#32 The Legal Profession This Week - Parliamentary Controversies​

​
By Dheepa M​


The UK political landscape has been dominated by recent controversies surrounding Members of Parliament (MPs) that earn an estimated combined total of £4m a year from their second jobs.

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has become embroiled in this debate over the firm’s employment of a Liberal MP as a policy and politics consultant. Law.com reports that the MP in question is both the brother of an ex-partner at the firm and is compensated £5000 a month for only a minimum six hours of work a month. According to The Register of Members’ Financial Interest, these earnings are to benefit the MP’s disabled son (Law.com).

For law firms, a good relationship with MPs and other decision-makers in government is valuable. They can help firms navigate the challenges of political issues like Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic and help bolster relationships when bidding for government legal work. However, the story above demonstrates the reputational risks from such relationships may outweigh the rewards.

‘Business as usual’ – the notable deals and cases which went ahead this week:

Latham & Watkins (Latham), Clifford Chance and Kirkland & Ellis (Kirkland) are advising on the sale of Inmarsat, a British satellite fleet operator to communications company Viasat.

Clifford Chance is once again acting for Inmarsat after acting for the company on the $3.3bn investment it received from a private equity consortium in 2019. Kirkland is also reprising their role for the same consortium as they sell their stake to communications company, Viasat, for an estimated $7.3 bn. Latham is taking the lead for Viasat with antitrust advice being provided by Linklaters.

Herbert Smith Freehills is advising on the $7.6 billion takeover of energy company AusNet. The firm is advising Brookfield Asset Management, the leaders of the consortium of private equity buyers. AusNet is being advised by local Australian firm Allens.