Paul Gilbert argues that AI has become a marketing gimmick that
obscures the shortcomings of legal teams.
The words ‘artificial intelligence’ bother me. I want to have a little rant about the words, but I also want to challenge the way in-house lawyers approach technology. On the words, I can legitimately stand accused of using ignorance as a shield for my laziness, but what bothers me is not that artificial intelligence isn’t clever and potentially useful, but that it sounds like the marketing kids have got hold of the dressing up box again. Continue reading “Artificial bad, intelligence good”
I’ve been lucky. I didn’t always want to be a lawyer. I used to party a lot; I liked going out. I always have done. In my twenties my girlfriend suggested I do something with my life instead of faffing around. She binned me.
‘It was ambition that made me decide to leave Barclays,’ declares self-confessed deal junkie Michael Shaw, who resigned from his role as the bank’s deputy general counsel in the summer of 2015. Shaw was eager to pursue a weightier leadership role after six years serving as the ‘apprentice’. Bob Hoyt had succeeded Mark Harding as group GC in 2013 and ‘the only other sensible alternative’ of interest to Shaw was head of legal for investment banking. Pipped to the post by former Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Mark Shelton, an obvious choice as that division serves as Barclays’ crown jewel in the US, Shaw’s ambitions turned elsewhere.
It is a sporting truism that it is far harder to be axed from the England football squad than it is to be included in the first place. Unfortunately, a similar tendency is apparent with risk factors in public listings of securitisation transactions. While this is true across a range of issues, it is particularly true with risk factors relating to geopolitical events and concerns. Of course, the travails of the financial markets since 2008, the unique nature of the Scottish independence referendum and the shock of the Brexit vote have given much to consider in this respect.
K collateralised loan obligation (CLO) managers have adapted their risk retention structures in response to the EU referendum vote, effectively ‘Brexit-proofing’ their structures in the event of a full Brexit where UK firms do not continue to enjoy financial passporting rights into the EU.
The UK has long prized its reputation as an attractive place to do business. Successive governments of all persuasions have consistently taken measures to make sure the UK has the most competitive corporate tax regime across the G20. With its low headline corporate tax rate and generous rules on deductibility of interest compared to other G20 partners, the UK has been ideally positioned as a place for businesses to invest and thrive.