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Expert Analysis

• Lessons In Civility From The Alex Oh Sanctions Controversy

  

  Alex Oh’s abrupt departure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and admonishment by a D.C. federal judge over conduct in an Exxon human rights case demonstrate three major costs of incivility to lawyers, and highlight the importance of teaching civility in law school, says David Grenardo at St. Mary's University.

• Rebuttal

  US Legal System Can Benefit From Nonlawyer Ownership

  

  Contrary to claims made in a recent Law360 guest article, nonlawyer ownership has incrementally improved the England and Wales legal system — with more innovation and more opportunities for lawyers — and there is no reason why those outcomes cannot also be achieved in the U.S., say Crispin Passmore at Passmore Consulting and Zachariah DeMeola at the University of Denver.

• Increasing Investment Scams Can Implicate Lawyers, Too

  

  With the pandemic serving as a catalyst for increased financial fraud, it's important to recognize that these scams are not only devastating for victims, they also pose a significant threat to law firms and individual solicitors who fail to do their due diligence, say James Darbyshire at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and Heather Clark at Burness Paull.

• UK Lawyers Can Adapt Due Diligence To Screen New Clients

  

  As COVID-19-related fraud gains pace, U.K.-based practitioners should help combat money laundering by using alternative methods to verify that new clients are who they say they are, says Christopher Convey, a barrister at 33 Chancery Lane and chair of the Bar Council's Money Laundering Working Group.

• Key Risks And Developments For UK Law Firm Culture In 2020

  

  In 2020, law firms throughout the U.K. will be increasingly reshaped by rapid changes in societal expectations and advances in technology, say Helen Rowlands and Niya Phiri of Clyde & Co.

• #MeToo Pressure On UK Businesses Is Set To Rise

  

  Recent declarations by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority indicate that sexual harassment in the U.K.'s financial services industry may lead to consequences under the newly expanded Senior Managers and Certification Regime, and other sectors are facing growing scrutiny as well, say attorneys at Covington.

• Corporate Wrongdoing Risks Go Beyond Exec Departures

  

  Recent controversy over misconduct allegations that led to the ousting of a KPMG executive reminds firms that the challenges caused by suspecting or uncovering internal wrongdoing are not so easily solved by the implicated executive's exit, says Sarah Chilton of CM Murray.

• 2 Perspectives On Navigating The Litigation Funding Process

  

  Paul Martenstyn of Vannin Capital and Daniel Spendlove of Signature Litigation share their top tips on how to get a case funded, drawing from their respective experience as a funder and a lawyer.

• Answers To Key Legal Finance Ethics Questions

  

  While there is discussion in some quarters about new regulations on commercial legal finance, the hands-off approach taken by the majority of courts and legislatures is an implicit recognition that it is already sufficiently regulated, says Danielle Cutrona of Burford Capital.

• New Scrutiny For NDAs In Sexual Harassment Matters

  

  Recent government scrutiny of nondisclosure agreements related to allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Steve Wynn and Harvey Weinstein raises the question of whether some uses of NDAs could amount to obstruction of justice or a violation of lawyers' ethical obligations, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Opinion

  SRA Should Not Condemn Lawful Tax Avoidance

  

  In suggesting that solicitors who facilitate tax avoidance breach its code of conduct, the Solicitors Regulation Authority fails to distinguish between legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion, says attorney Martin Kenney.

• Proposed Arbitration Law May Be A Misstep For India

  

  A proposed Indian law, which could have the effect of excluding non-Indians from acting as arbitrators, is threatening to undermine the country's ambition to become an important seat of international arbitration, says Sarosh Zaiwalla of Zaiwalla & Co.

• British Overseas Territories Can Benefit From Transparency

  

  British overseas territories have pushed back against a recent U.K. measure requiring them to create publicly accessible registers of companies' beneficial owners. However, considering global trends toward transparency, perhaps the territories should embrace the new rules as a force of good, says Simon Airey of Paul Hastings LLP.

• Legal Technology Is Likely To Flourish In The UK

  

  The U.K. may soon surpass the U.S. in legal technology, thanks to regulatory reform, law firm investment and an entrepreneurial environment, says Bridget Deiters of InCloudCounsel.

• Law & Reorder: The Emergence Of The UK Legaltech Sector

  

  Recent market dynamics are driving the U.K. legal industry to adopt nascent technologies in new service offerings as well as pre-existing solutions. The rise of legaltech should also lead to an increase in acquisitions by law firms striving to maintain relevance, says Jo Charles of Livingstone Partners LLP.