Expert Analysis

• How FCA Proposal Would Change IPO Research Rules

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals for the governance of information flows in equity initial public offerings represent a recalibration rather than a wholesale deregulation of the current framework by maintaining that connected research be grounded in approved disclosure, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Nonequity Partner Tier Presents Lawyers With Pros And Cons

  

  While the nonequity partner model may offer law firms' management flexibility and be a genuine stepping stone for lawyers in some organizations, at others the tier functions more as an extended holding pattern whose uncertainty can cause frustration for ambitious lawyers, say Filippo Falchi and Portia White at Major Lindsey.

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  Practice Leader Insights From Covington's David Berman

  

  David Berman, Covington's head of EMEA financial services, discusses how he perceived a gap in the market for practical financial regulatory advice, the challenges of advising Egypt on its new banking law, and how firms that neglect artificial intelligence governance do so at their peril.

• EU Foreign Subsidies Report Offers Chance To Take Stock

  

  The European Union’s forthcoming review of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, revealing reassuringly low intervention rates but a burdensome prenotification process, offers the European Commission a timely opportunity to address genuine distortions and be more proportionate in its demands on market participants, say lawyers at Dechert.

• EU Directive Recalibrates States' Anti-Corruption Landscape

  

  The European Union's recently adopted anti-corruption directive does not transform compliance requirements overnight, but it will establish a minimum harmonization framework addressing substantive offenses, corporate liability and sanction levels across member states once national legislation is in place, say Katharina Humphrey, Karla Böltz and Maximilian Schach at Gibson Dunn.

• Easing Of UK Stablecoin Rules Will Encourage Crypto Growth

  

  The Bank of England’s recent decision to relax parts of its proposed framework for sterling-backed stablecoins balances innovation with financial stability, and will help the U.K. remain competitive with crypto markets across the globe, says Thomas Cattee at Gherson.

• New FDI Regs Signal Major Changes For M&A Deals In EU

  

  The European Parliament’s recent adoption of the new foreign direct investment regulation represents a major shift from the European Union's current regime, replacing a voluntary fragmented system with a mandatory baseline for screening and introducing procedural requirements that will bring greater consistency across member states, say lawyers at Covington.

• EU Fund Manager Reforms May Deepen Divide With UK Regs

  

  Although the European Union is progressing with newly implemented regulations for alternative investment fund managers, the U.K. is leveraging post-Brexit flexibility to review its regulatory framework, marking a potential divergence between the two regimes, say lawyers at Skadden.

• FCA-Approved Firms Get Liability Clarity On Appointed Reps

  

  The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Kession Capital v. KVB Consultants, turning on the construction of Section 39 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, sets an important precedent in elucidating a Financial Conduct Authority-authorized person's responsibility for its appointed representative's activities, say lawyers at Signature Litigation.

• Private Lender Verification Lessons From Recent Fraud Cases

  

  Recent fraud allegations involving private credit borrowers raise compliance red flags for lenders, who must recognize that financial and collateral verification is an essential safeguard as failures in underwriting and monitoring infect the broader market, say Michael Bresnick at Venable and Brian Mich at Control Risks Group.

• Internal Investigation Strategy After Glencore Privilege Ruling

  

  The recent High Court ruling in Aabar Holdings v. Glencore PLC confirms that legal privilege can extend to intraclient communications, materially improving the position of companies that design investigations carefully, define legal channels properly and maintain discipline in their internal communications, says Nicolas Groffman at Harligan.

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  Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

• Reflecting On The UK Senior Managers Regime 10 Years On

  

  While the ongoing changes to the senior managers and certification regime to streamline processes and remove certain restrictions are welcome, the scheme has worked well overall since its 2016 inauguration, and firms’ compliance and risk management-thinking have shown a marked improvement, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.

• Auditors Face Liability Risk In Longer Going Concern Reviews

  

  A recent Institute of Chartered Accountants' article highlights a growing trend of requests to extend going concern assessment periods to 15 months or more, potentially leading to auditors assuming a duty of care to third parties, say lawyers at RPC.

• How Revised EU Rules Would Alter Sustainability Reporting

  

  Two draft delegated regulations recently published by the European Commission give effect to the Omnibus I simplification, highlighting a consistent policy direction: fewer companies in scope, later and lighter obligations, and explicit protections for smaller value chain counterparties, say lawyers at MoFo.