Jeffrey Kochian and Stephen Kho Quoted in The American Lawyer on Impact of Global Uncertainty on Deals
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The American Lawyer has quoted Akin Gump corporate practice head Jeffrey Kochian and international trade partner Stephen Kho in the article “How International Turmoil Has Fueled Growth at Global Firms.” The article examines the effect on the legal industry of geopolitical uncertainty in trade and other areas.
Regulatory work, in particular, the article says, continues to be busy. One reason, explained Kochian, is that even in deals without a U.S. component, there may still be U.S. regulatory concerns. The same holds true, he said, for transactions taking place solely within the United States, where there may be issues of concern to European regulators.
Kochian said deals that do not cross jurisdictions are the ones that are mostly getting done, “whereas those that cross multiple jurisdictions are more challenging.” Behind this, he said, are interest rate risks and volatility in the price of oil.
Kho acknowledged that uncertainty can be good for some, but added, “these are short-term problems that don’t lead to long-term growth or long-term deals. This situation is not ideal. Stability and predictability are good for everyone, but that is not what we have right now.”
