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FINANCE: Bank-lending

The situation in the leveraged finance market can perhaps best be categorized in terms of pre- and post-credit crunch. Prior to the chaos that hit the sub-prime housing sector in the second half of 2007, the market was awash with cheap money. Banks desperate to get a piece of the action and win the lead arranger mandate in syndicated transactions were falling over themselves to accommodate the increasingly acquisitive private equity firms, often under terms that were wildly generous to the borrowers.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Copyright

With the media market pioneering new methods to entertain the masses, and new ways being found to circumvent the protections traditionally afforded to these markets, copyright law is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Questions are increasingly arising as to standard policing principles, as well as the ability to encompass constantly evolving forms of media, most notably the protection of musical, film, TV and publishing rights.

INVESTMENT FUNDS: Alternative/hedge funds

With a dizzying array of new funds being spawned annually, product differentiation is a key to success at the high end of the market. This differentiation often involves complex designs to maximize returns and clients understandably demand the best, derisively rejecting formulaic products as ‘plain vanilla’ or ‘cookie-cutter’ funds. While there is still clearly demand for relatively simple, middle-of-the-road funds, the top end of the market wants legal services that can deliver a USP to sophisticated investors.

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT: Employee benefits

Employee benefits work sits at the cross-section of various regulatory bodies, namely the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). It is therefore useful to have a presence in Washington, DC to ensure regular dialogue with these government agencies, and to make sure that clients are not stung by the volatile regulatory climate.

LITIGATION: Sub-prime

The financial crisis of 2007 saw billions of dollars lost and has left people somewhat stunned. With a raft of stringent financial regulations, countless regulatory bodies and a host of early-warning systems, people are struggling to believe that there was nothing to be done to abate this crisis. The behavior of key financial institutions, underwriters, rating agencies and insurers is also being analyzed carefully, checking for potential negligence or signs that the crisis could have been foreseen.

MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT: Marketing and advertising

Marketing and advertising is an area that crosses all product lines, companies and industries, and with the proliferation of new media, is an increasingly hot area of focus in contemporary business culture. The internet has created hitherto unimaginable opportunities to reach consumers in an extremely targeted fashion, and companies are throwing whatever budget they can make available at exploring opportunities for online advertising. Media, entertainment, technology and marketing and advertising are rapidly converging, with companies in each of these sectors endeavouring to acquire expertise in each of the others.

MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND BUYOUTS: M&A – mega-deals

In many respects it has been a year of two halves. M&A is one of the areas that benefited most from the heady exuberance of the first half. In this period of furious activity, record-breaking deals were almost commonplace. The easy availability of capital favored the bottomless funds of the private equity houses, while strategic acquirers struggled to keep pace.

REAL ESTATE: Arizona

For firms with diverse practices, the noticeable decline in the homebuilder sector should not hit too hard, although times are tougher for firms whose clients predominantly operate in the residential arena. Many developers are seeking to downsize or offload projects that have ground to a halt, and some buyers are seeking to backtrack on commitments. Meanwhile, lenders and investors are giving greater pause for thought before venturing into new real estate transactions in the fiscal timidity that lies in the wake of the crash of the CMBS market.

TAX: international tax

Clients and private practitioners alike confirm the increasing international component in business deals. The high demand for legal services to handle international transactions inevitably demands effective tax support, and, once the deal is done, tax planning and advice is required, frequently on an almost continuous basis for major corporates.