Legal 500 report highlights continuing reliance on London
Despite the strength of the West Midlands legal sector, the more significant corporate transactions “continue to be led from London”, the Legal 500 has said in its annual review.
However it was more optimistic about the overall economic health of the region. The Legal 500 said that the EU referendum result had “perhaps surprisingly, left the West Midlands in a state of quiet confidence”, pointing to the lack of side effects on – so far – on the automotive sector.
It added: “For law firms, the Brexit vote inevitably led to an influx of queries from businesses agitated over the implications of future commercial dealings with Europe. Aside from an increase in advice on cross-border commercial contracts, legal advice was also in demand in areas such a banking litigation – where one claim related to an investment fund manager’s failure to process instructions correctly in respect of foreign currency hedging at the time of the Brexit vote – employment law and corporate matters.
“Many observers noted an increase in inbound investment to the UK (as a result of the drop in the value of Sterling), with Chinese investment increasingly catching US-led M&A; in one major international deal, a Chinese investment group headed by Guochuan Lai purchased West Bromwich Albion Holdings.
“Outside of Brexit, local domestic companies were also on the acquisition trail, with many corporate teams enjoying an
uptick in M&A instructions in sectors such healthcare and accountancy.”
In the regional sector rankings, Browne Jacobson moved up in three areas – corporate tax, banking and finance, and health and safety – as did Mills & Reeve, which improved its positions in corporate tax, banking and finance, and family.
The report’s rankings were less kind on Gowling WLG, which dropped in four categories and improved in two, and DAC Beachcroft, which fell in three and rose in one.
