Throughout its history, Manhattan has been a city with its share of institutions, icons, and legends behind the magic responsible for making it larger than life. The city that never sleeps has no shortage of big personalities and bright stars, and every spring they converge at the Tribeca Film Festival.
 
What better backdrop for IntraLinks to host an exclusive event to thank our clients and catch up with old friends than the Tribeca Film Festival? Amid sparkling glasses of cocktails and savory trays of hors d’ouvres, guests had the chance to mingle with their colleagues and make new acquaintances.

As the economy begins to recover, European mergers and acquisitions (M&A) enjoy a busy start to the year, fueling forecasts of a bounce back in deal volume terms. To find out what the leading M&A professionals expect to be the predominant deal making trends of 2011, I attended the first IntraLinks and mergermarket breakfast event in the new series entitled ‘Securing Growth in 2011: The Changing Face of M&A’.

Held at London’s Andaz Hotel, in the heart of the City, it attracted over 80 attendees, who were keen to learn more about the M&A trends for 2011. The discussion was chaired by Catherine Ford, Managing Editor - Remark, The Mergermarket Group and the panel consisted of Martin Ashcroft, Managing Director, Brunner Mond Group; James Stewart, Partner, ECI Partners LLP; Stephen Wilkinson, Partner, Corporate, Herbert Smith LLP and Philip Whitchelo, VP Product Marketing - M&A, IntraLinks.

At the end of February, on a dreary and drizzly Monday morning, I travelled from London to Berlin. Among my fellow British Airways passengers was Bob Geldof. For those who don’t know him, Bob Geldof started his career in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band, The Boomtown Rats, best known for the hit ‘I don’t like Mondays’, and spearheaded the super-concert Live Aid and Live 8 concerts. Apparently, he was heading to Berlin for a special performance at the Asphalt Club.

According to recent research, Hong Kong still ranks as the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO) hub, raising $52.8 billion in 2010, compared with $42 billion in the US. The figures highlight the shift in global economic activity from the US and Europe to emerging markets, particularly China, a trend that has recently accelerated in the wake of the global financial crisis.

To explore the drivers for this activity, IntraLinks, along with mergermarket, has organised an ‘Asian IPO Series’. The first IPO panel discussion in March, held at, JW Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong, attracted over 50 senior delegates who were keen to learn about the future of Hong Kong’s listing activity. The panel comprised of Mark Dickens, Head of Listing, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing; Annie Zhao, Managing Director, Equity Capital Markets, Bank of China International; Esther Leung, Partner & Co-head of Capital Markets, Asia, DLA Piper Hong Kong; Edmond Chan, Partner, Hong Kong Capital Market Services Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Rick Smolen, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, IntraLinks.

I recently attended and presented at the Argyle Chief Legal Officer Leadership Forum at the New York Athletic Club in New York City. Approximately 200 senior General Counsel from large corporations across multiple industries were at the event. The purpose was for these thought leaders to share ideas through speeches, panels and networking about the most pressing issues they face today. 

The one topic that seemed to come up throughout the day was the expanded role of today's Chief Legal Officer (CLO) as business executive, strategist and risk manager. The question that was regularly posed is how the CLO can ensure risk readiness in a world that is global, digital and rich with information and regulations.