Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
As with other industries, clients heavily leverage online searches through Google and other search engines to find reliable law firms. Law firms should adopt an effective digital marketing campaign to compete fairly with others.
An effective digital marketing strategy for law firms requires a combination of a well-designed website, a heavy social media presence, paid ads, and email marketing campaigns. You should consider the following marketing strategies for your law firm.
Law firms should have an optimized website to compete equally. Websites are the foundation of most digital marketing strategies, especially if you target the local market. Clients should learn more about your legal services and learn about various legal issues from your website.
You should have a site that reflects your legal services. For instance, if you are a personal injury attorney, your personal injury attorney web design should highlight your services and educate potential clients on various personal injury cases. You should also optimize your website to maximize lead conversion. If your website visitors just browse your web pages and leave, you should make changes to convert them into leads. Effective changes include:
Social media platforms provide an excellent avenue for connecting with potential customers and industry leaders. Apart from encouraging your employees to post actively on social platforms, you should create a heavy social media presence for your law firm. Being present on social platforms allows you to engage and convert followers into clients.
Social media users can learn your operating hours, area of practice, and direct contacts from your socials. However, this doesn’t mean you should board all available social media sites. The following platforms can prove beneficial:
You should also have optimized TikTok, YouTube, Quora, and Instagram profiles.
Email marketing campaigns remain an effective marketing method, especially for law firms looking to convert more leads. Email marketing is very effective in promoting products and services. However, law firms can use email campaigns to initiate and strengthen client relations.
You should market your legal services using email marketing for various reasons. For starters, more than 4.3 billion people will have email accounts by 2024. This is half of the world’s total population. That aside, email users are very engaged and receptive to all messages, with a 17% open rate. You should design and implement a legal email marketing strategy that goes beyond conventional email marketing campaigns. Use your email marketing for the following:
You should have the following online profiles for your law firm:
Creating a dynamic digital marketing strategy increases brand awareness, leads, and conversions. Note that digital marketing keeps evolving, and what’s effective today may not produce results tomorrow. You should keep trying different digital marketing strategies. You should also try paid ads, SEO, videos, and content marketing.
No matter the reason, the harm caused by someone else’s negligence can affect a person’s life, work, and relationship with other people.
Sometimes, the damage may be too grave, and the victim suffers the consequences of the act for a lifetime. But regardless of the severity of injuries, all victims must be given fair compensation.
Filing a lawsuit can be expensive, and the chances of getting a fair settlement in court can be slim, depending on the jury’s verdict. So, settling personal injury cases without a formal court complaint is often more advisable.
But how can you ensure you’re justly compensated for the damage you’ve sustained? A personal injury lawyer can help you review the gravity of its effects and guide you in negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurers.
You can calculate a fair settlement by looking at the economic and non-economic damages.
The economic damages are easier to account for as they cover the expenses incurred to recover from the injuries, as presented by receipts and bills. These damages can include the following:
Aside from the charges already incurred and paid for, economic damages can also include any future expenses caused by the injury. Examples are additional medical care needs and loss of potential income due to permanent impairment or disabilities.
Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages are trickier to calculate as it is based on intangible factors and how much the victim has suffered due to the injuries caused. Negligence may negatively affect the victim’s life through anxiety and trauma. These negative effects must be repaid as well.
Injury lawyers use the multiplier or per diem methods to calculate the proper compensation for non-economic damages.
Engaging with an injury attorney to help you assess your case and calculate all non-economic damages is beneficial to ensure you arrive at a fair settlement.
The at-fault party’s insurers will likely look for ways to reduce the settlement amount. However, some factors may also cause the compensation to increase.
It may take months before you and the at-fault party’s insurers conclude the final settlement amount. In any case, an injury lawyer can help you throughout the negotiation process to ensure fair compensation.
However, some people may settle a personal injury case without a lawyer. In this case, it’s advisable only to accept a settlement value after your recovery. This ensures no permanent damage and you can return to work.
You may ask your doctor to give you medical clearance to ensure you won’t need further treatment. You must also see that the offer can cover all your medical expenses and lost wages, including travel expenses to the hospital and treatment centers.
It may be difficult for personal injury victims to get back on their feet after suffering from another person’s negligence. So, they must be given proper compensation to help them recover. However, getting a fair settlement value may be challenging. It’s good practice to assess the case thoroughly to ensure all damages are accounted for, whether economic or non-economic. You can also engage with a personal injury lawyer to guarantee you’re justly compensated.
Swann Systems is the parent company of CAPITAL Seating. Since its founding in 1968, CAPITAL has specialised in the supply of suspension seats and accessories for improving driver safety and comfort, in addition to vehicle trimming services under the AUTO-TRIM Systems brand. The firm is also an official distributor for major seat brands such as Grammar, KAB and Recaro, supplying services to trade and retail customers across a range of sectors in the UK and Europe.
The firm’s sale to a new holding company will result in the existing management team assuming control of the business. The buyout will also aid in financing further growth of the company and allow the exit of the founding Swann family as current managing director Stephen Swann transitions into a consultancy role to provide continuing non-executive support for the management team.
BSN Associates advised Santander UK on financial due diligence matters with a team comprising director and principal Pippa Miller-Hawkes, corporate finance manager Phil Todd and corporate finance analyst Luke Tipper.
Streets was advised by its own dedicated corporate and commercial law firm, Streets Law Ltd.
Eadie Young director Doug Eadie hailed the merger. “This combination is a great match, both in terms of client focus and cultural fit. Now that Eadie Young is part of a larger practice, we can confidently promise greater continuity of service to our clients and improved career prospects for our team,” he said in a statement.
Fellow director Nathan Bignell, who becomes managing director of Streets Eadie Young Ltd, also spoke positively about the deal: “This is an exciting change and supports the rapid growth we have seen as a firm over the past decade,” he said. “We are now able to offer a much-enhanced service to both existing and potential clients whilst still being able to provide the personal, responsive assistance our clients require, essential in any modern practice.”
Spratt Endicott Solicitors advised the shareholders of Eadie Young Ltd with a team led by Hitendra Patel, the firm’s director and head of the Company and Commercial department.
Revco Hungary primarily produces plasters and paints in buckets. The company also produces footing products, glazes, primers and surface treatment materials. Saint-Gobain is a producer of construction and other materials. The merger is expected to expand Saint-Gobain’s portfolio of indoor and outdoor systems and solutions in Hungary and elsewhere in Europe, in addition to broadening its product range.
CEE Attorneys advised Revco Hungary with a team led by partner Aliz David and including partner Tamas Felsmann and senior associate Erika Sukosd.
The client’s Dutch consultants contacted us about the sale of the Hungarian company months before the specific legal transaction. The family-owned company in the Netherlands decided to sell the Hungarian subsidiary. Our task was first to evaluate the incoming offers from a legal point of view and the Hungarian legal review of the Letters of Intent from the seller’s side and also to provide tax advice regarding the sale.
Later on, our task was to facilitate the agreement on the conditions of sale for the Hungarian company, to prepare the company for handover, to assist the prerequisites for the fulfilment of the closing conditions by the seller and the company in the sales contract, and to cooperate with the buyer’s representative in the necessary licensing procedures. The cooperation with the buyer’s representative was smooth and friendly throughout, which is very important in the case of such a complex legal transaction.
Considering that, on the one hand, according to the current Hungarian regulations, a ministerial license is required for similar sales and purchases, and due to the identity and the market position of the companies the permission of the Hungarian Competition Office is a must, it was necessary to prepare for a longer transition period from the signing of the contract to the closing of the deal, so ensuring this transition period was a significant issue.
During this period, the operation and management of the company had to comply with the conditions stipulated by the parties, while due to the enforcement of the primary interests of the seller, the buyer’s guarantees had to be available as well. Numerous conditions had to be fulfilled at the time of closing the deal, so in fact the most part of the work came only after the signing of the sales contract.
On the other hand, it was an important aspect that the affected market is considered a seasonal market, so the parties had to develop a balanced but relatively complicated structure regarding the financial items to be calculated during the closing. A significant factor was also the fact that REVCO Hungary is an old, patinated company. To ensure the preservation of the company’s value, it was obviously necessary to attach special importance to the fact that the company’s employees and partners were impacted as little as possible from the changes, could continue to work in a suitable working environment, and partners could continue their business partnership as usual. We feel that all these were successfully implemented together with Noerr’s lawyers and economic consultants.
The cooperation with the buyer’s representative was smooth and friendly throughout, which is very important in the case of such a complex legal transaction.
On the one hand, obtaining the license from the competition office was a longer than average process and perhaps more complicated, but this was primarily one of Noerr’s tasks. On the other hand, it was of particular importance that the sales structure of Revco and Saint-Gobain is fundamentally different, so the subsidiaries partially owned by Revco Hungary, which previously played a significant role in foreign sales, had to be removed from Revco’s ownership and the agreements regulating sales, and the subsidiaries provided with a trademark rights had to be transformed. Thus, during long negotiations with the minority owners of these companies, it was necessary to find an agreement suitable for all partners, and then to implement the content of these agreements properly according to the legal systems of the various countries.
On the one hand, this was achieved with the help and cooperation of CEE Attorneys and the Romanian and Slovak law offices of CEE Attorneys and Noerr. Considering that the closing of the legal transaction took place almost a year after the signing of the sales contract, of course the cooperation required flexibility and insight on the part of all parties during the transitional months. All in all, it was a complex, but at the same time very nice task from a legal point of view, and we are glad that the legal transaction was concluded successfully and to the satisfaction of the parties.
Related: Noerr advises Sudarshan Chemicals on Heubach Group Acquisition
The LDA is a commercial, state-sponsored body created to coordinate land under public control for the purpose of providing affordable and social homes in Ireland. Its work is also intended to build communities across the country. The newly acquired units are to be used for cost-rental.
Dillon Eustace advised the LDA with a team comprising partner Kelly O’Hara, consultant Fiona O’Neill and solicitor Amy Murphy from its real estate and construction practices.
The Archers Wood deal was one of the first transactions undertaken by the LDA under Project Tosaigh, a market engagement initiative launched by the LDA to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing in Ireland on non-state lands.
Cairn Homes, Ireland’s largest homebuilder, is the developer of Archers Wood. The deal involved the negotiation with the developer of a forward purchase contract for the delivery of the units in agreed phases. Our real estate and construction team was involved from the outset. We inputted into the heads of terms and negotiated the detailed development contract. Our role also included title investigation and agreeing a full suite of construction documents (including collateral warranties) and a suite of closing documents.
Following completion of construction of the units in separate phases, we finalised the purchase of the units for the LDA. This included ensuring that our client received the full pack of agreed form legal and technical completion documents at each phased completion.
As this was one of the first deals negotiated by the LDA under the Project Tosaigh initiative, we worked very closely with our client and its technical advisors to understand our client’s requirements. We also provided detailed advices on the draft transaction documents, highlighting potential issues from our client’s perspective and successfully negotiating amendments to take account of our client’s concerns and requirements, with particular emphasis on ensuring timely delivery of quality housing. All the negotiations were undertaken in a collaborative manner, with both parties clearly explaining their position and rationale, allowing agreement to be reached on terms acceptable to both parties.
As this was one of the first deals negotiated by the LDA under the Project Tosaigh initiative, we worked very closely with our client and its technical advisors to understand our client’s requirements.
Our client had strict reporting requirements and we provided comprehensive due diligence and title reports in an easily digestible form. In addition, we inputted into the management company documents for the scheme to ensure these clearly identified the management company’s responsibilities as well as our client’s service charge obligations.
Dillon Eustace LLP has experienced projects teams which have consistently and successfully delivered large projects including residential development deals, loan sales, group reorganisations, e-discovery and regulatory investigations.
Our real estate and construction offering has seen us advising on some of the most significant real estate and development transactions in the Irish market over the last number of years. This includes acting for the investor in the forward purchase of 238 Private Rented Sector (PRS) apartments currently under construction on the Malahide Road, Dublin 17, representing one of the largest PRS deals signed in the first half of 2022; the acquisition, development and leasing of the EXO building, the tallest office block in Dublin and the acquisition and financing of the Waterside office portfolio in Citywest, Dublin 24 in February 2023.
We are also very active in the social housing area, including acting in the establishment of investment vehicles for the acquisition of social housing units, their leasing to local authorities and disposals to approved housing bodies.
The purchase of the first phase of units in Archers Wood for the LDA completed in November 2022. This was the first tranche of homes acquired by the LDA under Project Tosaigh. We were delighted to be appointed to represent the LDA on this historic transaction and look forward to continuing to work with them and other participants in the housing sector to help deliver housing in the Irish market.
The operation concerned the creation of the Tan Warriors Sport Academy relating to both its infrastructure and sports offering – including management aspects and agreements useful for its implementation – as well as obtaining the structured finance needed for the completion of the action. Once finished, the academy will be able to host more than one hundred athletes and will include amenities such as sports fields, a gym, an indoor arena, study rooms, a canteen and a boarding school.
The academy will be built in Morogoro, close to the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam. The agreement was signed at the residence of the Italian ambassador to the Republic of Tanzania in the presence of Tanzanian Minister of Culture and Sport Pindi Chana and Tanzanian ambassador to Italy Mahmoud Thabit Kombo.
Bergs & More drew upon its extensive experience in international sports law in providing its consultancy. The firm advised Tan Warriors with a team led by Riccardo Giacomin, founding partner and department head. “The assistance provided by Bergs & More in this operation is part of a broader path of activities that the firm is carrying out with reference to consultancy for government bodies, private associations and event organisers in Africa,” Giacomin said in a statement.
It is a project aimed at fostering the growth and pursuit of sports talent among young Tanzanians, by providing them with an environment which – also in terms of infrastructure – is focused on supporting their development, with side purposes in addition to those strictly linked to sports practise. As hoped for by both the entrepreneur assisted by Bergs & More and the government, which has given its endorsement to the operation, the Academy is in fact expected to also generate a positive social impact throughout the country.
Bergs & More has a very significant track record and expertise not only in sports business, but also in corporate and finance, all of which are key to the structuring of complex transactions such as this one and the provision of related advice. Our team, moreover, has long been accustomed to operating in international contexts, a factor that facilitates the ability to work in multicultural environments.
Our track record encompasses all areas of sports business, for which we act as management consultants with legal backgrounds ranging from consultancy to dealmaking. Among others, we operate in motorsport (also at Formula 1 and MotoGP level), football (with reference to clubs, leagues and major management companies), other sports such as golf and basketball, sports federations and governing bodies, and major events organisers at a global level, from Europe to the United States, Gulf countries and Africa as in the case of this specific transaction.
Sirec Energy is a private equity firm that specialises in energy efficiency, circular economy and energy production from renewable sources. It is also the manager of EuSIF, in which it has participated with a significant portion of its own capital. Through EuSIF, Sirec Energy invests in projects focused on renewable energy production, energy saving and the cyclical economy.
EuSIF first closed in June 2021 with total commitments of €50 million. It has since developed a projects pipeline relating to energy upgrades and the repositioning of existing commercial buildings, as well as waste management, the development of solar and wind parks and the production of biofuels. Through its equity contribution, the fund is now positioned to participate in Greek projects with a total value of greater than €500 million.
Reed Smith advised on the transaction, with a team comprising London-based partners Panos Katsambas and Shervin Shameli and Athens-based associate George Fountas.
We were engaged by Sirec Energy in 2020 to advise on structuring the team’s inaugural green energy fund, and to work with them on formulating the terms of the fund and drafting the associated fund documentation. The matter required cross-border working between Reed Smith’s London and Athens offices to provide both market knowledge and local legal and technical expertise to the client.
Our combined team initially devised the structure of the fund, with the team opting for a Greek AKES fund (a Greek contractual fund formed in accordance with the exemptions to AIFMD enacted for Greek venture funds with a focus on investment into Greece). We then oversaw both closings of the fund, leading on negotiations with investors at each closing and taking responsibility for drafting the principal fund documents and associated amendments to accommodate agreed investor changes ahead of each closing, with the fund ultimately achieving its target fund size of €70 million by its final closing.
The initial principal consideration was how the fund should be structured to ensure it appealed to the likely investor base and could be marketed accordingly but also provided for tax efficiency for the team and investors. On the basis that the majority of investors were likely to be Greek-domiciled, alongside a limited number of other European and Middle Eastern investors, and working alongside Sirec’s Greek tax advisers, Deloitte, we concluded that the Greek AKES structure would be the best option for the client.
The next fundamental consideration related to the terms of the fund. For first closing purposes, as the fund was cornerstoned by the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (HDBI), the Greek Sovereign Fund of Funds, we had to ensure that the fund structure and its terms complied with local HDBI requirements and met investor expectations for market standard terms. This required the incorporation of bespoke fund terms, which needed to be carefully thought out against the day-to-day operation of the fund and clearly explained to the other first closing investors to ensure their support.
The matter required cross-border working between Reed Smith’s London and Athens offices to provide both market knowledge and local legal and technical expertise to the client.
In the subsequent run up to final closing, Sirec Energy entered into extensive negotiations with Mubadala Investment Company (MIC), an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor managing a $284 billion global portfolio. As MIC was not familiar with the HDBI requirements, we had to navigate some careful amendments to the fund agreement to ensure it worked for both investors in time for a tight final closing deadline.
The closing will be catalytic to Sirec Energy’s ability to pursue its environmentally sustainable investment strategy of investing in projects that achieve energy saving, energy production from renewable sources and projects of cyclical economy. Having achieved a final closing of its inaugural closed-ended investment fund means that Sirec Energy has a committed pool of capital to work with to pursue its projects pipeline, which it has developed during fundraising. As the fund will aim to participate in projects solely in the Greek market with a total value in excess of €500 million, this will enable the team to have a significant positive impact on environmental sustainability within the local market and economy.
Tracing its original origins back to 1854 and based out of Belfast’s Montgomery Street, McConnell Chartered Surveyors Limited is the Northern Ireland Alliance partner of JLL, which is one of the world’s largest real estate advisors with over 100,000 employees. The firm will now be helmed by new owner Paddy Brennan as managing director. Brennan was a co-founder of BTWShiells, the largest independent commercial property consultancy firm in Ireland prior to its 2014 sale to Lambert Smith Hampton.
Brennan has recruited eight former employees to support his growth strategy for McConnells. The majority of the firm’s former shareholders will remain within the business. Commenting on the acquisition, former shareholder Rory Clark said: “The sale of the business to Paddy brings a very welcome boost to McConnell’s, combining our loyal, strong and diverse client base, with Paddy’s wealth of experience in the property business and particularly his expertise and contacts in Capital Markets. We very much look forward to a bright future working together.”
Johns Elliot Solicitors advised the shareholders of McConnells with a team led by partner Jason Thompson.
Johns Elliot Solicitors has been a trusted legal advisor to McConnells for over 30 years. The firm has advised on all matters including corporate, commercial and property throughout the period of this longstanding relationship. We are of a similar vintage to McConnells, tracing our origins back to 1837.
I was instructed at an early stage in the transaction initially to advise on the heads of terms and a confidentiality agreement. I was subsequently involved in the due diligence process as well as negotiating and agreeing the detail of the share purchase agreement and associated ancillary documentation.
Johns Elliot is well known for delivering pragmatic legal advice in a commercial setting. I completed my initial training with the firm which was founded on long-established values of service, commerciality and integrity.
We take pride in the strength of each of our individual client relationships, as evidenced by the lengthy period over which we have acted for McConnells. Having personally acted for McConnells for approximately ten years, my in-depth knowledge of the business was beneficial throughout the course of transaction and particularly in relation to the due diligence process. We aim to provide high-quality legal services to a client base that ranges from international companies, investment institutions, charities and public authorities to local businesses, private individuals and families.
We take pride in the strength of each of our individual client relationships, as evidenced by the lengthy period over which we have acted for McConnells.
We offer a partner-led service, and our key strength lies in the quality of our team. Each client has an individual point of contact directly responsible for delivery of the required legal services and able to draw upon shared expertise within the firm. This ability to access the collective expertise of a dedicated team of lawyers allows the delivery of practical solutions tailored to the specific needs of the client.
I dealt with all corporate and real estate aspects of the transaction. I have significant experience in these areas of practice, having dealt with a number of high-value transactions over the years including, more recently, the sale of a hotel for a well-known international brand. I was assisted by my colleague, Graeme King, in respect of related employment matters.
From a legal standpoint, the originally agreed structure of the deal changed during the course of the transaction following further discussions between the parties. This can always prove challenging and necessitated the redrafting of certain documents. However, we adapted to the revised terms quickly to ensure this did not impact on the timescale for completion of the transaction.
The offering was led by Norwegian Cruise Line’s US counsels Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis.
The notes were issued by NCL Corporation Ltd. (NCL). Founded in Miami, Florida in 2013, the subsidiary is one of the group’s three operating companies. The group currently has 19 ships in its fleet. The twentieth, “Vista”, is scheduled to be delivered this spring. The proceeds from the offering will be used to repay outstanding term loans under an existing senior secured credit facility.
I joined Hannaford Turner in November 2018 from the London office of White & Case LLP and was made partner in January 2023. At the time of joining, there were few ’start-ups‘ in the shipping part of the legal market, and I was keen to take on the opportunity to be part of a new firm’s growth. We have expanded since I joined to take on several fee earners, and with this has come a greater breadth of work and the ability to add depth to the ship finance practice. In a firm of our size, we are all closely involved in the day-to-day management of transactions for our clients, but also in discussions on the management and administration of the firm, something which I have found very rewarding.
Working closely with Matt Hannaford and Owen McHugh, I specialise in all aspects of ship finance, including financing and investment into newbuild projects and second-hand ships, sale-and-leaseback transactions and joint venture financing. Our clients include cruise lines, private equity and investment funds, energy and commodities traders and ship operators across all shipping sectors. The most interesting part of this work is that no two transactions are ever the same; even in a series of ship transactions between the same parties, novel issues will arise and need to be addressed in the contracts, which shapes the advice we give to our clients and our handling of the transaction logistics.
The firm advised NCL on the maritime collateral securing this notes offering, comprising Bahamas and Marshall Islands ship mortgages and earnings and insurance assignments. We have assisted NCL on a number of secured note offerings in the past and work closely with their US counsels on the maritime aspects of the finance documents and local counsels in the relevant corporate and maritime jurisdictions.
NCL’s US counsels put into place an intercreditor agreement alongside the typical collateral agreement, which together regulated the amendments to the existing maritime collateral and creation and priority ranking of the new maritime collateral. Hannaford Turner, with local counsels, negotiated these maritime collateral documents with the various firms instructed for the creditors under the existing senior secured credit facility (SSCF) and the new notes.
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The notes offering was secured by the same 13 ships securing the SSCF, so was notable for the volume of documentation and degree of coordination with local counsels and registries required.
Working with counsels in the relevant jurisdictions (including the Isle of Man, Delaware, the Marshall Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda), we put into place amendments to the existing security (where the priority of the security interests was not automatically determined by registration) and new security over these ships. The most complex aspect of this collateral package related to the insurances, as the various fleet and ship-specific policies had to be updated and re-endorsed to reflect the amendments to the existing assignments and granting of new assignments.
