Table of Contents

• EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

• FEATURED REPORT 📰

• IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

I read this news story this week that blew my mind.

It’s about the biggest winner in the AI boom.

It’s not a tech company.

It’s actually a tiny Caribbean island you’ve probably never heard of.

Let me explain.

Anguilla is a small island (fewer than 16,000 people).

In the 1980s, every country was given a two-letter internet code.

→ The UK got “.uk.”
→ France got “.fr.”
→ The US got “.us.”

Anguilla was given “.ai.”

At the time, it meant nothing. AI didn’t really exist (only a few people even used the internet then).

But today, those same two letters are worth millions.

AI companies want .ai websites, and they’re willing to pay huge amounts for them. One founder spent $700,000 on a single domain.

For Anguilla, this is free money. The island made $39 million last year (almost a quarter of its budget).

And it’s not stopping. Registrations have doubled, and this year Anguilla expects nearly $49 million.

All from two little letters.

Wild.

– Idin

p.s. if anyone’s interested, you can buy littlelaw.ai for £23 (and support Anguilla’s economy too 😎)

FEATURED REPORT 📰

📈 Why law firms are betting on an IPO comeback

What’s going on here?

This year, only 10 new companies have joined the London Stock Exchange. In 2024, the total was 17. That’s a big drop compared to 2021, when 125 companies listed at the market’s peak. We’ve covered before why listings have slowed and what the UK government is doing about it.

But some law firms are seeing reasons to be hopeful. They think public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offerings (IPOs) in the UK will rise over the next 12 to 18 months.

What signs point to an IPO comeback?

Recently, law firms have been hiring more people into their Equity Capital Markets (ECM) teams. These teams help companies raise money by selling shares on public markets.

If firms are hiring in this area, it’s a sign they expect more deals soon. It suggests they believe there will be a rise in IPOs and public M&A activity in the UK.

Law firm leaders are saying this too. Simon Nicholls, co-head of corporate at Slaughter and May, said the firm has had “one of the busiest summers in years” with several large companies preparing to list on the market.

Why can we expect things to bounce back?

There are two main reasons why IPOs and public M&A could pick up again.

🏦 Investors have cash to spend: Big investors like pension funds, insurers, and asset managers are sitting on piles of money. They can’t leave it sat in their bank account because inflation reduces its value — so they need to invest.

Recently they’ve been cautious (trade tensions and global conflicts made markets unpredictable). But US private equity firms have been buying London companies — which shows there’s value in the market. Now, other investors don’t want to miss out and are signalling they’ll put money into new stock market listings.

📈 Private equity needs exit routes: Private equity firms buy companies, hold them for a few years, and then sell. The sale can be to another company, another fund, or through an IPO where the company lists its shares on the stock exchange.

Lately, weak market conditions made selling harder, so firms held onto companies longer than usual. But if they don’t sell in time, they risk failing to return money to their investors.

Also, to be able to raise more funds in the future, they need to prove they’ve delivered past results. One way to achieve results is through IPOs.

What do Equity Capital Markets lawyers do?

ECM lawyers help companies raise money by selling shares. In an IPO, they act for either

1. the company going public,

2. the investment bank running the deal, or

3. the investors buying shares.

🏢 Acting for the company: The company’s going public to offer shares to investors so it can raise money for growth.

An ECM lawyer’s role here might include:

• Planning the IPO process and creating a timeline.

• Drafting the prospectus (a document explaining the company’s business and finances). The prospectus has to be approved by the regulator and stock exchange before being shared with potential investors.

• Negotiating terms for how shares will be sold.

• Making sure the company follows stock exchange rules and files the right paperwork.

🏦 Acting for the bank (underwriter): The bank’s role is to manage the IPO and connect the company with investors. They also guarantee that shares will be sold —they promise to buy any shares left over that investors don’t take (called “underwriting”).

Lawyers supporting the bank will:

• Carry out legal due diligence on the company, checking for risks that must be disclosed.

• Review the prospectus and other documents to ensure they are accurate.

• Negotiate the underwriting agreement, which sets out how shares are allocated and protects the bank.

• Make sure the bank follows the relevant securities laws and stock exchange rules.

📊 Acting for the investors: Investors provide the money by buying the shares, with the aim to make a return on that investment. Here, “investors” means big institutions like pension funds, asset managers, or insurance companies.

When representing investors, ECM lawyers:

• Review the company’s financials and business so the investor knows what they’re buying.

• Negotiate IPO terms to protect the investor from hidden risks.

• Check the investment follows the laws in the investor’s country.

Everyday investors (like you or me) can also buy IPO shares through a broker or an investment app. But at that level, you wouldn’t typically involve lawyers.

Why should law firms care?

Equity Capital Markets teams are a big source of revenue for firms that focus on corporate and commercial work.

When IPO activity slows, these teams feel it first. Fewer big listings mean less high-value work, and firms often have to chase smaller deals where fees are lower and competition is tougher.

But when IPOs return, it’s a major opportunity. Big listings bring in higher fees and allow firms to deepen relationships with clients. Companies often stick with the same law firm for future needs — from M&A to regulatory issues.

So, the health of London’s IPO market directly shapes law firm revenues, client pipelines, and long-term growth.

More IPOs will mean more money 🤑 

IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• 💸 Addleshaw Goddard is freezing NQ pay at £100k (but raising senior salaries). The firm is also adding a £19 million bonus pool. These changes are to tackle “pay bunching,” where NQ salaries have risen so fast they’re close to mid-level pay, making it hard to keep senior lawyers motivated. Despite the freeze, AG points to its strong trainee retention rate of 88% as proof it’s still keeping junior talent.

• 📉 The accountants for collapsed law firm Axiom Ince have been fined £2,200 for negligence. The accounting firm wrongly claimed the law firm was exempt from a full audit in 2022. Tax lawyer Dan Neidle criticised the light penalty and said regulators missed red flags that could have exposed problems before Axiom Ince’s collapse. We wrote about the closure of Axiom Ince here.

• 📺 Sky has lost its Court of Appeal fight with Ofcom (the UK’s communications regulator). Ofcom had ruled the broadcaster broke rules by not sending contract-end reminders to paying TV subscribers. Represented by Hogan Lovells, Sky argued against the regulator’s 2022 decision but failed at both the Competition Appeal Tribunal and now the Court of Appeal. Ofcom said the ruling confirms its power to enforce consumer protections in broadcasting.

AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• 🦇 Pyjamas: A burglary suspect in the US was caught by a man wearing Batman pyjamas and a sleep apnea mask

• 🎂 Party: A birthday simulator

• 📚 School: ChatGPT use is rising again as students head back to class 👇️ 

  

STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

• 📹️ Free application help: If you're applying to commercial law firms, check out my YouTube channel for actionable tips and an insight into the lifestyle of a commercial lawyer in London.