On Tuesday, a bill that will increase fees for the biggest mergers was passed by the US Senate. Under the new bill, companies that plan the largest mergers will pay out more to government antitrust agencies, and in turn, these agencies will receive greater budgets. 

The bill was co-sponsored by Democrat and top antitrust senator, Amy Klobuchar and top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley. It aims to lower fees for smaller mergers under $161.5 million. At current, smaller mergers pay $45,000, but under the introduction of the new bill, the cost will reduce to $30,000. However, where a deal is worth $5 billion or above, the fees would increase substantially, from $280,000 to $2.25 million.

Mergers are assessed by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division to check that they observe antitrust law. The bill would amplify authorisations to each of these agencies. The Federal Trade Commission would receive a budget of $148 million, and the Antitrust Division would receive $252 million. The Federal Trade Commission would receive $389.8 million for the next fiscal year under the Biden administration. With the yearly budget currently sat at $351 million, the FTC would see an increase of approximately 11%. Under the Biden administration, the Antitrust Division would also see a significant budget increase of 8.6% 

The bill comes as part of a Senate package directed at boosting the US’ ability to compete with Chinese tech. It is hoped that the measures will improve the system for assessing mergers and bring an end to anti-competitive practices.

Google has agreed to amend its global advertising business in a bid to prevent an abuse of power. The move nods toward antitrust pressures for the first time in a substantial settlement with French authorities. It is hoped that the deal could help to stabilise the power dynamic within advertising in favour of publishers who held influence over the business before the internet boom.

The antitrust settlement was announced on Monday and saw Google fined €220 million. It is the first time a U.S tech giant has agreed to amend its advertising business, which sits behind a monumental proportion of its revenue. In 2020, Alphabet (fundamentally a holding company for Google) generated nearly $183 billion in revenue. A whopping 80% of this revenue came from Google's ads business. 

The French watchdog revealed that Google's ad management platform for significant publishers (Google Ad Manager) promoted Google's online ad marketplace (Google AdX) over others. AdX was reportedly provided with calculated data and given access to requests made by advertisers via Google's ad services. Successively, the data exchange between AdX with Ad Manager was far smoother than that with other advertising management platforms. Platforms such as these are vital for publishers to effectively manage and sell advertising space.

The terms of the settlement assert that Google must improve the way Ad Manager services work with rival ad spaces and servers. The watchdog has stated that a number of these changes will come into effect in the first quarter of 2022, while Google has additionally promised to make the use of its data and tools easier for publishers.

Eleanor Weaver, CEO at Luminance, shares her thoughts with Lawyer Monthly on the billable hour and how it may no longer be relevant to the modern legal profession.

Lawyers have often held a special fascination in the eyes of those outside of the profession. Law is viewed as an industry where sharp arguments and even sharper attire combine to provide high-stakes drama. But in real life, a career in law is known for its demanding culture as well as its perks.

The reality today is that bright-eyed, bushy-tailed young lawyers enter the practice of law with big dreams of cracking open cases or closing big deals, but are too often confined to monotonous, repetitive document review work. With corporate data only continuing to increase, these budding young lawyers are quickly met with long nights spent reading and analysing near-identical contracts with little time allocated to the creative and analytical work that they actually entered the profession for. Some firms expect their junior lawyers to bill at least 2,000 hours a year even without holiday, leading to lawyers feeling unmotivated and unsatisfied, as well as displaying signs of mental distress.

And with the onset of remote working, the danger of overworking has increased for some professionals, thanks to the extreme proximity we have to our work phones and laptops. Work no longer ends with the commute and lawyers obsess about 6-minute billable blocks in their bedroom rather than the boardroom.

These billable blocks feed into the billable hour, which was first developed as a means of keeping track of clients’ fees and monitoring annual billing targets. The billable hour also bred competitiveness – as lawyers worked determinedly against the clock to deliver stellar results. But there is a fine line between determination and burnout, and with the volume of documentation legal teams are expected to review only continuing to increase, major law firms are recognising that changes to their billing model could improve employee well-being, while also strengthening the lawyer-client relationship.

Work no longer ends with the commute and lawyers obsess about 6-minute billable blocks in their bedroom rather than the boardroom.

Just recently, Osborne Clarke announced a move towards subscription pricing models by 2025. Indeed, world-leading law firms like Slaughter and May and Linklaters are also experimenting with more flexible alternatives to pricing such as fixed fees, capped fees and success fees. These pricing models work to reflect the value of the solution provided to the client and their business, not on the hours spent. This is critical in a market where the pressure to do ‘more for less’ has never been so apparent, with clients demanding to know exactly how and where their cash is being spent.

But in order to really rethink time management, efficiency must be increased, and the adoption of technology is the key to the success here. With the explosion in enterprise data, advanced AI technology has emerged as a critical enabler for law firms of all sizes, helping to speed up and enhance laborious and repetitive tasks like mass-document review in an arbitration dispute, for instance. This means lawyers are able to focus less on the mundane and more on the fulfilling tasks such as consultancy work and legal analysis, putting to use the skills they honed during law school and most likely entered the profession for in the first place.

A high-volume M&A due diligence review arriving in the form of a request for proposal (RFP) document can illustrate a challenge with traditional time management. Trainees can be faced with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of documents for a single review. On top of this, increasing quantity and complexity of legal and regulatory change, a prime example being the disruption arising from Brexit, means that lawyers must constantly assess and mitigate associated risks for their clients. If these clients are paying for advice on the hour, then there’s pressure to deliver, but law firms can scrap this model of payment while also drastically reducing the time spent on review by utilising the right software. Whether you’re using a tool that helps with document collaboration and e-signatures, reviewing datasets to uncover key information embedded in contracts, or managing workflow, technology is proven to be the greatest friend to any junior lawyer.

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And beyond just improving employee wellbeing, a move to more flexible pricing models might soon be very necessary in order to remain competitive in an increasingly dynamic legal market, as Alternative Legal Service Providers or ‘ALSPS’ start to make their mark on the sector. PwC and Deloitte’s legal divisions now employ more lawyers than most law firms and 23% of large firms in the UK and US say they have lost business to the Big Four. These new players are creating a new legal service delivery model built around integrated technology platforms and delivered with value-based pricing. And it’s effects are certainly being felt - a recent survey by Thomson Reuters found that the ALSP market is now worth more than $10 billion.

In order to retain the best and brightest – the future partners and leaders – law firms need to ensure that they modernise to get the most out of their employees’ talents and meet the demands of their clients; the key to this is rethinking the rigid framework of the billable hour. By switching to outcome-based pricing while boosting digitalisation, law firms will no longer have to adopt a framework which unnecessarily constricts the way lawyers work.

Viessmann has acquired Dutch family-owned company Priva. The transaction combines Viessmann’s air conditioning, cooling and industrial solutions with the Dutch expertise in building automation as well as climate and process control at Priva. The partnership of the two family-owned companies is expected to strengthen their sustainability strategies.

Viessmann has acquired a minority shareholding in Priva to emphasize the long-term perspective of the partnership. This allows Priva to pursue its strategy, which focuses on technical innovation and international growth while maintaining its independence. Viessmann, in turn, can use its stake to rapidly develop its business in climate solutions for commercial buildings and explore opportunities in the horticulture sector.

Shibley Righton LLP acted as Canadian counsel to Viessmann in connection with its acquisition of a minority position in Priva Holding B.V.  The lead partner on the transaction was Marlin Horst with assistance from Joel Berkovitz in respect of intellectual property matters.

The SPHERE group is strengthening its position in the United Kingdom, thanks to the acquisition by its subsidiary ALFAPLAS of 100% of the shares of SARPAK Ltd, based in Port-Talbot, South Wales. SARPAK Ltd employs 53 people at its Port Talbot site, where it extrudes, converts and recycles PE and compostable films. It has a 2019 turnover of €12 million, and currently has a production capacity of around 7,000 tons.

Sphere were advised in the acquisition by the corporate team at Thompson Smith and Puxon (TSP), the Essex based law firm who have a long- standing association with Sphere.

The TSP team, led by corporate director and partner Mary Anne Fedeyko, was multi-disciplinary in focus and included company commercial lawyers Claire Powell, Nick Mayles and Nicola Rout, commercial property lawyer Mark Rowlands and employment solicitor, Sam Welham.

Mary Anne Fedeyko remarked: “The team here at TSP were, of course, delighted to advise on this acquisition which will undoubtedly prove the springboard for future growth given the obvious synergy between Alfaplas and SARPAK. Sphere has for many years been focused on reducing the environmental impact of the products it manufactures and sells; the acquisition means that Sphere is ideally positioned to develop further new and innovative products which, together with the economies of scale, marks the beginning of a new and exciting future’.’

Palladium Digital has assisted Endless in a deal to buy Findel Education from Studio Retail Group (SRG) for £30 million.

Findel Education, based in Hyde, supplies resources and equipment to schools in the UK and overseas. It has been trading since 1817 and has developed well-known brands including GLS, Hope, Philip Harris and Davies Sports.

The Endless-backed management buy-out has been led by the existing management team of Chris Mahady (CEO), Mark Whittaker (CFO) and Martin Jones (CIO). The team will be further bolstered by the appointment of Paul McClenaghan (CEO of Victoria Plum) as chairman following the acquisition. The group has also made a £2 million working capital facility available to Findel Education.

Led by Dan Shreeve, Palladium advised Endless on digital diligence. Endless was also advised by Walker Morris (Legals), Alantra (Corporate Finance) and KPMG (Tax). SRG was advised by a team from Squire Patton Boggs.

The Skeepers group, one of the main players specialising in collecting customer reviews, has now acquired MyFeelBack, a SaaS software startup that helps brands better understand consumer reviews.

MyFeelBack allows its users to collect, analyse and use customer data in real time and at all points of contact, whether in stores, on a website or through an application.

The acquisition of MyFeelBack was carried out with the support of private equity firm Providence Strategic Growth (PSG), a subsidiary of leading asset management firm Providence Equity Partners (Providence), and whose the work is mainly focused on development capital investments in SMEs specialising in software publishing and new technologies. PSG has been a partner of Skeepers since November 2019.

Skeepers has become a leader in customer experience and engagement. In February 2021, the group joined the Next 40, the label of the most promising tech companies in France. Also at the start of 2021, Skeepers continued its development with the acquisition of startup Horus, publisher of the Surprise application, which specialises in blockchain-based customer reward programmes.

Munich-based electric air taxi manufacturer Lilium is preparing to go public on the Nasdaq index. For this purpose, Lilium has agreed a merger with the US SPAC Qell Acquisition, the company announced. The company expects $830 million from the issue of shares and cash held in trust, or the equivalent of €707 million. The merged company will be worth $3.3 billion.

Total gross proceeds are expected to be $830 million, including $380 million held in trust and proceeds from a private placement of $450 million. Investors in the placement include fund manager Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts from BlackRock, Tencent, Ferrovial, LGT and their direct impact investing arm Lightrock, Palantir, FII Institute and Pimco-affiliated private funds. Some of the vehicles, such as Baillie Gifford and Tencent, are among Lilium’s existing investors.

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Ropes & Gray are serving as legal advisors to Lilium. Lightrock, Atomico and Baillie Gifford are receiving legal advice from Milbank, Latham & Watkins and CMS Hasche Sigle respectively. Qell has been advised by BLOMSTEIN, Neuland and Metis.

Stevenson, Wong & Co. AllBright Law Offices, and Sidley Austin LLP advised Hywin Holdings Ltd in its initial public offering as legal advisers.

Hywin Holdings commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Market in the US under the ticker symbol “HYW”. The Company issued 3 million American Depositary Shares at a price of $10 per ADS, raising $30 million in gross proceeds. The underwriters in the offering were Network 1 Financial Securities, Alexander Capital and Valuable Capital.

With a distribution team of over 1,700 relationship managers, the Company provides wealth management, insurance brokerage, asset management and other services in 84 cities across China. In terms of market share, it is the third largest third-party wealth management service provider in China in 2019.

The Stevenson, Wong & Co. legal team comprised of Hank Lo (Partner), Gordon Tsang (Senior Associate), Bun Chan (Associate), Alice Ma (Registered Foreign Lawyer) and Arthur Hung (Paralegal).

The AllBright legal team was led by Steve Zhu (Senior Partner) and included Frank Xu (Senior Partner), Joy Huang (Partner) and Associates Ken Lin and Elain Yu.

With the advice of the corporate team at Glaisyers Solicitors, UK Adviser has successfully secured a £300,000 investment to support its continued expansion. UK Adviser – a Manchester-based financial services provider - was established in 2017 and has since grown into a group of companies that have supported more than £750 million of client loans.

Julian Bond, Niki Polymeridou and the Glaisyers team helped to re-organise the group and provided support through lengthy negotiations, leading to this significant investment by GC Angels.

Julian Bond, Partner at Glaisyers Solicitors, said: “Getting this investment is a great start to UK Adviser’s expansion plans. This is an exciting time for the company. We look forward to seeing its future growth.”