TOGETHER WITH

Table of Contents

• EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

• FEATURED REPORT 📰

• TOGETHER WITH UPTREE* 🤝

• IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

I spotted this potentially useful resource for anyone preparing for SQE — a list of free SQE2 mock exams.

Go through it or share it with a friend who’s revising.

Shout out to Inês Pinheiro, who shared this on LinkedIn.

- Idin

FEATURED REPORT 📰

👗 Why Shein’s UK listing matters for law firms

What’s going on here?

Shein, the fast fashion giant, just got the green light from the Financial Conduct Authority to list its shares in London.

The company is worth $64 billion. That makes this one of the biggest listings London has seen in years — bigger than all new listings combined since 2018.

Why is Shein going public?

Shein is a private company backed by big venture capital investors like Sequoia Capital China and Tiger Global. It now wants to sell shares to the public on the London Stock Exchange.

This move will raise money for Shein. When people buy the new shares on the stock exchange, the money goes straight to the company.

Shein plans to spend the cash on better technology, faster delivery systems, and growing in new countries.

This is especially important because of a new US policy. Until recently, Shein could send parcels under $800 to the US without paying import tax. This was thanks to a rule called the “de minimis” threshold. It helped Shein keep prices low for US shoppers — a key reason for its success.

But Donald Trump has promised to scrap that rule from next month. Starting from 2 May, importers will have to pay either a 120% rate on the package or a $100 package fee. On 1 June, that fee will jump from $100 to $200.

This means Shein’s clothes will become much more expensive for American customers. Since the US makes up about a third of Shein’s sales, that could cause a big drop in its revenue.

To stay strong, Shein needs to grow in other countries — and the money from the IPO will help it do that.

Why is Shein’s IPO causing debate?

Shein’s listing could be a big win for the London Stock Exchange. In recent years, many companies have chosen to list outside London. A high-profile IPO like Shein’s could help turn that around and attract more companies to list in the UK.

But not everyone is happy about it. There are serious concerns about Shein’s practices when it comes to ethics, labour rights, and the environment.

🧵 Forced labour: In June 2024, the group Stop Uyghur Genocide warned the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about Shein’s supply chain. They say Shein uses forced labour in factories linked to the Uyghur Muslim minority in China’s Xinjiang region — an area where human rights abuses have been widely reported.

🕒 Working conditions: Reports also raise red flags about how Shein treats workers in its factories. One investigation found people at Shein suppliers in Guangzhou were working 75-hour weeks. Shein says it’s monitoring suppliers more closely now, but reports suggest problems still exist.

🌍 Environmental impact: There’s also the issue of sustainability. The FCA wants to make London a leader in green finance, but Shein’s fast fashion model goes against that. The UN says fast fashion creates 10% of global carbon emissions — and Shein is one of the biggest players in the industry.

What happens next?

So, there are still a couple of big hurdles before Shein’s London listing can go ahead.

🇨🇳 Approval from China: Even though Shein moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2022, it was founded in China and still employs over 10,000 people there. Because of this, Shein needs approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the Chinese finance regulator). Companies with deep ties to China must get permission before listing overseas.

⚖️ Legal challenge in the UK: The group Stop Uyghur Genocide may take the FCA to court for approving Shein’s IPO. They say it goes against international labour standards due to Shein’s alleged use of forced labour. The law firm Leigh Day is involved in this challenge.

So, while Shein is a step closer to listing, the deal isn’t done yet.

How can you use this in your applications?

The drop in London IPOs is a major trend that’s affecting the City — and it’s one you should know about (if you don’t, just read this and this).

It might come up in an interview, or in a written application — maybe you’ll get a question like: “Tell us about a trend in the news and how it affects commercial law firms like ours.”

So, you can explain the trend of companies swerving London’s stock exchange and how it’s affecting commercial law firms in the UK.

But then, Shein comes in. Its planned London listing goes against the wider trend of companies avoiding the UK market — and some experts think it could help restore confidence. As Dan Coatsworth (an investment analyst at AJ Bell) put it, Shein’s size and brand could make others take a fresh look at London.

Still, you’ve got to be balanced in your analysis. Shein actually first tried to list in New York. It only turned to London after facing regulatory pressure in the US over its labour practices and links to China.

So yes, this could be a sign of recovery for London — but it also shows the UK is still a second choice for some. That kind of clear analysis (linked to the actual impact on law firms) will help your answer stand out.

TOGETHER WITH UPTREE* 🤝

🎯 Want to meet top law firms before you finish school?

Meeting just four professionals before you leave school makes you five times more employable.

And Uptree helps you do exactly that — by connecting students aged 16-21 with top law firms like RPC, Travers Smith and A&O Shearman. 👀

Through your (free) Uptree account, you can:

• Join exclusive insight days and law events

• Apply for solicitor and degree apprenticeships

• Take online courses to explore career paths

If you’re in year 12 (or equivalent), you can apply to:

• RPC Virtual Insight Session — 24 April

• Travers Smith Insight Day (London) — 28 May

• A&O Shearman Work Experience Day (London) — 30 June (💸 travel costs up to £100 covered!)

It’s completely free to join – and it’ll help you if you’re aiming for a legal career.

* This is sponsored content

IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• 🍏 The UK government tried to keep its legal fight with Apple completely private — but the court said no. The government wants Apple to create a backdoor into its encrypted cloud services so it can access user data for security reasons (we wrote about this here). Apple, represented by Fieldfisher, challenged this. The court decided that at least the basic facts of the case should be made public, since sharing them won’t harm national security.

• 👜 Prada is buying Versace for $1.38 billion as it looks to grow and reach new shoppers. Prada has had a strong year, while Versace has been losing money. Capri Holdings, which owns Versace, wants to focus more on its other brands, Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo. Skadden is helping Prada with the deal, and Wachtell is advising Capri. Prada is also getting legal help from BonelliErede in Italy and Slaughter and May on its compliance with the Hong Kong rules, since Prada’s listed in Hong Kong.

• ⚖️ Meta is facing a major antitrust trial that could make it sell Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC says Meta bought both to kill competition and now controls too much of the social media space. Even though the deals were approved back in 2012 and 2014, the FTC says it's their job to check how things turned out — and they think Meta became a monopoly. If the court agrees, Meta might have to break up.

• 🇺🇸 Four more big law firms, including A&O Shearman, have agreed to give $125 million each in free legal work to the US government. This is to avoid investigations into their diversity policies. Trump’s administration had accused them of illegal hiring preferences. The firms say they’ll still support equal opportunity, but now also promise to consider all candidates fairly, including conservatives and ex-Trump staff.

AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• ⚡️ Charged: See where lightning strikes in real time

• 🎭 Funny: The American sketch show Saturday Night Live is getting a British edition

• 🍫 Sweet: Here’s the world’s largest Creme Egg (it’s 90cm tall) 👇️ 

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.