Expertise all over the world

A “bullish” outlook for the future is what is in store for Lex Mundi, the worldwide independent law firm network present in over 100 countries, including Macau, with the group poised to grow its group of associate firms to continue to strengthen its network and jurisdictional information exchange.
So says Lex Mundi President Carl E. Anduri, Jr., who tells Business Daily that a new normal is emerging globally as more companies look for cross-border activities, with Lex Mundi poised to share its expertise.
“The level of cross-border mergers and acquisitions activity has returned to pre-GFC (global financial crisis) levels,” says the president, “so there’s a great deal of interaction among our member firms in support of their clients in their expansion and acquisition plans”.
This can come in the form of “handling negotiations and putting together cross-border teams” in order to resolve matters including “pre-merger notifications, critical aspects of compliance and, of course, post-merger integration,” says the president.
Last week, the group launched the Global Gaming Law Guide, covering 27 jurisdictions, together with local partner firm MdME. Partner in the firm Rui Proença notes that over the course of creating the guide and the network of lawyers: “we found out that within the network there was much more expertise in gaming than we thought” and that the group is “very happy with the result”, the fruit of two years since the firm originally pitched the idea to Lex Mundi.

High standards
Aside from gaming, one of the group’s other hot areas is “liability related to cyber security and data privacy,” the group’s president notes, pointing out that given the difficulty of the matters in question, the group’s “focus now is on continuously improving Lex Mundi’s global platform [to provide] seamless cross-border advice for clients”, and, in regard to expansion, there’s no rush, stating: “if there are possibilities to explore adding new members, however, we will do so.”
To get into the club the law firm in question must meet strict criteria.
“We begin by asking all our member firms which firms in the jurisdiction they have worked with and what their experiences have been, good and bad”. This is followed by a consultation with the members of Lex Mundi’s Client Advisory Council, and online research.
“After completing these steps we are able to identify the top tier of firms in a jurisdiction,” notes Mr. Anduri, a step which is followed by a visit to the firm in question.
“We never extend an invitation to a firm without visiting the firm’s office at least once,” concludes, noting that multiple visits to the jurisdiction and sometimes visits to “particular firms” may occur.
“During our meetings with the individual firms we learn which technologies they are using and we lean about the management structure and management philosophies of the firms,” notes the president.
“The primary characteristic we look for, beyond being a market leader in terms of quality and expertise, is a clear commitment to continuous improvement in all aspects of a firm’s client service delivery and management,” he reveals, noting that this means the firm in question “will be looking at ways that it can use technology to differentiate itself in the area of client service”.
The Lex Mundi Global Gaming Law Guide is available in book form and online on the group’s website.