The American Lawyer - Focus Europe, Winter 2012

Turkey could be excused for feeling some schadenfreude. When it first applied to join the European Union in 2005, the move sparked bitter controversy in Europe. (French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been an especially fierce opponent.) But today, as Turkey’s application continues to wend its way through the bureaucracy in Brussels, E.U. membership isn’t quite the prize it once was. At press time in late November, the eurozone was still holding it together. But as sovereign debt bond yields climb across the Continent and investors begin to spurn even German bonds, the survival of the euro and of the eurozone in its present form astonishingly no longer seems like a foregone conclusion.

Meanwhile, Turkey is enjoying spectacular economic growth— eclipsing China’s rate of growth in one quarter in 2011—and has emerged as an increasingly confident regional power. International law firms have taken notice. Some of them have been running Turkey practices for years out of various European offices. Now, as assistant editor Irene Plagianos reports in her cover story, “Getting Oriented,” a growing number of international law firms are launching Istanbul offices. “Turkey is dynamic,” Clifford Chance’s Simon Williams told Plagianos. “It’s not just about the future. It’s happening now.” To find out more, turn to page 20.

Our second feature also pushes the conventional borders of Europe to look at a truly global corruption scandal. It started with a liquefied natural gas facility on Nigeria’s Bonny Island, where a consortium of American, British, Dutch-Italian, and Japanese companies allegedly paid millions in bribes for construction contracts. French authorities first uncovered evidence of wrongdoing; American prosecutors picked up the case and reached settlements totaling $1.66 billion; Nigerian, British, and Italian prosecutors followed with smaller settlements; and investigations by Italy and France continue. Senior international correspondent Michael D. Goldhaber talked to U.S. prosecutors to get the inside story of how they reached those jaw-dropping numbers. See “The Secrets of Bonny Island,” starting on page 28.

As for Europe itself, it’s quite likely that its current problems will have a silver lining—at least for lawyers. Someone will have to help banks sell assets to raise capital, for instance.

On page 10, chief European correspondent Chris Johnson looks at how big firms are finding opportunity in crisis.

Emily Barker ebarker@alm.com

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