Top stories | primers | reports (will need pinning)
Top stories | primers | reports (will need pinning)
Government opens consultation on UK merger control measures, with a March 31 deadline, aiming for faster, clearer, and more predictable competition regulation
New hires were made across the PE, M&A, finance, and corporate practices in London, Newcastle, New York and Singapore
Adeniyi Duale, a founding partner at Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe, discusses trends in Nigeria’s capital markets, opportunities in financial services and energy sectors, and how AI sharpens efficiency
AI in big law
The legal landscape is evolving rapidly, and at the forefront of this transformation is artificial intelligence
Banking
Daniela Cohen, partner in the firm’s debt finance team, explores the defining trends in structured finance for 2026, the ongoing value AI is set to deliver, and the sports sector’s role as a driver of PE activity
The effective date of the final rule for investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers has been moved to January 1 2028
New hires were made across PE, M&A, capital markets and finance practices in key hubs including Milan, New York and London
As the full set of agency leadership appointed by President Trump is now confirmed and in seat, 2026 will be a busy and consequential year for financial regulatory policy
M&A
Rafique Bachour, who spent nearly 30 years at Freshfields, joins Skadden’s Belgian office amid heightened global regulatory scrutiny
Partners at JunHe, Morrison Foerster and White & Case discuss the forces that shaped dealmaking across China, Japan and Hong Kong this year
A vote to be held in 2026 could create Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, a $3.6bn giant with 3,100 lawyers across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific
New hires and promotions were made across finance, PE and M&A practices in London, Singapore, New York and Santiago
Capital Markets
The tie-up will allow Dentons to better position itself to meet clients’ needs across Greater China, the firm said
Exclusive IFLR data reveals a surge in Sub-Saharan Africa’s legal market in 2025, with banking and capital markets driving upgrades across South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya
Following Royal Assent granted this week, the UK now recognises digital assets as personal property under the new law
New hires and promotions were made across the corporate, finance and infrastructure practices in key markets, including Riyadh, New York, London and Milan
ESG
VdA partner Assunção Cristas, a winner of last year’s Women in Business Law Awards, discusses shaping sustainability through law and innovation
Sustainability-linked and transition loans provide practical pathways for decarbonisation in emerging markets’ hard-to-abate sectors
HM Treasury confirmed this week that cryptoassets businesses will be backed by a regime, and the FCA is now seeking feedback on crypto rules
The deal reached this week limits stricter sustainability rules to only the largest companies operating in the EU
IFLR Awards - shared module
IFLR recognises the region’s most legally innovative cross-border transactions, as well as the law firms, in-house teams, and individual lawyers who set the benchmark over the past year.
Research for the third annual IFLR Africa awards has begun – submit your entries by December 5
More than 350 lawyers gathered in Dubai to celebrate another year of legal innovation and collaboration across the Middle East
The shortlist for the 2025 Middle East awards is revealed and winners will be announced in Dubai on October 22
Editorial board
IFLR’s editorial board features senior financial legal practitioners, both in-house and private practice, from around the world. Through their expertise, board members support our editorial coverage with regular feedback, insight and contributed articles.
Primers - shared module
IFLR's latest primer looks at the Basel Committee’s new voluntary guidelines for climate risk disclosures and their global implications
While the Hong Kong and US stablecoin regimes represent important steps forward, it remains to be seen how these frameworks will evolve in practice
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the challenges associated with the use of AI in capital markets in financial products and services
IFLR’s latest primer looks at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s proposal to implement the Basel Committee’s capital standards for banks’ cryptoasset exposures
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the Financial Stability Board’s recent report on the lessons learned about depositor behaviour, interest rate risk and liquidity risk during the 2023 banking turmoil
IFLR’s latest primer explores the Basel Committee's latest paper on the risks and mitigants of permissionless blockchains for the banking sector
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the CFTC’s recent listing guidelines for VCC derivatives and how they seek to enhance market integrity, transparency, and liquidity
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look the SEC’s recent decision to approve proposals by several US securities exchanges to list spot ether exchange traded funds
Law firms are providing safe harbours for investment firms worried about straying across the advice boundary and helping them prepare them for changes in the future
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the global and local trends around the regulation of stablecoins and their issuers
Features | Special Focus | Opinions
Features | Special Focus | Opinions
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Yoon & Yang chief: strong pool of talent a ‘key building block’
Hee Woong Yoon, managing partner at Yoon & Yang, reveals key growth opportunities in corporate finance and M&A for the firm as he settles into his new role -
Linklaters: ‘Regulators are becoming more sophisticated in their supervision’
Carl Fernandes, global head of Linklaters’ financial regulation group, outlines the firm’s opportunities in the financial sector, particularly in Europe and the US -
Argentine law firm eyes debt market opportunities in volatile market
TCA Tanoira Cassagne’s founding partner Alexia Rosenthal explains how the firm is helping clients access capital in a challenging environment
Sponsored
Sponsored
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Sponsored by Kudun & PartnersThailand is advancing its economic development agenda with new regulations aimed at expanding the range of fundraising options available to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In May 2019, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced an updated framework for debt crowdfunding based on public consultations that took place at the beginning of the year. -
Sponsored by Bär & KarrerSwitzerland is well known as an innovation-friendly jurisdiction, in particular in the financial sector. This is partly due to the technology-neutral and principle-based approach of its regulation, which has allowed the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and other Swiss authorities and self-regulatory organisations to flexibly address the challenges of emerging technology, such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), being used in financial services. Furthermore, Swiss regulation typically aims to create a level playing field between traditional players and innovators, seeking to ensure that the goals of financial regulation are met regardless of the technology used in a business model.
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Sponsored by Nishimura & AsahiThe Competition Law 23/2018/QH14 (Competition Law 2018) in Vietnam took effect on July 1 2019 and replaced the old Competition Law 27/2004/QH11 (Competition Law 2004). The new law contains substantial changes to the old law, and such changes may have an impact on foreign investors' business practices in Vietnam. In this article, we explain one of those changes using the following hypothetical case:
