Money and debts can cause business owners running for the hills. No-one likes or aims to fall into financial difficulty, and so we do our best to avoid it. Speaking with Robert Festenstein, we discuss refinancing options for businesses, alongside the best routes when insolvency is getting too close for comfort.

Many businesses experience financial difficulties when trading; is insolvency an inevitable consequence or are there other options available that can keep the business going?

Insolvency does not necessarily have to be the inevitable consequence for a business experiencing difficulty. When a business hits a series of financial difficulties it is often not the best course of action to go straight to an insolvency practitioner, but to a specialist insolvency lawyer instead. It is often more effective for a lawyer to follow–up on, for example, the chasing of aged debts which might be the primary reason the business got into difficulty in the first place. Also, in cases where cash flow is the problem, perhaps caused through business inefficiency, there are a number of options available that can keep the business trading.

It has to be kept in mind that financial difficulties do not necessarily mean insolvency. Using the legal route means you can often make credible arrangements with creditors such as HMRC and landlords to enable the business to keep trading.

Cash flow is often named as a key factor for businesses struggling to stay afloat. What are the refinancing options available to businesses in order to ease cash flow problems, assuming the cash flow problem is temporary?

Factoring services and invoice discounting can be useful but can be expensive if not managed correctly. And if you have a history of clients who don’t pay on time or who always have to be chased for payment, money can be clawed back from you in the event of clients deciding not to pay your agents.

Can you outline the options available for formal insolvency proceedings?

In essence there are three options. Firstly, there’s voluntary liquidation, which is the last resort where the business is, in essence, unrecoverable. All funds and assets, existing and due, go to the liquidator and is divided out between the creditors. The implications of this are the future difficulties faced by directors if there are disqualifications, as well as professional body disqualifications. Administration is a more viable option for a business that is otherwise acceptable, but perhaps has one major creditor causing financial instability. The company goes into administration and is sold – “pre-packed” – at a fixed fee. This can work well in order to preserve a business and jobs, but at times has been known to be abused by the insolvency professional with excuses given such as: “we obtained the best price at the time”, and “there were commercial sensitivities surrounding the sale”.

Finally, the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is the third option whereby creditors are approached with an offer of payment of sums owed over time to settle due bills. This allows the company to continue trading while in a formal agreement to pay off its creditors. I’m not too sure of the success rate of CVA’s, but I am aware it is a far better resolution than just writing off a business and the potential livelihood of its owners.

This is why people should always see an insolvency lawyer first! We have saved businesses that would have otherwise been written off.

Which sectors experience more than their fair share of insolvency proceedings in the UK? Why do you think this is?

It may seem obvious, but sector insolvency is very much at the behest of the prevailing circumstances! Market forces and changing technology have such an impact on business nowadays. Travel and estate agents have, for example, been affected by the proliferation of internet comparison sites; the licenced trade has been affected by hardened drink-driving attitudes and avaricious pubco landlords. Even the legal profession is not immune, with rising costs and decreasing fees, and I see there being a case for some lawyers to actually bite the bullet, so to speak, and take legal advice themselves from fellow lawyers, such as ourselves, as experts in dealing with financial difficulty so as to avoid the inevitable.

No profession is immune! To this end, as a practice, we provide not only insolvency services but also commercial advice based on restructuring, downsizing or new business options that we identify as being most suitable for the business.

Do you see any need for legislative change regarding insolvency?

The problem is that legislative change at one end tends to cause different problems at the other end! Currently, for example, the procedure for challenging insolvency practitioner fees is far too complex. Making it easier, in my view, could introduce a host of disproportionate other challenges being made available that would cause nothing but turmoil.

You founded RHF Solicitors in 2001 – what were the goals that you arrived with when founding the company? 16 years later, do you feel like you’ve achieved them?

I wanted to be my own boss, run my own business and be in control of my own destiny. The challenges were perhaps greater than I anticipated, but 16 years later I’m still in business, which speaks volumes!

White collar crime can have dire effects on the economy and its nationwide progress; we speak with Mr Rashid Al Saad on how economic crime can affect more than just the victims, as well as the developments in Qatar that have been set out to stomp down on cyber related crime. With payment methods changing due to technological advancements, Rashid speaks on how they are tackling white collar crime and terrorism funding.

There is no doubt that the tremendous development in the course of life and its demands, the massive revolution in communication technology and the economic, cultural and social openness have led to the emergence of a new type of crimes that were not known in the 20th century: white collar crimes (economic crimes).

Economic crimes, in general, are those affecting the economic policy of the country, breaching its economic system, economic objectives and policies, as well as the social interests of the community itself. From the legal perspective, some people define economic-based crime to be an act of abstention from pursuing an action that will result in harm to the economic policy or the economic security of the country, committed by a person eligible for taking the criminal responsibility; such an act is prohibited by law and for which the law has prescribed a penalty or precautionary measures.

Economic crimes differ from ordinary financial misconduct, as economic crimes are initially directed towards the economic policy of the state and cause harm to its financial interests, whereas financial crimes have an impact on the victim, such as stealing money from individuals, so neither does it achieve economic progress and growth for himself, or for the benefit of the national economy.

Economic crimes are numerous, varied and different from one society to another based on its economic system and its cultural development. Such types of economic crimes develop in line with the rapid development which the world has been going through. However, the most dangerous types of economic crimes are those which affect the safety and security of countries and threaten the economic credit, such as: forging bank checks, foreign and local currency, credit cards, money laundering, cyber-crimes and terrorism funding crimes. These types of crimes are considered the most dangerous and heinous in its negative impact and the tremendous harm they cause to the public interest, state economies and all members of the entire society.

Economic crimes have recently increased and their rates have risen worldwide as a result of the international economy’s free money transfer and the free transfer of funds, goods, commodities, workers and employers without custom, political, or administrative restrictions. At the local level, the rates of economic crimes in Qatar have recently increased due to economic, social and cultural openness that Doha has witnessed over the past few years.

Due to the high rates of economic crimes at the local level, the State has played an important role in fighting economic crimes, by taking several preventive measures and mechanisms and enacting legislations that would prevent such types of crimes.

The State has also convened many conferences and awareness seminars for the sake of fighting economic crimes. Such conferences and seminars aim to spread awareness among the individuals of the society with regard to the type of economic crimes, their development, methods of perpetration, and means of confronting and fighting such crimes.

The State have sought to fight and limit economic crimes by enacting a number of laws targeting a number of unlawful actions which have increased and have had dangerous impact on the Qatari society. The Qatari legislator enacted law No. (28/2002) in respect of fighting money laundering, which accurately defines the concept of this crime and the obligations of the financial institutions. This law has set up the deterrent penalties which may reach up to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of no less than fifty thousand Riyals, as well as enacting the anti-terrorism law No. (3/2004). The legislator also amended the provisions of law No. (28/2002) by adding the crime of funding terrorism to the list of crimes set out in the law. The legislator also enacted law No. (14/2014) in relation to fighting cyber-crimes. The penal code also prescribed in the articles from 370 to 387 a number of penalties aiming to combat computer crimes.

On the path of fighting economic crimes, the State established the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Committee.  The State also established an independent department for criminal investigations with regard to economic crimes.

In addition to this, the State has taken the necessary precautionary and preventive measures, established mechanisms and enacted legislations for the sake of combating economic crimes. Based on the increasing rates and rapid development of these misconducts, from our own part, we believe that it is necessary to establish courts to be competent in tackling economic crimes, in order to expedite making decisions and rulings on such crimes and to devote the expertise for such types of cases. This would generally contribute to maintaining appropriate environment for economic development and encourage investment.

The government has the power to appropriate your property but do not often understand the vast effect this can have on businesses. Eminent domain lawyers are there to ensure you are receiving full compensation for the property being taken. This month we speak with Prineet Sharma, who has been awarded Lawyer of the Year for his work as an eminent domain lawyer.

Besides unjust compensation, are there any other reasons why businesses should seek legal advice and help when the government wishes to appropriate their private property?

The government’s obligation is to be stewards of the public tax dollars in determining the amount of compensation to pay for an eminent domain taking. Our obligation to our clients is to maximize the compensation for the owner impacted by the taking. Many times, takings can dramatically impact the viability of a business. When we are engaged in the process early, we can assist our property owner to best position themselves for maximizing compensation. In Florida, the government is required by law to pay our attorney fees based on a percentage of the increase we achieve for the owner. The owner does not have to pay out of pocket for our legal fees nor does it come out of their eminent domain award. Since there is no cost incurred by the owner, owners should retain eminent domain counsel in every case to make sure they do not give up property without being fairly compensated.

What are the first steps you take when faced with such a case?

We meet with our client and get an understanding of what is important to them, what concerns them and their ultimate objective. We then develop a strategy particular to that client and proactively execute until all three areas are addressed.

How do you determine what is fair compensation and what is not?

Fair Compensation, or Full Compensation, is the amount of compensation an owner should be paid to be made whole, as if the taking never occurred. Many times, the government undervalues the real impact to the owner and it is our job to make sure that does not happen.

Are there any factors business and property owners tend to dismiss, thus resulting in unfair action taken by the party wishing to retain their property?

A lot of times, owners are not familiar with the process, what is legally compensable and the government’s obligations. Thus, sometimes owners provide information to the Government that is used to justify offering less compensation. The government is not looking out for the owner, they are looking to complete the project quickly and for as little as possible. We level the playing field.

How common are such cases in Florida and how heated can disputes get? How do you deal with this?

As a growing state, Florida has billions of dollars dedicated to public improvement projects. Private property is often required for these projects.  Eminent domain is one of the only areas where the owner has done nothing wrong but can be sued. Our goal is to reach agreement, but unfortunately sometimes the only way to get the required result, is to go to trial.

Do you think anything could be done in order to improve the laws that are in place, for your clients? The eminent domain laws in the State of Florida are very favorable to property owners.  They provide that the government has to pay for any attorney or experts that the property owner hires to defend their case.  As such, an owner should avail themselves of these laws and hire counsel immediately. It costs the owner nothing and they can be assured someone is looking out for their interests.

You have been highly commended for your practice in eminent domain, including being awarded as Lawyer of the Year.  What qualities do you think makes the best eminent lawyer?

Having commitment, empathy, conviction, persuasiveness and being goal driven.

We’ve had Sony, Talk Talk, Tesco Bank and the Democratic Party.  Now, David Beckham is the latest individual to have his emails hacked with embarrassing revelations being made about his communications with advisers expressing his disappointment at being passed over for a knighthood in, seemingly, quite forceful terms. 

 So what does this tell us? Well, firstly, that the risk of being hacked exists for celebrities every bit as much as it does for business. Potentially there will be scores of other celebrities and high-profile public figures who could be vulnerable to this kind of attack.

Liam McMonagle, Intellectual property Solicitor and Partner at Thorntons provides insight into the news of David Beckham being blackmailed over emails.

It was not Beckham personally who was hacked, but his advisers.  Lawyers, agents, managers and other representatives, the list is endless. Potentially anyone who has shared correspondence with that individual will be vulnerable. They will all need to ensure their systems are as secure as possible and that everyone in their organisations is aware of the scrutiny and security they face.  It is unlikely, of course, that those working with Beckham would have been unaware of this already but we may now see high-profile figures insisting on the highest standards of security before going into a relationship.

In many ways, it’s surprising that this doesn’t happen more often.  Most modern celebrities don’t live completely private lives.  They are surrounded by agents, managers, advisers, close and more distant relatives, personal assistants, sponsors and others.  Plenty people in these circles appreciate that their proximity to fame and money comes with a need for complete discretion.  But they have never been completely impregnable.  We’ve had indiscreet royal butlers, personal assistants burning through the credit cards of their celebrity employers, embarrassing courtroom evidence as well as almost constant anonymous gossip and rumour with varying degrees of authenticity recounting how the rich and famous behave when their guard is dropped.

Hacking is a more dangerous, example of this because it seems increasingly difficult to prevent.  Just ask Hillary Clinton.  There are various elements of the Beckham hack which might well be concerning to many high profile or wealthy individuals.

Firstly, that the hackers were able to infiltrate confidential communications between David Beckham personally and his advisers and then use these to attempt blackmail.  Pay up or we’ll embarrass you.  Wisely, his advisers didn’t give in to this.  That decision may have been made easier by the fact the information gleaned seems to be embarrassing, rather than create any serious legal problems but it’s difficult to see how giving in to demands like that could ever be the correct approach.

Secondly, privacy law is proving of limited value in preventing information getting out there.  This is the latest example of the limits of using injunctions to suppress information because the injunction obtained in the UK preventing publication of the story was rendered pointless very quickly.  The big problems in using injunctions are that the UK courts can only control what happens here in the UK.  Indeed, the English courts don’t even control what can be published in Scotland – as Beckham could have found out from his former team mate, Ryan Giggs.  And while hacking is illegal, it is increasingly difficult to prevent given that hackers can be based almost anywhere in the world, might well be protected by certain foreign governments and have a skillset that helps them avoid detection.

Thirdly, this can have a cost.  There is no suggestion that anything Beckham has done is unlawful.  However, Beckham is a bankable ambassador for brands, products and charitable causes because of his good image, and because people like him.  Anything which diminishes his standing or reputation, could affect this.  According to Beckham’s advisers, the hacked correspondence has been doctored and edited to add swear words and generally make it more embarrassing.

Maybe one consequence of this will be a ditching of technology altogether for some of the most sensitive conversations or discussions which will happen face to face although this is unlikely to be possible all the time.

The biggest risk might be that if, as time passes, this incident is seen to have affected “Brand Beckham” in a serious way, it motivates other hackers to do the same.

What further complications are at hand when hackers are based in a different country to their victim?

The problem is that, even if you can find out how a hack occurred and who was behind it, it isn’t always easy to do anything about it.  Obtaining redress depends on three main things: the laws of the country in which they are based; the willingness of the authorities there to enforce them, and the UK’s relationship with that country in terms of whether any joined-up cross-border enforcement is possible.

Working through this can take time and in many cases is simply fruitless and, by the time this has happened, the harm to the victim has occurred and is largely irreversible.  Once information is widely known and no longer secret, it can’t be hidden again.

Do you think legislation needs to be tighter for hackers, in order to gain better justice?

Almost all types of hacking are currently illegal: changes in the law would not necessarily make hacking easier to prevent though there might be some changes which could make detection and prosecution of hackers a bit more practical or require others involved in the handling and distribution of information to take more exacting steps to prevent it – though this would be difficult to do.

Even then, changes in the law will only apply to what happens in the UK without carefully brokered international co-operation, which in the current climate would be challenging, putting it mildly.

On a larger scale, do you think the digital economy bill could help prevent such cases?

No, I don’t think it will change things very much.  Actually to the extent the digital economy bill enables greater information-sharing between public authorities which can include personal information.

It could, if anything, increase the risk of hacking or misuse of information despite the various safeguards which may be applied.

What do you think is the most effective way to protect brand names post-hacking?

David Beckham’s experience is evidence that brands need to think about this.  If there is a difference between how a brand or person wishes to be perceived and how they actually behave or operate, and evidence of that accumulates, then we know it is the sort of material hackers are interested in. Politicians learned that years ago.

This risk could well be overstated, though, where the information is just embarrassing: most people are fair-minded enough to realise that there is a difference between the public and private sphere.

We speak with Claire Reid from Slater and Gordon who is an attentive, yet assertive family lawyer. She reveals how businesses and assets can affect the divorce process, tips on being the best family lawyer and the importance of ensuring the children in divorce proceedings aren’t left behind.

How have you seen legislation changing throughout the year in family law? Can you note a legislation development/change that really altered the way in which you practiced law?

Changes in family law legislation are generally infrequent, due to the lack of political appetite for reform.  However, developments through case law are more common, as judges are asked to interpret the legislative provisions.

During 2016, the impact of the Supreme Court decision in Sharland & Gohil handed down in October 2015 has been felt.  The court clarified the law and procedure on the issue of non-disclosure in financial proceedings on divorce.  As a result, there has been an increased focus by the family courts and practitioners on the need for clear, full and frank financial disclosure when addressing financial matters, even where these are resolved by agreement. The decision has also led to a number of settlements being revisited, based upon an allegation of non-disclosure.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm for changes in family law legislation, during 2016, there was renewed interest in no-fault divorce. Currently, the law requires anyone applying for a divorce in England and Wales to prove one of five facts. Three of those facts are based on their spouse’s fault: adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion for two years; the other two do not require fault, but they do mean that the petitioner must wait until they have been separated at least two years before applying for divorce. These requirements have long been considered unsatisfactory by many practitioners and judges.  Proposed new legislation providing for no-fault divorce was introduced to parliament in October 2015. However, progress of that bill ended with the 2015-2016 session of Parliament. Responses to the recent Court of Appeal case of Tina Owens asking the court to overturn a family judge’s refusal to grant her an “unreasonable behaviour” divorce, demonstrate the lack of support for the current law.

What alternative aspects must you consider when dealing with clients that are business owners undergoing divorce?

Business assets will be considered part of the relevant assets of the relationship. However, an interest in a business must be treated differently.  Solicitors can err in treating it as an asset to be valued by an accountant, and that value then added into the balance sheet along with the other assets. This is frequently too simplistic and ignores the risk laden nature of a business compared with a copper-bottomed asset, such as a property or monies in a bank. Liquidity can also mean that no matter what value is attributed to a business, such value cannot be extracted; or there are significant financial consequences arising from extraction.  The future value of a business and income to be generated from it can also mean that securing a clean break is especially important when acting for a business owner.

What further progress would you like to see family law make when regarding children? How would you incorporate this into the way you practice law for your firm?

Children should be put first in any legal dispute arising from the breakdown of a relationship. To achieve this, their voices must be heard. A requirement for children in family law proceedings to always be separately represented would be a significant improvement in the current process, when children’s voices can get lost in the frequently polarised positions of their parents.  The best way to involve children in the process is through using alternatives to court, such as mediation.  A number of family mediators are already able to involve children in the mediation process.

How do you overcome the difficulty of representing children and maintaining the best outcome for them, whilst adhering to the legal requirements? How do you balance personal emotions with a professional stance?

It is challenging at times to balance personal emotions with a professional stance. As a family solicitor, we act for our clients during an extremely difficult time for them and their children.  It is important to show understanding and recognise how they might be feeling.  However, clients expect us to guide them through the process and to strip away the emotion.

The law is child-focused.  Thinking about the best interests of the children will therefore ensure a fair outcome and adhere to the legal requirements.

How difficult can disputes get when involving financial ties as well as relationship ties with children? How do you go about resolving this?

Inevitably, people going through the divorce process will frequently link the resolution of financial matters with arrangements for children. It is my job to ensure that financial matters are kept separate.  At times this can require difficult conversations, encouraging your client to stand back and focus on what is genuinely best for their children.

What advice would you give future lawyers who want to progress in family law?

A good family lawyer requires many skills. They need to be a good listener; able to understand (sometimes complex) finances; to come up with practical solutions; provide tailor-made advice specific to each client; be a counsellor to clients in distress, and to focus on achieving a settlement in a proportionate and cost-effective manner. It is not a career to be embarked upon lightly.

Irina Fast has dealt with several personal injury cases and has more than 20 years of experience in personal injury in the Russian legal market, particularly in the fields of railroad accidents, social security disability, military accidents, accidents and injury at work, industrial disasters, and medical malpractice. She tells LM all about Russian legislation towards personal injury, especially in regards to the workplace, and where improvements could be made.

 What are the challenges of dealing with complex medical conditions? Given the complex nature of injury cases and the fact that they require careful consideration, how do you ensure that the full extent of the injury is understood?

The most difficult thing is to prove is the cause-and-effect relationship between act or omission by a health care provider and prove it caused harm, injury, or death to a patient. Defining medical errors is an overriding priority of expert institution, costs a lot of money, and results are in the balance. In arriving at cause-and-effect relationships, rights of harmed individuals are well-defined in a fundamental Piece of Legislation: Civil Codes of the Russian Federation. It is also up to the expert institution to define type of rehabilitation and medical care required. The court enforces the material consideration of expenditures incurred.

How common are clinical negligence cases in Russia? What rights do patients have if they believe that their injury has been initially overlooked by their Doctor or the healthcare professional?

The main issue is that there is no reliable and objective statistics on medical errors in Russia, but our experience indicates that there is substance behind about half of claims against the quality of the medical care provided. If a patient believes their injury as well as diagnosis or treatment has been initially overlooked by their doctor or the healthcare professional, he can appeal to the law enforcement agencies, require for initiation of criminal proceedings or in civil proceedings, with a claim to recover compensation. An injured person is entitled to compensation for lost wages, compensation for moral harm, re-education, as well as treatment and rehabilitation. There are generally no other ways to restore the violated rights of the patient, but by filing in court. Providers of medical care only in rare cases initiate the mediation procedure.

What are the challenges of proving liability for cases that happen in the work place?

Harm caused to an employee shall be compensated by the Russian Social Security Public Fund and the employer compensates moral harm. Poor legal literacy work of injured individuals is the main issue in cases when the classification of an illness or injury as occupational is rejected. Harmed individuals implicitly trust authorities and they, as the most vulnerable society members, usually avoid fighting for their rights. Labour union organisations serve the employer rather than employees and show very little concern about violated rights of individuals. A subsequent issue for those harmed individuals is in the underestimation in the degree of loss in occupational capacity by the responsible institutions; due to both unclear criteria and the unofficial agreement to either allocate minimal degree of loss of occupational capacity, or to completely reject the right for compensation. In nearly 30% of cases, individuals injured at work are awarded by the Social Security Public Fond with significantly lower amount of compensation than provided for by legislation. The main reason for that is the displacement of legal practices for protecting disabled vulnerable individuals by the Courts, instead of prioritising state budget and the interest of powerful organisations. This situation is influenced by ongoing political developments as well as economical phenomena. There is no problem in finding a legal background for justification of amenability in practice on the matter at hand, if principle of equality of arms was observed.

What are the timescales involved in making a compensation claim regarding serious industrial diseases – considering that the symptoms of some of these types of diseases could take years to become apparent?

For those matters, there is no time limitation. If the employee was exposed to a harmful work environment he has a right for compensation, no matter how many years it took for the symptoms of his industrial disease to appear. It should, however, be noted that payment for previous years will only cover last 3 years before the date of application.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

There are no prescribed standards for the extent of moral harm compensation in Russian legislation; it is only based on the compliance with plea of reasonableness and justice. Consequently, nothing but paltry compensatory amounts are being enforced. For instance, average extent of moral harm compensation is about 150 000 roubles to date, which is equivalent of $2500. Over last years it has come about the situation that paying paltry amount of compensation is more worthwhile than investing heavily in the safety of human life and health. Over several years, our firm took all the actions possible to improve the situation by forwarding legislative initiatives and implementing selected social actions. Unfortunately, up to the present time, the work that has been put into this has not come to full fruition.

After their financial crisis, Cyprus had a rocky road back to economical certainty. Nevertheless, the country had climbed its way back up the ladder, with the international business and finance sectors re-establishing themselves for eager investors. This month we speak with Andreas M. Koumenides, who reveals what a business needs to progress in Cyprus and the legislation movements behind it.

What are the primary steps a business needs to take to establish itself in Cyprus?

Let me start by saying that Cyprus is an established international business and financial services centre within the European Union and the Eurozone.  Internationally owned companies may establish a business in the Republic of Cyprus on equal terms with the locally owned legal entities.

Initially, to setup an entity in Cyprus, an application for name approval has to be submitted prior to the submission for registration. After the name is approved by the Registrar, the necessary documents need to be prepared. At the same time, the Memorandum and Articles of Association needs to be drafted which includes information on the nature of the company’s activities, the names of the company’s Shareholders and their respective shareholdings, etc.  When the company’s application is approved by the Registrar, the company gets a unique registration number and its Certificates.  The whole process takes about five days. The use of pre-approved names that our firm maintains further reduces the time required.

Are there particular Company Formation laws in Cyprus/the EU that make this difficult or time consuming?

On the contrary, reflecting the importance placed by the government of the Republic of Cyprus on the country’s development as a financial services centre, the administrative procedures for registering a legal entity have been significantly simplified resulting to the formation of a new company in just a few days. We would, of course, like to see that time reduced to 24 hours which will be useful in some very urgent cases. Currently, we deal with this issue by maintaining “shelf companies” that are instantly available to clients.

How does Profel’s legal expertise assist in these matters and what challenges do you often run into?

We are a Law and Consulting firm with Cyprus, UK and USA trained and licensed legal professionals, with several decades of combined experience in advising international clients on the most efficient and effective use of the Cyprus jurisdiction. What, we believe, sets us apart is our commitment to excellence and superior performance. We provide quality advice and expertise across the full range of finance, corporate, and immigration law. We combine our legal expertise with strategic and commercial thinking, aiming for innovative solutions to challenges that our clients pose to us.

As the Managing Director, how do you ensure your teams are doing the best they can to ensure your clients benefit in company formation services from all angles?

As alluded earlier, we aim to provide our clients with excellent service and optimal results no matter what the challenge is.  Indeed, company formation is just a small piece of the puzzle of comprehensive services we offer to clients.  Setting up a legal entity in Cyprus to take advantage of all that the Cyprus jurisdiction has to offer to the international investor/businessperson, means that we must be able to provide our clients with access to global legal resources, in order to meet all needs related to cross border transactions, something that we do through a network of firms we cooperate with.

Moreover, from a local point of view, through our network of professionals, we are a one-stop-shop in relation to services necessary to meet all statutory requirements/filings of Cyprus legal entities. In a nutshell, we offer comprehensive advice on all aspects of operating through Cyprus whether it is for international trade, asset holding, the setting up of Cyprus international trusts, tax planning and advice, as well as immigration and permanent residency issues.

Why would you describe Profel as the go-to firm for company formation services in Cyprus?

Cyprus is a jurisdiction that offers many possibilities to the international investor.  The ability to take advantage of those possibilities takes knowledge, expertise, and keeping up with all the changes and developments that are constantly taking place in the international business and taxation environments.  At Profel, we are efficient and effective, always following the latest developments and are thus able not merely to arrange for a speedy and efficient setting up of a Cyprus legal entity but also to provide advice on the most advantageous use of the Cyprus jurisdiction in an international setting, based on the client’s specific circumstances.

Specialising in Corporate Law takes a certain skill in these constantly changing economic and political climates; the prominent movements involving the new President will mark history in the US and will also impact their corporate sector and international footprint. We discuss with Mark Hobson about the various factors the corporate sector should look out for, alongside the issues the sector faces and how Mark’s expertise helps his clients to overcome these challenges.

What would you say are the key business disputes to arise in Florida?

Business activity is expected to increase in 2017 which will in turn cause the number of disputes to increase. A poorly drafted contract (or lack of one) is one of the main reasons I see causing litigation. I generally try to help my clients avoid litigation, which I believe a well drafted agreement can do.

As a specialist in the full spectrum of corporate law, what would you say have been the trends in the Corporate M&A sector in Florida in the past twelve months?

Business activity during the first 3 quarters of 2016 was tepid. Contributing factors included the civil unrest in Venezuela, the ‘Panama Papers’ exposé - which seemed to cast an unfavorable light on legitimate cross-border business transactions as well as nefarious ones - and the US Presidential election. Since the election in November, business activity has spiked upward significantly.

What are the unique challenges of assisting your clients with planning and implementing their business strategy, given the ever-changing landscape of industries, customers and competitors?

Numerous deals involving many of my clients—from startups looking for investors, to private equity funds—involve federal and state securities laws, which seem to have become more and more complicated during my career. Prior to 2010, smaller issuers largely conducted their exempt offerings under Rule 506 of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, and advisers to private equity funds generally relied on the former federal de minimis exemption to avoid federal and state registration. Starting in 2010, the old system was significantly revamped with the adoption of Dodd-Frank Act and again in 2012 with the adoption of the JOBS Act. Helping my clients understand and comply with these complex laws and their recent changes is always a fun challenge.

What are the critical factors that need to be looked at during the due diligence process?

Every M&A deal requires similar due diligence.  Depending on the particular industry and target’s business, one deal may require additional, or a deeper level of, due diligence not needed in most deals. My objective is to help clients identify potential risks, so that it can decide whether or not to assume those risks.

What tactics do you implement when assisting with high-value and high-risk corporate issues with a complex commercial history? Can you detail any recent case that has challenged your expertise?

Early in any case I assess each party’s leverage so I can better advise my client on how best to proceed in order to accomplish the intended goal. Last year, for example, I had a client involved in a dispute with the controlling owner of the parent company. My client had control of two affiliated entities and a minority stake in the parent. The companies are involved in the food industry, and my client was a main cook and not subject to any non-compete agreement. This awareness allowed me to negotiate a corporate reorganisation for my client, which included terms more favourable to my client than she initially desired; a reorganisation that ultimately was good for both sides.

In your opinion, what does 2017 hold for the corporate sector in Florida?

Business activity in the first quarter of 2017 has been robust and I expect that high-level of activity to continue. The Trump administration is pro-business, which markets have acknowledged. Absent a catastrophic geopolitical event, I expect the next three years or more to bode well for businesses, private equity firms and their advisors.

What were the goals that you arrived with when opening Hobson Firm in 2014?

When I started Hobson Firm in July 2014, I began catering solely to entrepreneurs and privately held companies. I have been fortunate to garner the confidence and receive referrals from my existing clients and from other lawyers (including former employers) and tax advisers throughout the community, which has allowed me to develop a great group of clients, most of whom are very sophisticated business people with whom I enjoy working.  Helping my clients has always been my goal, which I hope and believe I have achieved.

We speak with the General Counsel and Director of Risk & Compliance at Hymans Robertson LLP: Natalie Wallace. She discusses how the legal, regulatory, political and technology landscapes in which the firm and its clients operate continue to change. But rather than see this as a challenge, Natalie sees this in a positive light – as a way of ensuring that she and her team keep focusing on driving operational efficiencies, positively influencing market change and introducing innovative new ways of helping their clients. She speaks more about her role, the challenges that come along with it and how her team are pushing to achieve the best for their clients.

Could you tell us a bit about your role and your day-to-day responsibilities?

I head up the Legal, Risk and Compliance (LRC) team within Hymans Robertson. The LRC team protects the firm and helps its consultants and other front line teams to do the best job that they can for clients. We focus on finding solutions that are cost effective, efficient and commercial. I spend a lot of time talking to people across the firm and to third parties such as our external specialists and basically “joining the dots” to help maximise opportunities and minimise risks. Every day is different, but the LRC team helps to shape and support strategic change and diversification initiatives such as collaborations and new products and services (Hymans is very innovative!). We aim to proactively add value, not to simply provide back office “firefighting” support.

What are some of the most common challenges that you face? How do you overcome them?

Supporting innovation while “keeping the lights on” in relation to “business as usual” LRC activities, is always a challenge, especially given we have limited resource and a finite budget. The political, regulatory, legal and technology landscape continues to evolve for us and our clients, adding further complexity. For example, Brexit, fintech and data protection developments alone will require significant LRC input in the foreseeable future.

I don’t have a magic cure to deal with these challenges, but I do have a great team (Karen Gilchrist heads up the Legal side and Roy McKean heads up the Compliance & Risk side) with different strengths and specialist skills. We all work really well together. That means that we’re generally able to work through most challenges with our client-facing and other business support colleagues, especially with support (when needed) from our external panels of legal and compliance specialists.

My experience is that having the legal, risk and compliance teams working independently, but closely together, helps to identify and quickly plug any gaps as well as to spot and maximise any potential opportunities that might otherwise have fallen between the cracks.

I aim to achieve a balance between the work that LRC does around innovation and diversification and the day to day LRC work. To ensure that we still have time to support critical day to day work, we focus on driving automation, self-service initiatives, operational efficiencies and training of front line staff. Of course, to support this balance, it’s imperative that we have the right culture and behaviours within the team, as well as across the firm. Culture and behaviours are critical underpins for all that we do and are therefore always at the front of our minds. We then also need to ensure that senior management is receiving good quality management information to enable informed decisions to be made.

How would you evaluate your role and its impact over the last year or so?

I think the LRC team plays a critical role within the firm. Not only have we supported exciting innovations such as Guided Outcomes and Club Vita for our clients, sectors and markets, we have also been pioneers in relation to, for example, flexible working, wellbeing, automation and diversity.

What further goals are you currently working towards with the company?

LRC’s goals are always focused on supporting the firm to achieve its strategic objectives in a commercial, compliant and effective way. Our ultimate goal is to help our clients achieve better financial futures. We know that taking risks is part of doing business, so we manage those risks while always looking at the flip side opportunities. The team will continue to focus on that and on doing so in an efficient and cost effective way. Helping the board and senior managers to continue to embed not only the right policies, procedures and processes, but also the right behaviours across the firm, will also always be a key goal for the team.

After 20 years as a family lawyer, Sarah Woolrich was puzzled by the knots that families got themselves into: why couldn’t some separating parents see that their hostility played out in front of the children? Why did advising people make such a difference in some cases and no difference at all in others? Was there anything she could do that would change the outcome? In an insightful interview, Sarah speaks with us on the family justice system, social work, vulnerable children and the law.

How did your training as a psychotherapist help shape the way in which you practice law?

My aspiration was to be able to work with troubled parents as a therapist and hope that they would be able to care for future children in a way which they couldn’t care for their older children.

However, I learned that there is little investment in good long term psychotherapy for genuinely disadvantaged families; poverty and educational impoverishment seemed to be barriers to accessing anything other than short-term therapy.

I returned to the bar after 5 years of retraining and practice, having learned enough to know that really deep seated problems were unlikely to be solved within the lifetime of a single set of care proceedings.

I use what I learned most days, in making decisions about whether a psychological or psychiatric assessment is really necessary, in what to ask about attachment or sibling relationships. More broadly, it sheds light on family and group dynamics, helping me at least sometimes to stay out of the drama.

As a Thought Leader, what traits do you believe a barrister needs when dealing with cases involving vulnerable children?

The very words ‘vulnerable children’ raises a degree of anxiety. These cases call for clear thinking and straightforward communication. Children can detect phony or pompous from a long distance.

In family cases, barristers rarely meet the children they represent. The Advocates Gateway^[1] is an excellent online resource for all issues connected with fair hearings for vulnerable people. The family justice system is working to adopt and adapt some of tools and processes to make them suitable for family cases.

In regards to the above, how do you ensure your own personal beliefs and emotions, especially if they are conflicting views, do not overtake when in Court?

It would be a strange barrister involved in the field of family law who never showed any emotional response to an issue. However, it really does not help you or your client’s case if you become emotionally affected or overwhelmed. Heightened emotion blocks clear thinking.

The bar is alive to the stresses of working in a highly conflictual setting and managing complex cases; the work demands a high degree of emotional resilience. The initiative of ‘Wellbeing at the Bar’^[2] has been developed to help chambers, clerks and barristers support better mental health.

The best support of course comes from other barristers who really understand the pressures. No amount of formal mentoring programmes or online resources are a real substitute for a handful of reliable professional friends to talk to when you think you could explode.

What are common misconceptions that people have towards social workers? In what way would it help if people were more aware of these mentioned factors?

The public is fed a relatively limited diet of the most shocking cases involving physical abuse or death of a child. Social workers are dealing with a high amount of cases involving neglected children. It is far more difficult to measure and evaluate the long term risks of missed appointments, poor home conditions, pervasive alcohol or drug issues than it is when a child is injured.

Economic forces and political choices have reduced effective support for families who struggle with drugs and alcohol, mental health problems, domestic violence and poor housing.

The average working life for social workers is under eight years, compared to 16 for a nurse and 25 for a doctor (Curtis et al, 2010)^[3]. This is a huge investment by the individual and the training organisations in return for a low number of years of work. It is hard for local authorities to recruit and retain committed social workers.

With cyberbullying becoming more of an evident problem for children, do you expect any suitable legislation developments that should take place?

Do we need to criminalise any more children? They are taking what used to happen in the playground, onto the internet. My vote would go to initiatives to support family and teachers to identify and deal with bullying in all its forms^[4] .

The use of the net by adult stalkers and predators is of course an entirely different matter.

What further challenges do you face when representing for a child with mental health conditions?

Mental health problems are said to affect 10% of children^[5]. They affect a far higher percentage of the children who are the subject of care proceedings or who are at the heart of disputes between their parents.

The real challenge is in securing good quality, consistent support for them. Courts are often told that effective interventions for children can only begin when the proceedings are over, when a child knows where he or she is going to be living long term.

^[1] http://www.theadvocatesgateway.org

^[2] http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/supporting-the-bar/wellbeing-at-the-bar/

^[3] www.rip.org.uk  social work recruitment and retention.

^[4] http://stopcyberbullying.org; NSPCC; kidscape for example

^[5] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/