1. 中国精英律所越来越成功

尽管中国经济增长放缓，中国法律行业却在持续发展，大多数中国精英律所的收入不断增长。根据《美国律师》（The American Lawyer）的2015年最新中国律所收入排名显示，中国最大的那些律所收入继续增长，今年的排名由25家扩展到35家，虽然收入超过1亿美元的律所数量仍然是9家，但有6家律所收入超过2亿美元，比2014年翻了一倍。2015年收入排名前六名中，大成的收入总额达到21亿美元，而金杜则达到10亿美元，中伦3.15亿美元，锦天城2.07亿美元，国浩2.07亿美元，盈科2.02亿美元。其中大成（Dentons）和金杜（King & Wood Mallesons）的收入足以登上美国百强律所榜，如果他们是美国律所的话。

（图片来源：americanlawyer.com）

China’s elite law firms moving from strength to strength

China’s legal market is defying a slackened economy， with turnover on the up at most of the country‘s elite law firms.

The latest revenue ranking of Chinese law firms from The American Lawyer has shown that China’s biggest firms are continuing to grow despite more turbulent economic times. Expanded this year from 25 to to 35 firms， the ranking found that while the number of Chinese firms with revenues in excess of $100m has remained the same year-on-year at nine， the number that have cracked the $200m mark doubled to six in 2015.

Meanwhile， two firms - global heavyweights Dentons and King & Wood Mallesons - saw Chinese revenues that would have been large enough to make the Am Law 100 league table last year had they qualified as US businesses. With more than 6，500 lawyers and an expansive global presence， Dentons logged gross Chinese revenues of $2.1 billion last year， while KWM had $1bn in turnover. Rounding out the ranking‘s top five firms by revenue are Zhong Lun Law Firm with $315m， AllBright Law Offices with $207m and Grandall Law Firm， also with $207m. Yingke Law Firm， which with over 5，000 lawyers is China’s second-largest firm by headcount after Dentons， came in sixth with $202m. The latest ranking is based on gross revenue data for the 2015 calendar year. (American Lawyer； Legal Week)

2. 英国史密夫斐尔律师事务所（HSF）就50万英镑的未付账单起诉San Leon公司

尽管律所起诉客户一向被视为冒险的行动，HSF还是成功地在伦敦的高等法院起诉了长期客户爱尔兰San Leon能源公司，要求支付近50万英镑的未付律师费用。2013年，荷兰投资集团Avobone在国际仲裁院提起了与San Leon之间的仲裁，该纠纷涉及位于荷兰的一个气田资产，争议金额为1300万英镑，而San Leon在该案中聘用了HSF。HSF随后向San Leon开具了2014年6月至2015年9月期间的九张单独的费用支付发票，包括增值税和合同利息在内的本金合计为482，409.14英镑，而San Leon一直未予支付。于是HSF将该公司告上高等法院的王座法庭，法院判令San Leon向HSF支付483，925.54英镑以及10，100英镑的成本。

Herbert Smith Freehills sues client San Leon over  £500k legal bill

Often considered a risky move for a law firm， Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has successfully sued longstanding client San Leon Energy at London‘s High Court for payment of nearly £500，000 in unpaid fees.

Filed at the Queen’s Bench Division by litigation partner Anna Pertoldi， the action was taken after the Ireland-based San Leon instructed HSF to defend it in a £13m dispute initiated by Dutch investment group Avobone at the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) regarding a Polish gas field， the Siekierki asset， in 2013.

HSF subsequently invoiced the client for nine separate fee payments spanning from June 2014 until September 2015. The total principal amount outstanding accumulated to £482，409.14 including VAT and contractual interest. Interest on the principal sum accrued at a daily rate of £44.60 from 8 April this year.

A court order handed down in May ordered San Leon to pay HSF £483，925.54 plus £10，100 in costs. (Legal Business)

3. 英国今年新开的律所数量可能超过1000家

英国律师监管局发布的数据显示，从今年1月1日至7月1日，其已经批准了612家新办法律机构。如果下半年仍然按照这一速度发展，全年新开办的律所数量势必超过1000家，而2015年全年新开律所只有812家，2014年则只有807家。并且新开律所数量也远超过关闭数量，截止到今年5月份净增加的律所数量达到349家。近年来，英国净存的“稳定”律所数量大体未变，保持在约10，500家。

New legal firms may top 1，000 this year

The number of new law firms opening their doors in the UK may reach four digits before the year is out.

Data released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has shown that it authorised 612 new legal businesses between 1 January and 31 July this year. With full-year openings totaling only 812 last year and 807 in 2014， this year is on track to eclipse the 1，000 mark if the second half of the year continues at the same pace. New firm openings are also well outstripping closures， which totaled 349 in the year to May.

The net number of ‘stable’ firms in the UK remains largely unchanged from recent years， at approximately 10，500. ‘Conditions are ideal for solicitors to create their own firms and control their own future and working life，’ says Sally Azarmi， chair of the Law Society‘s Small Firms Division. ’We are no longer tied to the traditional way of working， with prohibitive overheads. In my experience， there is increased demand for small firms.‘ (Law Society Gazette)

4. 会计师事务所的崛起：普华永道的法律业务录得24%的增长，收入跳涨至5990万英镑

在这所有收入中，有5600万英镑来自英国的费用收入。同时净收入也达到1100万英镑。普华永道的法律版块提供九个领域的法律服务，包括公司和银行业务、争议解决、网络安全和移民等。2013/14财年时，法律版块收入为4220万英镑，自那以后一直稳定增长。尽管存在会计师事务所正在蚕食传统法律服务市场的担忧，负责普华永道法律版块的高级合伙人Brookes坚称，其法律版块战略并不是变成一家律所那样。

Rise of the accountants： PwC’s legal arm posts 24% revenue jump to £59.9m

Revenue at PwC Legal has soared this financial year， from £48.5m to £59.9m， an increase of 25%. Led by senior partner Shirley Brookes， the legal arm of the accounting giant has also posted net income of £11m. Of the total revenue， £56m of that is UK fee income.

PwC Legal， which provides legal services across nine practices including corporate and banking， dispute resolution， cyber security and immigration， has seen its revenue grow steadily since the financial year 2013/14 when revenue was £42.2m.

Despite concerns that accounting firms are taking a bite out of the more traditional legal services market， Brookes is insistent that PwC Legal‘s strategy is not to become like a law firm. (Legal Business)

5. 高伟绅、达维、金杜和海问等担任中国邮政储蓄银行在港交所80亿美元IPO的法律顾问。9月14日，中国邮政储蓄银行在港交所上市，80亿美元的金额使其成为今年以来全球最大的一次首次公开发行（IPO），也是阿里巴巴在纽交所创纪录的超过250亿美元IPO以来最大的一次。英国“魔法圈所”高伟绅律师事务所、美国“白靴所”达维律师事务所、金杜律师事务所和海问律师事务所等担任此次IPO的法律顾问，其中达维和海问担任中国邮政储蓄银行的法律顾问，高伟绅和金杜担任中国国际金融公司、摩根斯坦利、美银美林、高盛和摩根大通等联席保荐人的法律顾问。

（图片来源：大公网）

Clifford Chance and Davis Polk deliver $8bn Hong Kong IPO for Postal Savings Bank

Clifford Chance， Davis Polk & Wardwell， King & Wood Mallesons and Chinese law firm Haiwen & Partners have advised on the year’s largest initial public offering (IPO) of $8bn for Postal Savings Bank of China launched today (14 September).

US firm Davis Polk advised state-owned Postal Savings Bank on the float on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with Haiwen acting as Chinese counsel on the deal.

Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance advised the underwriters China International Capital Corporation， Morgan Stanley， Bank of America Merrill Lynch， Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as joint sponsors on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange， while King & Wood Mallesons acted as Chinese counsel to the banks.

Clifford Chance‘s team was led by China co-managing partner Tim Wang with Hong Kong partners Amy Lo and Fang Liu， supported by Singapore-based Jean Thio.

The bank’s IPO is the largest share offering globally so far in 2016. The deal is the largest IPO since the record breaking offering on the New York Stock Exchange of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba， which raised more than $25bn as the largest such deal in history. (Legal Business)

6. 惠普以88亿美元将软件业务出售给Micro Focus，Travers Smith、凯易和富而德等担任法律顾问

惠普以88亿美元将旗下软件业务出售给英国科技公司Micro Focus，该交易主要是在特拉华州法律下进行架构设计。英国“银圈所”Travers Smith律师事务所和美国“白靴所”凯易国际律师事务所共同担任Micro Focus的法律顾问。Micro Focus是Travers Smith的长期客户，3月份时也聘用该所以5.4亿美元收购Serena Software公司。英国“魔法圈所”富而德律师事务所和美国新“白靴所”Wachtell， Lipton， Rosen & Katz律师事务所担任惠普的法律顾问。在去年底惠普拆分为惠普企业公司（Hewlett Packard Enterprise）和惠普公司（HP Inc）时，富而德就曾担任法律顾问。此外，亚司特律师事务所担任Micro Focus的牵头财务顾问摩根大通嘉诚公司的法律顾问。

The IT crowd： Travers， Kirkland and Freshfields line up as Micro Focus seals $8.8bn HP deal

Travers Smith and Kirkland & Ellis have teamed up to advise UK tech firm Micro Focus on its $8.8bn deal for Hewlett-Packard‘s software business.

Micro Focus returned to its longstanding adviser Travers Smith， which it used in March on its $540m acquisition of Serena Software， alongside Kirkland. The deal， which was primarily structured under Delaware law， saw Travers head of corporate Spencer Summerfield advise Micro Focus alongside corporate partner Jon Reddington on English law. Kirkland fielded a team led by New York corporate partners William Sorabella， David Feirstein and John Kupiec.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted alongside Wall Street leader Wachtell， Lipton， Rosen & Katz for HPE. Freshfields， which advised on the split of HP late last year into Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc， fielded a team under global M&A co-head Ben Spiers and London corporate partner Stephen Hewes. It is has been a busy summer for the pair， with Spiers and Hewes also advising Japan’s SoftBank on its ？24.3bn takeover of the UK‘s largest tech company Arm Holdings. Micro Focus took Arm’s place on the FTSE 100 as a consequence of that deal.

Ashurst， meanwhile， advised JP Morgan Cazenove， which is the lead financial adviser and sole sponsor to Micro Focus， fielding a team under corporate partner Dominic Ross. (Legal Business)

7.CVC Capital Partners以80亿美元（60亿英镑）向美国媒体巨头Liberty Media出售所持有的全部一级方程式赛车母公司Delta Topco的股权 

富而德与美国律所贝克博茨、威嘉等担任一级方程式赛车80亿美元出售交易的法律顾问。著名私募股权公司CVC Capital Partners以80亿美元（60亿英镑）向美国媒体巨头Liberty Media出售所持有的全部一级方程式赛车母公司Delta Topco的股权。该交易中，美国贝克博茨律师事务所、英国富而德律师事务所和美国威嘉律师事务所等担任法律顾问。其中，富而德担任CVC Capital Partners的法律顾问；威嘉担任在该赛车业务中也拥有利益的美国银行雷曼兄弟的法律顾问；贝克博茨则担任长期客户Liberty Media的法律顾问。

Freshfields joins US duo on $8bn Formula One sale

Baker Botts， Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Weil Gotshal & Manges have won top roles on the $8bn (£6bn) sale of Formula One.

Freshfields partners Charles Hayes and Valerie Ford Jacob advised the sellers CVC Capital Partners， which owns Formula One‘s parent company Delta Topco.

US bank Lehman Brothers also held a stake in the motorsports business and turned to Weil Gotshal & Manges partner Peter King for support.

Under the terms of the deal， US media giant Liberty Media will buy Formula One for $8bn by acquiring 100 per cent of the shares of Delta Topco.

The acquisitive Liberty Media sought counsel from longstanding adviser Baker Botts， who fielded a team led out of the US and London. (The Lawyer)

8. 总法律顾问的新风险前沿：调查发现近一半的合同包含人权条款

2000年的时候，全球约8万家跨国公司中只有不到100家公司在当时已知制定了缓释人权滥用风险的政策。自那以后，情况发生了巨大变化。随着2010年《加利福尼亚供应链透明度法案》、2011年《联合国指导原则》、2011年《OECD负责任企业和人权指南修订》、2015年英国《现代奴隶制法案》等规则的颁布实施，全球大公司中很多都面临至少某种形式的表现披露义务。根据Legal Business对275名总法律顾问和高级法律顾问的调查，46%的企业现在制定了人权政策，而对于年收入超过100亿美元的大公司，这一比例上升至84%。其他关键发现还包括：（1）尽管被普遍认为人权事务是公司和社会责任（CSR）团队的事情，调查显示法律团队是最有可能被分配负责该事务的归口职能部门。（2）商业合同中的人权问题越来越值得公司法务关注，几乎46%的调查反馈者表示在商业合同中遇到过详细的人权条款。（3）强制性报告的法律和商业合同要求法律团队更加详细地审查供应链。正如雀巢的首席法务官Ricardo Cortés-Monroy所说，“供应链现在是总法律顾问和企业业务的基本交叉点”。

The new risk front for GCs - nearly half of contracts have human rights clauses， LB research finds

When John Ruggie began his mandate as chief architect of the UN Global Compact in 2000， fewer than 100 of around 80，000 multinational corporations in the world were known to have policies in place to mitigate against human rights abuses.

Since that time， the situation has changed dramatically. With the 2010 California Transparency in Supply Chains Act， the 2011 UN Guiding Principles， the 2011 modifications to the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business and Human Rights， and the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act， a significant fraction of the world’s largest companies are now facing at least some form of obligation to disclose their performance.

According to our survey of 275 GCs and senior counsel， the 46% of businesses now have a human rights policy in place. For companies in the $10bn+ revenue bracket， that figure rises to 84%.

Other key findings from the report include：

a. Legal is now the most likely of all business functions to be assigned responsibility for human rights issues. Although commonly seen as an issue for corporate and social responsibility (CSR) teams， our research shows that legal (29%) or compliance (27%) functions are far more likely to be assigned responsibility for human rights than CSR (19%) or social and environmental affairs (12%).

b. Commercial contracts are bringing human rights issues to in-house teams‘ attention. Just under half (46%) of respondents said they had encountered specific human rights clauses in commercial contracts.

c. Mandatory reporting laws and commercial contracts are leading legal teams to place greater scrutiny on supply chains. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed report they have made changed to the way they manage supply chains in response to human rights concerns. As Nestlé chief legal officer Ricardo Cortés-Monroy， quoted in the report， says： ’Supply chains are now the fundamental point of intersection between the GC and the business‘. (Legal Business)

9. 向上发展的总法律顾问注意拓展自身技能

根据为11月1日在伦敦举行的总法律顾问未来峰会而进行的调查，总法律顾问渴望参与到企业的其他领域。有一半的总法律顾问表示希望在公司的其他领域拓展专业知识，而每八名总法律顾问中有一名以进入董事会为最终目标。该调查还发现，有55%的总法律顾问关注就业市场，43%发现难以实现工作和生活的平衡，47%需要更多资源。

Upwardly mobile GCs look to expand their skills

General Counsel aspire to be involved in other areas of the business， according to research carried out for the GC Futures Summit 2016 on 1 November in London.

One in two said they wanted to widen their expertise across other areas of the company with the boardroom the ultimate goal for one in eight. The research also found that 55 per cent keep an eye on the jobs market， whilst 43 per cent find achieving work-life balance difficult and 47 per cent want more resources. One in three also find influencing upwards in their company difficult.

The event， which is chaired by Telstra GC Carmel Mulhern， looks at how general counsel can lead and innovate. Speakers include business leaders Noreen Doyle， chair of Credit Suisse International and first woman chair of the British Banking Association， Helen Mahy CBE， chair of The Renewables Infrastructure Group， non-executive director of SSE， SVG Capital and Bonheur ASA， and Liz Kelly， non-executive director of Saffron Building Society and company secretary， St James Place. (Global Legal Post)

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