is a tangible value add for our clients, Irish and International.
We are seeing our insolvency practice pick up premium mandates as a result of our international reach, as most Insolvency situations throw up legal issues in multiple jurisdictions whether on the creditor side, supply chain management, employment law and so on and being able to assist your Board in Ireland or the insolvency practitioner that may have stepped into the shoes of the board, on how to navigate these issues in real time without the time and interface risk of engaging multiple legal advisers, is of huge value.
Clearly, we are also finding Irish corporates of any scale outgrow the domestic market pretty quickly and they love that they can call us to manage multiple issues that land on their desk irrespective of where they occur. For example, we have a new large client who in the last week has had a need for employment advice in the Ukraine, searches in France, a regulatory dispute in the UK while we are also helping them on a significant refinancing here in Ireland. This is what international reach delivers. A local relationship partner that takes ownership of finding you the right contact in each and every jurisdiction where legal issues arise, from big strategic issues to small operational queries, we can support them on that and it is painless for the client.
Have you implemented technological changes at your firm to assist with handling large transactions or large-scale litigation?
Dentons is “the law firm of the future now… with you, for you” and invests in and designs innovation solutions that benefit our clients and complement our legal services.
Our approach is to identify and utilise the most appropriate technologies that deliver the best results for our clients. On that basis, our Innovation team constantly monitors the legal technology environment and through our innovation framework, rigorously tests and pilots solutions before adoption. With the speed of development in this space, we acknowledge that individual products and platforms have different strengths and weaknesses and as a result know that there is no one size fits all approach to providing technology solutions.
Technology continues to be a key part of our offering to clients in handling large transactions and large-scale litigation. We have listed a number of examples below.
Luminance Discovery
When it comes to disclosure, Dentons brings together specialist expertise and cost effective tools and resources to deliver accomplished client service. For the more straightforward disclosure processes, we use an e-disclosure platform hosted by Luminance. The platform is managed in-house at Dentons by an experienced technical team.
We find that managing the process in-house results in a number of benefits for clients including more efficient parametrisation, better “training” of the AI leading to more rapid optimisation and of course the ability to swiftly reconfigure systems to respond to changes in the course of proceedings . This alone creates significant reduction in time and cost but also increases speed of response. For the more complex disclosure processes, we recommend the relativity disclosure platform and we have a small set of preferred external providers from which we are able to secure competitive rates. We do however; also have experience of the major e-discovery platforms.
Finally, litigation partners of the firm are also members of the judiciary. We have found this to be of significant benefit to ensure that we are able to learn from their experience regarding the latest interpretations and directives regarding e-discovery and disclosure and ensure that we are following best practice.
Dentons Direct
Dentons Direct is an interactive technology platform designed to deliver streamlined matter and client relationship management. Dentons Direct provides secure and transparent access to all the information needed for multiple matters, held in one place. The platform is accessible from PCs, tablets and smartphones across time zones and from all global locations.
Overall functions of Dentons Direct include the ability to carry out searches, set up notifications and send messages and the unique platform will be fully customised to meet client needs.
Key features
24/7 access to their Dentons team
Project management – including workflow, task management
Multi-party access
Financial metrics and KPIs reporting
Document automation / management
News feeds
Knowledge management
Dentons Direct is differentiated in the legal market because its key features go beyond extranet basics. It is currently in use across Dentons globally and is supported by dedicated experts in our IT team.
Apperio
Apperio is a powerful smart-analytics dashboard which supports the building of strong client relationships by enabling real-time transparency on legal fees, organising client communications and streamlining matter management.
Linked to our financial system, Apperio assists in the scoping and budgeting of large and complex projects. Both the client and Dentons will be able to monitor progress on any instruction on a real-time basis to ensure that services are delivered in line with budgets. All completed matters and budgets are utilised proactively to identify trends, efficiencies and appropriate resources for future instructions as our relationship develops.
BundleDocs
BundleDocs is a program that allows for the automatic creation of court bundles while also allowing for the editing and manipulation of the bundles to create a high quality end product as quickly as possible. By performing many of the tasks that would normally be done manually by a lawyer, great time savings are created. Collaboration features on the site means that work on the bundle can be done almost entirely within the platform meaning that any changes can be made swiftly and accurately.
What sets your firm apart from others in Ireland?
Our firm is genuinely different. We have the biggest global reach of any firm in the world and when you put that scale and reach together with the really senior team of local partners, we have a very differentiated offering to any firm in the market. A number of our partner hires were heads of departments, on the boards and/or at the top of equity lock step in the Irish firms they came from and no other international firm has built out with senior market leading partners other than Dentons. We do not believe that global reach on its own is compelling for clients. We know from our expansion in other concentrated legal markets like Ireland, that the quality and standing of the local team is what really drives the success of the business and with the right founding team in place, they can then deliver the global firm to corporate Ireland. Our Irish team are an Elite cohort of first class lawyers that have 10,000 legal minds to leverage for their Irish based clients. We know now that there is demand for this offering and since we launched in September, we have new clients wins to prove it.
The real estate, technology and life sciences sectors have been booming in Ireland over the last few years. Do you expect these trends to continue and are there other sectors you think will provide opportunities for investors?
Financial services, Fintech, data and life sciences are all very active sectors and we expect that to continue. We also expect energy and infrastructure to be busy given the scale of government investment in the sector and the project pipeline in the programme for government.
What has been the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on business in Ireland and has this had an effect on the type of work you are seeing (e.g. cross-border work or investments in certain sectors)?
Deals slowed down for a period across all sectors but the real economy impact has yet to be fully felt. We know there has been a lot of forbearance from lenders and the government supports have been pretty successful at pushing the worst of the fall out down the road. It is however inevitable that we will see more business struggling to survive or return to the old normal in the second and third quarters of next year. This can bring legal work but a lot of deal flow has an element of GDP correlation, so 2021 will be a difficult year all round. We hope to be able to help our clients withstand the hardship that most have had to endure in Ireland with multiple and protracted lockdowns to manage. Our clients need us to be value focused and nimble after the hardship of COVID and as a new firm, we could not be better placed to pivot with them into the new normal that will emerge in 2021.
The Irish government has recently identified social housing and sustainable finance as some of its priorities for the future. How do you think law firms can assist with this and increase their activity in these areas?
The Irish government priorities do not necessarily drive where we think there will be profitable interesting mandates. We know a lot of investors are looking and finding social housing solutions and we have some live mandates in that space but that is one niche component of our tier one real estate practice which is also excited about PRS, Leisure, contentious construction and other sub sectors where we have a pipeline of interesting work in addition to social housing.
What do you think the impact will be of recent legislative initiatives by the EU Commission and the Irish government (such as the Investment Limited Partnership Bill and ESG regulation) on the investment funds industry in Ireland?
The new ILP Bill is very welcome and should certainly plug the gap in the closed end fund offering that we have had in Ireland for some time now. We have had a lot of clients following the legislation with considerable interest (with some getting jaded that it has not yet made its way onto the statute books). It is of particular interest to Dentons as none of the Irish firms have any real experience of establishing private equity or infrastructure funds and it is a very different skill set to the commoditised volume play of a UCITS practice. Having experience of setting up icavs and UCITS is of very limited value to the institutional players that want to set up PE funds where our experience of carry structures, side letter terms and limited partnership co investment terms etc. is much more on point. We expect to be at the front of the queue when the industry looks to Ireland for legal support for this type of fund.
The Portuguese legal market has recently witnessed considerable movement at the partner level. Are these the first signs of a generational shift and modernisation within the legal profession?
They are important signs that reveal that the Portuguese market has coming of age and some sophistication. In most cases, the partners have moved to other well-established law firms and have not given rise to new law firms. These movements have to be considered normal and the trend is for them to become more and more frequent. This is typical of a sophisticated and mature market. But this also does not mean that a generational change is not taking place. This change has been taking place over the past few years and has been especially visible in firms whose partner structure was older. I believe that it will intensify much more in the coming years.
Could the current crisis lead to further consolidation of the legal market in the form of integration/ mergers of law firms?
The crisis may affect some firms but I do not believe it will affect the largest and most representative ones and that the crisis will be the cause of a concentration movement of firms.
The concentration of firms may occur for other causes, among which the foreseeable approval of the multidisciplinary firms regime, which allows the integration of law firms with other professional areas. This openness may make our legal market more attractive, with professionals from other areas joining law firms. And if this happens there will certainly be a growth in structures, which in turn will lead to concentration movements of law firms. If the multidisciplinary law firms are approved, I admit that in the period of 3 to 5 years there may be major changes in the Portuguese legal landscape. The biggest ones will become even bigger. The small ones will focus on specialisation in certain areas or services.
How have you maintained and fostered relationships with existing and new clients in the absence of physical meetings during the pandemic?
The digital meetings and contacts have replaced the physical meetings in a very effective way. On our side we felt no impact. With our international clients, distance meetings were already a standard. With local clients, this new contact model even served to create a different proximity. We began to digitally enter into their intimacy space and met some clients from another perspective but equally close and sometimes even more personal.
How do local firms compete with those with an international or Iberian law firm affiliation?
Iberian offices or those with international affiliations have been in Portugal for many years, the most representative for over 10 or 15 years. This reality is already absorbed by local firms, the market in general and by clients. There is no special situation in relation to these offices that does not exist with the others.
Has Covid-19 been the catalyst for technological changes and innovation at law firms in Portugal?
It certainly has. At least it has been a catalyst for innovation, a stress test for procedures, a test for the versatility of internal practices and especially a time to reaffirm the culture of law firms. Firms that have a strong and cohesive culture are better off, those that were not so strong in terms of internal culture may be suffering. In technological terms, this is where I have felt fewer changes or difficulties, since the most representative firms in the market had long ago invested in technology, which enabled them to face this challenge of distance without much difficulty.
Tourism and exports (great economic drivers in Portugal) have been some of the worst affected sectors during the pandemic. Has the pandemic resulted in a reallocation of the country’s economic drivers?
These two sectors are indeed fundamental and have been greatly affected. Although there are other sectors of some importance, such as real estate and construction, neither of them can replace these two. Let us hope that already in 2021, or at least in 2022, we can count again on a strong dynamism of exports and tourism. I believe that the recovery, when it starts, will be strong and consistent.
Since becoming managing partner, what’s surprised you most about running a firm?
The talent of people. People’s ability to develop in intellectual and professional terms is extraordinary. In a firm with an environment that values merit, that allows lawyers to develop and progress, people’s talent is what stimulates me the most, motivates me and surprises me every day. I love to be surprised by the talent of the people in our team, every day this reinforces my admiration for them.
How has your role/involvement in client-facing work changed since becoming managing partner?
It hasn’t changed much because I have the support of a very professional management team, who have great autonomy for the management of the firm, in which I fully trust, and therefore allows me to continue to maintain the relationship with our clients almost in the same way. The time available today is not exactly the same but has not changed as much as I initially feared.
What advice would you give to the next generation of partners ready to rise in the ranks?
Never give up on their dreams. If they are in a fair and meritorious environment, never give up trying to achieve their goals. Always do so ethically and in a spirit of collaboration, but never give up. Sometimes I notice some lawyers worried about a certain area having a lot of lawyers and the idea that growth and advancement can be more difficult in that area. This may be partly the case but it will be especially for those who are discouraged and give up. Those who continue to work with dedication and seriously, in collaboration with their teams, will surely see the result of their effort.
What does diversity and inclusion mean to you? And, is D&I difficult in your jurisdiction?
They mean the present and the future and should always have meant the past. We should not have to impose rules and work to make diversity and inclusion for all to be a reality. This reality should always exist as something natural. In Portugal, diversity and inclusion are as difficult as in any other country. In fact, from what I know, Portugal does not even belong to the group of European Union countries where diversity and inclusion face more difficulties to impose in a definitive and natural way.
What has been your greatest achievement, in a professional and personal capacity?
I do what I like most, being a lawyer is my vocation and what I have always aspired to do. As they say, those who work with passion and in what they like most end up never working, what they do is something different. This is my greatest professional achievement: to do what I like and how I like it.
1991 – Beginning of lecturer activity in the law degree at the University of Lisbon Law School (began lecturing to the second grade while he was still attending the fourth grade of the law degree, which is a course of 5 years).
1993 – Completion of the law degree. Continuation of the lecturer activity for over two decades in Commercial and Corporate, Civil Law and Real Estate
1995 – Left PLMJ Law Firm and sets up a legal practice in Lisbon, founder of Raposo Bernardo & Associados Law Firm
1997 – Master by University of Lisbon Law Schoolwith the thesis“A Aquisição do Domínio Total nasSociedadesComerciais” (“The acquisition of total control of Companies”)
1998 – Member of the Commission appointed by the Minister of Finance which has drawn up the Securities Code still in force.
2000 – Labour Law Institute – University of Lisbon Law School – Founder with other University Professors and Lecturers
2000-2020 – Leading Lawyer, Top Tier1, Best Lawyer by the main international legal directories
2007-2010 – Professor inCourses on Family Businesses – Indeg/Iscte
2008-2014 – Professor inPost-Graduate Studies – Entrepreneurship, Start-up`s and Innovation – Indeg/Iscte
2010 – 2020 – Participation in more than 30 Project Finance and Corporate Finance
2018 – 2020 – Participation in privatization operations in the aviation, airports, ports, energy and pharmaceutical industries
2020 – Celebration of more than 25 years of practice as lawyer
Dr. Salaheddin Al-Bashir is the Founder and Senior Partner of the International Business Legal Associates- IBLAW, one of the largest and leading law firms in Jordan. IBLAW specializes in Intellectual Property rights, policy work, project finance and Privatizations, and Corporate and commercial work.
The Portuguese legal market has recently witnessed considerable movement at the partner level. Are these the first signs of a generational shift and modernisation within the legal profession?