Throughout its 15 years of operation Abreu Advogados has continually made legal headlines. But the firm’s emphasis on scale, management processes and structure, are indicative of the future of legal practice in Portugal, believes its managing partner Miquel Teixeira de Abreu
It is not possible to understand the issues driving the campaigns ahead of the forthcoming US presidential elections by adopting a ‘European’ view, says Antonio Garrigues Walker. Conversely, US voters need to understand the global significance of where the results may take them.
High profile investments by sovereign wealth funds has generated discussion and courted controversy, but also significantly raised hopes within the global investment community, says Peter Martyr, Chief Executive of Norton Rose.
Lawyers prepare for changing demands while also looking to the future
In a period in which many law firm practices may be suffering as a result of the difficulties affecting the Iberian, and wider European, economies, Iberian Lawyer’s 2008 IP Communications and Life Sciences Report reveals that the region’s specialist lawyers report a commercial and legal environment that is in many ways busier than ever.
The expansion of Iberian businesses around the world is now more than a business trend, it is business reality, and one that continues to present new and unique challenges for Iberian lawyers.
The poor economic climate means that law firms must get even closer to their clients, and to demonstrate that they can add value on inbound and outbound business, says João Vieira de Almeida of Vieira de Almeida & Asociados.
When a client has a very significant EU law problem a firm’s local Brussels presence, and direct connection to the regulatory decision-makers, can make a huge difference to the outcome, says Marcos Araujo, head of competition at Garrigues.
With the current value of the dollar the perception may be that the US is for sale, but what we are increasingly seeing are very strategic acquisitions by foreign investors, says Kendal Tyre, transactional partner at Nixon Peabody in Washington DC.
The recent Year of Spain in China has been significant for its impact on the country’s top officials and business leaders but even so, much of China remains to be discovered, say Josep Herrero and José Luis Ruiz Galán of Roca Junyent.
