Lawyers as well as arbitrators should lose no time in acquiring this book. Out now in a new edition from Globe Law and Business for 2020, it should, ideally, be considered essential reading for anyone dealing professionally with M&A (mergers and acquisitions) transactions.
Lawyers will be interested in the fact that many of the articles on the subject therein are written by leading lawyers practicing internationally from leading law firms such as Baker McKenzie, Herbert Smith Freehills and Allen & Overy. ‘Drawing on their extensive experience,’ says consulting editor Edward Poulton, ‘each of the authors has sought to derive some general themes and lessons.’
As many have come to expect from Globe Law and Business, this book provides readers with pertinent, accurate and authoritative advice from thirty-five expert contributors and seventeen countries: Austria, China and Hong Kong and France, for example, through to Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America. A wealth of high-powered consultancy is here on offer in one handy volume.
Yes, this book is a compilation and a valuable one, especially for practitioners involved in cross-border issues. As mentioned in the book’s introduction, ‘the increasingly international nature of M&A means that the relative (and arguably growing) ease with which arbitration awards can be enforced around the world is a real advantage.’
It is also pointed out in the article on England and Wales that ‘given the often complex, specialised, cross-border and sensitive nature of many M&A transactions, arbitration is often viewed as the most preferable forum in which to resolve disputes arising from such transactions.’ A cautionary note, however, warns that in England and Wales, ‘an arbitration clause should be drafted as widely as possible to catch all intended disputes’ and that ‘certain disputes will not be capable of being referred to arbitration under English law.’
Nonetheless, as Globe points out, arbitration is now becoming the dispute resolution mechanism of choice for international M&A transactions, ranging from share purchase agreements to joint venture arrangements and of course much more.
This book, comments Lord Hoffmann in the foreword, ‘is well worth reading for anyone who is interested in arbitration, but for lawyers involved in an M&A transaction, it will need to be consulted as soon as the first instructions arrive.’
