An outline of the PLC Cross-border web service (formerly PLC Global Counsel Web). Click here for to register for a free trial or call the PLC helpline.
PLC Cross-border is a unique online service for lawyers advising internationally in the commercial arena. It provides comparative information on regulatory and contractual practices in jurisdictions around the world and recommendations as to the leading lawyers and law firms able to advise in a cross-border context.
The PLC Cross-border multi-jurisdictional guides (Handbooks), for instance, outline the law and practice on a particular subject by jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction is described in a separate chapter, written by one of the leading firms on the subject in that jurisdiction. To make it easy to compare practice across various jurisdictions, the chapters are organised in an identical question and answer format, and can be searched by question and jurisdiction. The guides also include cross-border analysis of the subject and profile the leading law firms and lawyers practising in the area in jurisdictions throughout the world.
Below are samples of the Handbooks, Practice Manuals, articles, standard documents and other resources available to subscribers.
The PLC Cross-border monthly e-mail (www.practicallaw.com/0-103-1557) provides details of new resources added to the site, including feature articles, handbooks and practice manuals. To register for the monthly e-mail please click here.
Access to the complete archive of the quarterly journal (www.practicallaw.com/3-103-2126) of the website and its predecessor, PLC Global Counsel. The journal consists of analysis of major cross-border deals, comparative regulatory and transaction guides, and law firm management reviews.
Sample cross-border deal analyses (free access):
Anheuser-Busch InBev: I'll drink to that (www.practicallaw.com/4-384-9309)
Thomson Reuters: a dual listed company transaction (www.practicallaw.com/7-382-1851)
Dual headed structures revisited (www.practicallaw.com/A26307)
Sample comparative guides (free access):
Credit crunched: executive pay across Europe (www.practicallaw.com/6-384-2854)
Document retention: the law and practice around the world (www.practicallaw.com/0-200-9107)
Asbestos liability: managing the risks (www.practicallaw.com/A42940)
Detailed multi-jurisdictional guides (www.practicallaw.com/1-103-1825) updated annually. Each guide:
Is dedicated to a particular legal topic or industry.
Takes a comparative approach.
Includes detailed Country Q&A analysis (Country Q&A), cross-border feature articles (Cross-border chapters), analysis and profiles of leading practitioners (PLC Which lawyer? and Lawyer profiles).
Allows subscribers to search the Country Q&A by question and jurisdiction (NEW FEATURE: Country Q&A tools (www.practicallaw.com/7-383-9361)).
Areas covered include: Arbitration, Capital Markets, Competition, Construction and Projects, Corporate Governance and Directors' Duties, Corporate Real Estate, Data protection, Dispute Resolution, Doing Business in..., Employee Share Plans Handbook, Environment, EU Accession (updated as necessary) (www.practicallaw.com/2-200-3114), Finance, Insurance and Reinsurance, Investment Funds, IP in Business Transactions, Labour and Employee Benefits Handbook, Leniency, Life Sciences, Media, Mergers and Acquisitions, Outsourcing, Private Client, Private Equity, Restructuring and Insolvency, Structured Finance and Securitisation, Tax on Transactions, and Venture Capital.
Sample materials:
Construction and Projects: Germany (www.practicallaw.com/5-502-1518)
Corporate Governance and Directors' Duties: New Zealand (www.practicallaw.com/5-385-8015)
Corporate Real Estate: Czech Republic (www.practicallaw.com/6-503-3295)
Dispute Resolution: Cyprus (www.practicallaw.com/7-502-0202)
Doing Business in... Luxembourg (www.practicallaw.com/5-500-8852)
Doing Business in... United States: Delaware (www.practicallaw.com/6-500-7767)
Employee Share Plans: Hong Kong (www.practicallaw.com/6-503-1183)
Insurance and Reinsurance: Spain (www.practicallaw.com/9-501-3408)
IP in Business Transactions: South Korea (www.practicallaw.com/4-501-7300)
Labour and Employee Benefits: Panama (www.practicallaw.com/0-503-2500)
Mergers and Acquisitions: Austria (www.practicallaw.com/2-385-8050)
Restructuring and Insolvency: Canada (www.practicallaw.com/3-502-1736)
Structured Finance and Securitisation: Hungary (www.practicallaw.com/1-500-8095)
Structured Finance and Securitisation: Islamic finance (www.practicallaw.com/0-500-8755)
Tax on Corporate Transactions: Brazil (www.practicallaw.com/3-502-1350)
Tax on Corporate Transactions: Russian Federation (www.practicallaw.com/9-502-0343)
Tax on Finance Transactions: Hong Kong (www.practicallaw.com/7-505-7790)
New functionality allows subscribers to search the Country Q&A in each Handbook by question and jurisdiction (NEW FEATURE: Country Q&A tools (www.practicallaw.com/7-383-9361)). This allows you to instantly compare a particular point of law across a number of jurisdictions saving you valuable research time. Simply select the questions and the jurisdictions that you are interested in and click the "submit" button. To build comparative searches for any handbook, click here (www.practicallaw.com/7-383-9361).
Practice notes, standard documents and checklists giving practical guidance on international transactions. Currently there are comprehensive materials on International Acquisitions (www.practicallaw.com/T1688), International Joint Ventures (www.practicallaw.com/T1891) and International Sales and Marketing (www.practicallaw.com/T2058) (updated annually). There are also (non-maintained) E-commerce (www.practicallaw.com/T2061) and Legal Risk Management (www.practicallaw.com/T1299) materials available.
The standard documents are specifically drafted for cross-border deals, using plain English. Detailed commentaries highlight key negotiating, drafting and jurisdiction specific issues. The standard documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format.
The practice notes give step by step guidance on each stage of the transaction in question, including country specific information for Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, UK and US (New York) (the countries covered varies).
Sample materials (free access):
International acquisitions
Preliminary agreements practice note (www.practicallaw.com/A17808)
Letter of intent standard document (www.practicallaw.com/A17420)
Letter of intent drafting note (www.practicallaw.com/A17419)
International joint ventures
Memorandum of understanding standard document (www.practicallaw.com/A22337)
Memorandum of understanding drafting note (www.practicallaw.com/A22338)
PLC Which lawyer? identifies leading lawyers and law firms practising in the core areas of commercial law in jurisdictions around the world. Based on independent and objective research, PLC Which lawyer? is recognised as a leading guide to the legal markets and regulation across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. Research is also published annually in paper format, in the PLC Which lawyer? Yearbook.
Sample materials (free access):
PLC Global Finance highlights regulatory and market developments for finance lawyers worldwide. The resources complement PLC Cross-border's own finance resources, (and PLC's finance and regulatory know-how services in the UK and US). To view the PLC Global Finance homepage click here.
Global Finance includes the following free-to-access resources:
Monthly updates (www.practicallaw.com/7-384-9992) from leading law firms in key jurisdictions worldwide. Sign up (www.practicallaw.com/0-384-8217) now.
Q&A country guides (www.practicallaw.com/6-384-8969) on the causes, effects and regulatory impact of the financial crisis.
A library of law firm publications (www.practicallaw.com/1-385-0219) on the financial sector.
In addition to these free-to-access materials, PLC Global Finance features resources from Practical Law Company's subscription web services, including PLC's Cross-border Handbooks (www.practicallaw.com/9-385-0404).
The competition law multi-jurisdictional monthly e-mail is written by leading practitioners in conjunction with PLC Competition. It is a monthly round up of important competition law developments in a number of commercially significant jurisdictions. The focus of the e-mail is on legislative developments and cases that have particular legal or commercial significance. For an example of the multi-jurisdictional monthly e-mail, see the September 2004 e-mail (www.practicallaw.com/A44418).
Subscribers receive PLC Cross-border Quarterly (www.practicallaw.com/3-103-2126) at no extra cost.
ABB | Ericsson | Norton Rose |
Advokatfirman Vinge | Ernst & Young | Pfizer |
Allen & Overy | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | Philips Lighting |
Arnold & Porter | GE Energy | Pirelli & Co |
Ashurst | Gomez-Acebo & Pombo | SembCorp Industries |
Bayer | Heineken International | Shearman & Sterling |
Bird & Bird | Herbert Smith | Sidley Austin Brown & Wood |
Borealis | Hewlett-Packard | Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom & Affiliates |
Cesky Telecom | ING Group | Syngenta International |
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | Jones Day | UBS |
Clifford Chance | KLM | Total |
CMS Cameron McKenna | Kraft Foods | Unaxis Management |
D Swarovski | L'Oreal | Volvo |
Debevoise & Plimpton | Linklaters | Weil Gotshal & Manges |
Deloitte & Touche | Lovells | White & Case |
"The jurisdiction-neutral precedents together with the detailed drafting notes are excellent. We have found the service very helpful in enabling us to achieve a consistent approach to our international documentation." Alison Hampton, Partner, Lovells
"Our fee-earners find the combination of generic information and country-specific detail very useful. It takes a very practical approach to cross-border transactions." Anne Roache, Information Manager, Weil Gotshal & Manges
"An innovative know-how resource - we welcome the steps it is taking to establish a common platform of knowledge for practitioners of cross-border transactional law." Martin Hughes, Partner, White & Case
