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15 May 2020
COVID-19: Governance: Competition Authorities’ Response (Asia)
Across Asia, the Covid-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on the activities of the region’s competition authorities. Where policy changes have been made, authorities have had to balance issues carefully, demonstrating flexibility towards potentially anti-competitive conduct that may be...
13 May 2020
A Special, Global, Edition of the European Energy Handbook
We are delighted to present an update to our European Energy Handbook. The European Energy Handbook usually reports on regulatory, legal and market developments in the European energy sector. However, these are not usual times as the COVID-19 pandemic is creating significant health, social and...
29 April 2020
COVID-19: Governance: Signing documents using electronic signatures (Hong Kong)
Given the current restrictions on social interaction put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19, working from home is becoming the new normal. As a result, it is not always easy to sign paper copies of documents while working from home, and businesses across the world are exploring the increased...
07 April 2020
COVID-19: Pressure Points: China implements comprehensive measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on foreign investment (China)
COVID-19 has caused significant disruptions to the operations of many foreign-invested enterprises in China. In response to this, various government authorities have issued a series of relief policies and measures to minimise the impact of COVID-19 and stabilise foreign investments. In the bulletin...
06 April 2020
COVID-19: Pressure Points: The impact on private equity (China)
Amidst the challenges of delayed deals, volatility and weakened buyer appetite, market players are cautiously predicting that the COVID-19 crisis may trigger increased activity for Asia’s cash-rich private equity funds – once the human and economic impact of the outbreak subsides.
31 March 2020
COVID-19: Pressure Points: Dealing with disruption in the consumer sector – views from China (Global)
China is ahead of other countries in reacting to COVID-19’s impact on the consumer sector. By sharing what we are seeing and experiencing in China, we hope our observations and insights may help industry players around the world deal with the disruption caused by the current challenging situation.
27 March 2020
HONG KONG SAFETY SNAPSHOTS: NOTIFICATION OBLIGATIONS FOLLOWING A WORKPLACE ACCIDENT
Responding to a workplace incident presents particular challenges to organisations as a number of complex actions must be commenced, often immediately and often simultaneously. While the health and safety of the injured person and others is the most immediate concern, organisations need to be aware...
25 March 2020
COVID-19: PRESSURE POINTS: DOES COVID-19 IMPACT THE TIMING OF YOUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS? (GLOBAL)
Finance documents typically use the concept of “Business Days” to count how much time a party has to fulfil certain obligations, including payment and notification obligations. In light of recent approaches by various governments in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, this briefing...
17 March 2020
COVID-19: Governance: Will your technology survive the outbreak? (Global)
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe continue to evolve on a daily basis. While this pandemic is first a public health and humanitarian crisis, the impacts of COVID-19 on global and national economies, businesses, supply chains, and the everyday lives of the world’s population are...
12 March 2020
Covid-19 Asia: Tech industry lessons and innovations so far
Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rocked global industry and financial markets since it began. The tech, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector is no exception, with many companies affected by supply chain, manufacturing and consumer demand issues. That disruption has been balanced by new...
06 March 2020
HONG KONG SAFETY SNAPSHOTS: EMPLOYER LIABILITY FOR EMPLOYEES WORKING FROM HOME
As working from home becomes the new normal, businesses and employees should remember their key obligations under Hong Kong’s safety laws in respect of employees working away from the office. In Hong Kong, an employer has a duty to “so far as reasonably practicable”, ensure the safety and health at...
25 February 2020
Corporate Crime Update, Winter 2020
Welcome to the Winter 2020 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. For the full update on each jurisdiction, please click on the links...
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07 September 2020
London International Disputes Week 2020
We are pleased to announce that London International Disputes Week (LIDW) is returning for a second year in September 2020. Herbert Smith Freehills is proud to be associated with this key event, which celebrates London as a global centre for dispute resolution. 7 – 11 September 2020 For more...
04 June 2020
People: Job Retention Scheme (UK)
On 22 May 2020 the UK Government issued a new Direction amending the legal framework for claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. On 29 May 2020 the Chancellor announced that partial furlough would be permitted from July and that employers would be required to shoulder some of the...
04 June 2020
COVID 19: Pressure Points: Operational disruption in financial services in the age of COVID-19 (Australia)
This article is the second in a series by our financial services team which will explore the practical implications of COVID-19 on the financial services industry and our client’s businesses.
04 June 2020
Webinar: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces
On 5 March 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commission released its fourth national survey on Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces. The report has wide-ranging implications for employers - from a policy perspective and what it means to the culture of the workplace.
04 June 2020
Webinar: Mind Your Head! What I Wish I’d Known about Anxiety, Depression and Wellbeing
Andrew Wells is a Senior Associate specialising in Intellectual Property in our London Disputes team. During this session Andrew generously draws on his personal experience of anxiety and depression to offer his insights and thoughts on what we can do as individuals to combat mental ill health,...
03 June 2020
US DOJ seeks to stop human rights lawsuits against corporations
In a May 26, 2020 filing , the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that domestic corporations cannot be sued in U.S. courts for alleged human rights violations under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”).
03 June 2020
COVID-19: Pressure points: E-signing reform in Queensland (Australia)
Queensland has temporarily eased restrictions on the electronic signing of certain documents, allowing: deeds to be signed electronically and without a witness; mortgages (in certain circumstances), general powers of attorney, affidavits, declarations, wills, enduring powers of attorney and advance...
03 June 2020
High Court offers sympathy but no remedy to trustee facing unexpected tax bill
In Mackay v Wesley [2020] EWHC 1215 (Ch), the Claimant, who was instructed by her father to become a trustee of a family trust as part of a tax scheme, failed to obtain from the High Court (1) an order rescinding her appointment as trustee and/or (2) a declaration that she never became a trustee...
02 June 2020
COVID-19: Pressure Points: A quick reference tool to help assess the availability of force majeure relief under English law (UK)
The global crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably prompted many commercial parties to reconsider their contractual arrangements, either because they (or a counterparty) are facing difficulties in performing their obligations or because the contract has become uneconomic in light...
02 June 2020
SEC Adopts Amendments Regarding Financial Disclosures about Acquisitions and Dispositions of Businesses
On 21 May 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced the adoption of amendments to its requirements for the disclosure of financial statements relating to acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, including disclosure of related pro forma financial information. The...
02 June 2020
General Court Landmark Ruling in Three/O2 Commission Prohibition
On 28 May 2020 the General Court handed down its ruling in CK Telecoms UK Investment Ltd v European Commission (Case T-399/16) in which it annulled the EU Commission’s decision which prohibited the proposed acquisition by CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd (Hutchison) of Telefónica Europe plc (O2). The...
01 June 2020
COVID-19: Pressure points: Workplace pensions – 4 cost saving steps for employers (UK)
As the economic impact of Covid-19 and the measures introduced to restrict its spread continues to be felt, many employers are inevitably looking for ways to reduce costs and preserve cash. As far as pensions are concerned, the primary focus to date has been on the scope for employers with defined...
