Little has so far been said about the worldwide legal implications of the credit crunch. Many significant issues, risks and even opportunities arise from the various government actions taken to date. This memorandum looks at where resulting M&A activity is likely to come from; the likely effects of the new interventions, laws and regulations on the various finance markets; probable legal and regulatory developments globally; and the implications of specific situations such as the Lehman bankruptcy and the broken prime brokerage model.