The Firm Analyst

Welcome back to The Firm Analyst everyone! In this episode, we reviewed market reactions to one of the most significant events of this year: the US election. With the dollar rising in strength, the possibility of tariffs looming on the horizon and rate cuts in the US and the UK, there was lots to unpack this episode. Listen in to hear how this will impact global markets and the world of commercial...

Welcome back to the Firm Analyst! We have a range of stories to cover this week, including: the Labour government's autumn budget and what this means for SMEs, the PE industry and the economy at large; Zilch's use of a securitisation facility to fund its Buy Now Pay Later operations and why this funding technique remains popular in the financial markets; and what BlackRock's approach to HPS - an a...

Welcome back everyone! Today, we discussed the following topics in what was a more reflective episode: a new UK Export Finance programme aiming to grant finance to companies importing minerals into the UK for manufacturing amidst a global trade war for rare earth minerals; Shroders being the first asset manager to setup a Long Term Asset Fund in the UK. We also embarked on a whistle-stop tour of t...

Welcome back to The Firm Analyst! I'm very excited to be kicking off season 11 with a discussion on the following topics: firstly, we unpacked the Labour budget, looking specifically at how a change in tax law can impact several sectors and how law firms may be called on to assist their clients; for our second story, we looked at the Viadux phase 2 project in Manchester as a joint venture case stu...

Hi everyone! Welcome to the final episode of this season of The Firm Analyst. Today we discussed: the importance of being curious as well as reflective. I shared a recent personal story about how I was able to connect simple markings on an electricity meter to a learning point about a law firm's practice; using books to learn about the history and strategy of certain law firms. In particular, we m...

Welcome back to The Firm Analyst! In this episode we discussed: how REA Group's £6.2bn offer for Righmove could result in a hostile takeover of the company and how lawyers assist clients in such circumstances; why law firms seek to rebrand, while taking a closer look at how Freshfields, Foot Anstey, A&O Shearman and BDB Pitmans have considered branding more recently; and Standard Chartered's d...

Welcome back to The Firm Analyst! In today's episode we discussed a range of stories affecting the markets including: HSBC dealing with a number of defaults across its HongKong real estate loan portfolio and how finance lawyers mitigate risk for their clients in these scenarios; the importance of trade associations for different business sectors and why the formation of the Platforms Associati...

Welcome back to The Firm Analyst! In the first episode of Season 10, we dive into a range of key stories hitting the papers this week. (2:00) First off, we look at the CMA's provisional conclusion that the Vodafone x Three merger will result in a substantial lessening of competition and examine the legal impact that this will have on the deal; (16:15) we also discussed private wealth as a prac...

Hi everyone, after a brief hiatus due to exams and a city move, we are back with the final episode of The Firm Analyst this season! In this episode, we discussed unique tools that you can use to research law firms and the work that they do. This episode specifically focussed on how to find out what law firms are up to in the debt finance, M&A and PE spaces.

Welcome back to this week's episode of The Firm Analyst! In today's episode, we discussed the following: (2:05) the sharp stock sell off that occurred last week in the global equities markets as a result of fears of a US recession and the unwinding of several Japanese Yen carry trades; (17:30) how a range of law firms including Macfarlanes, Linklaters, Latham & Watkins and others advis...

Welcome back to this episode of The Firm Analyst! Today we discussed: (02:00) Elliot Management's letter to investors, which suggests that an economic bubble is forming around the artificial intelligence sector; (17:15) HSBC, Barclays and Shell announcing billions of pounds worth of buybacks after performing better than expected this quarter; and (32:30) the fiscal conundrum being faced by the...

Welcome back to The Firm Analyst! In today's episode, the first of season 9, we discussed: the recently elected Labour government's plans to create a multibillion pound national wealth fund to bankroll UK industry and infrastructure projects and what this means for the legal market; Revolut, with the help of Linklaters, emerging victorious in its uphill battle to obtain authorisation to op...

Hi everyone! It has been a very eventful few weeks and I am glad to be bringing this final episode of this season to you today where we discussed: how the FCA's proposed changes to the Main Market's listing regime will, according to some, revive the IPO market in the UK; Carpetright's decision to file a notice to appoint administrators as it slips into insolvency and how solicitors dea...

Hi network! I hope you enjoy this special edition of The Firm Analyst. We have seen a lot about Paul Weiss in the papers recently and many aspiring solicitors still trying to navigate the legal market might be wondering what the coverage is all about. This podcast serves as a brief introduction to recent events surrounding the firm's formal expansion into London through an English law offering...

Welcome back to this episode of The Firm Analyst! In this episode, we discussed: $20m partner pay packages and what they tell us about the direction the UK's commercial law sector is taking in terms of pay; how a deal drought in the City of London's £100m+ property market may affect real estate behemoths of the legal sector; and a 14% increase in deal volume in PE across the globe as centr...

I am super excited to be back with this new episode of The Firm Analyst and I hope that you are all ready to engage with some of the topics we will be discussing today. These include: the PRA ordering a review of Barclay's leveraged finance business and what the PRA's findings may mean for the market; a review how elections have impacted currency, debt and equity capital markets in the las...

Welcome back everyone to The Firm Analyst! I was really excited to release this episode, where we will be discussing how international law applies to restructuring & insolvency contexts. In particular, we looked at how the UK has become a popular restructuring hub and the topic of "forum shopping". We also take a brief look at Ch.11 proceedings in the US and EU insolvency proceedings...

Welcome back to The Firm Analyst! This is probably one of the most detailed podcasts I've done, so I hope you all enjoy it. We discussed the following topics: (2:33) the FCA releasing Finalised Guidance discussing financial promotions in the context of social media; (19:26) Santander's appointment of A&O and a range of firms to its legal panel, including a segment on how panels work; a...

Welcome back everyone to this episode of The Firm Analyst! In this episode, we discussed: Thames Water's financial struggles and its parent company's recent default on its debt; Why gold is a systemically important asset and why it was able to reach a new high last week; and The 'Great Maturity Wall' and how firms like Aston Martin likely avoided an existential debt crisis through...

In this episode, I tackled the following question as part of my submission for Slaughter and May's Innovation Competition: What are the cultural challenges with integrating generative AI into a law firm? What are the best ways for Slaughter and May to approach these challenges to maximise the successful integration of generative AI across the firm?

In this episode, we looked briefly at some of the main stories and deals happening this week, including Nationwide's bid for Virgin Money. Following this, we took a deep dive into the world of banking and finance by dissecting a standard facility agreement and looking at its terms. This is a great opportunity to see whether finance law is for you. I hope you enjoy this episode! Link to access...

This was a really analytical episode and I hope that you are as excited to listen as I am excited to publish this episode. We covered the following stories: Marks & Spencer, instructing Dentons, comes out victorious in a High Court appeal against a decision from the Secretary of State rejecting the retailer's planning application to redevelop a key store in Oxford Street. The Berkley Resea...

In this episode, we were graced with the presence of Aziz Deen: an Islamic finance and commercial property solicitor at Foot Anstey LLP. After recounting some of the main stories of the week, I spoke to Aziz about his journey, the lifecycle of a deal and how he uses commercial awareness on a daily basis. If you're pressed for time, feel free to skip to the 10-minute mark where the interview wi...

Welcome back everyone! It seems unreal saying it but we have successfully reached our sixth season of The Firm Analyst. Thank you so much for your support thus far. In this episode, we discussed: Currys PLC rejecting a takeover bid from activist hedge fund Elliot Investment Management and what this means for the company. The UK officially falling into a recession and how this will affect the prope...

Welcome everyone to this deep dive episode of The Firm Analyst! In this episode, alongside taking stock of major stories to do with Meta's earnings, Tesla shareholder disputes and central bank ambivalence on interest rates, we took a closer look at syndicated lending. As these are one of the most systemically important markets in the world, we decided to look at the history of syndicated loans...