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09 July 2020
Pressure Points: A focus on security interests under the PPSA (Australia)
Like other crises that have come before it, both financial and otherwise, Covid-19 has impacted business revenue in almost all sectors. Government mandated social and business lockdowns in Australia and overseas have resulted in contracted liquidity and businesses needing to expend cash, tap...
24 June 2020
Pressure Points: Preparing for the ‘new norm’ of on and off restrictions
As most of Australia contemplates the ongoing easing of emergency measures taken by State, Territory and Commonwealth governments in response to Covid-19, Victoria has announced it will extend its state of emergency until at least 20 July after a spike in cases. Further away, cities in China and...
19 June 2020
Governance: ESG in Aviation Finance (Global)
Introduction What is ESG and how does it relate to financing? Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are a set of criteria which corporates, their creditors and other stakeholders are increasingly taking into account when making investment decisions. ESG factors cover issues such as...
09 June 2020
Governance: Changes to UK insolvency law could impact secured and unsecured bank debt (UK)
Update ; The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 commenced into effect on 26 June 2020. While the final provisions of the Act largely reflected the drafting of the original Bill, certain amendments were made including to: (i) improve the information available to certain pensions creditors...
18 May 2020
COVID-19: Pressure Points: Finance briefing (UK)
In recent weeks we have been working with many UK corporates to support their immediate liquidity needs and to plan ahead, ensuring businesses are in good position to weather the COVID-19 storm. In this briefing we provide a snapshot of our views of the latest UK corporate debt and treasury trends:
07 May 2020
COVID-19: Pressure points: The impact on development finance transactions (Australia)
Less than five months have passed since the existence of a new virus was reported to the World Health Organisation. The pandemic continues to expand, with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), soon to reach 4 million globally.
18 March 2020
COVID-19 People: Short guide for employers (Australia)
The COVID-19 virus is new, rapidly evolving and having a major impact on workplaces. The virus is giving rise to multitude of employment and safety-related questions in a context which has not previously been contemplated, on topics ranging from an employer’s payment obligations and dealing with...
17 March 2020
COVID-19: Potential legal impact (Spain)
In recent days, different measures have been adopted to counter the exceptional situation generated in Spain by COVID-19, including Royal Decree 436/2020, of 14 March, which declares the state of emergency to tackle the health emergency caused by COVID-19 (" RD 463/2020 "). The situation is highly...
02 March 2020
The cooperation dilemma – legal privilege in the “why not litigate” era
The Financial Services Royal Commission has had a significant impact on regulators’ appetites to obtain documents subject to claims of legal professional privilege and shifted strategic considerations that companies will weigh in deciding whether or not to provide privileged documents to regulators.
18 December 2019
Responsible lending: ASIC publishes significant new guidance aimed at helping credit providers apply the law in practice
Consumer credit providers in Australia have been eagerly awaiting ASIC’s updated regulatory guide on the responsible lending laws ( RG 209 ), which landed on 9 December 2019 and is another significant development in the understanding of these laws.
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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...
12 August 2020
Victoria’s Stage 4 restrictions: Navigating the current rules for employers
Victoria’s Stage 4 restrictions came into proper effect from 11:59pm, Wednesday 5 August 2020. Although the restrictions significantly impact a substantial number of businesses across metropolitan Melbourne, attempting to navigate the framework involves reviewing a myriad of sources, including...
11 August 2020
People: Job Retention Scheme (UK)
Updated 11 August 2020 On 29 May 2020 the Chancellor confirmed the extension of the HMRC's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ("CJRS"), with new flexibility added for employers to partially furlough employees from 1 July 2020. Employees can now work for any proportion of their usual hours and any...
11 August 2020
UPC Structure – local, regional and central divisions
The UPC will have a Court of First Instance (divided into local, regional and central divisions) and a Court of Appeal (Luxembourg). Cases will commence in any one of these divisions according to the subject matter and the prescribed division set out in the UPCA and the UPC Rules. The main seat of...
05 August 2020
Inside tech Asia webinar series
Our Inside Tech Asia Webinar Series covers a range of topics including fintech and digital banking, digital infrastructure, healthtech, and growth and investments in Asia Pacific. New themes and episodes will be added regularly. To join a live webinar session, please register and save the calendar...
04 August 2020
Comparing the fault standards in Australian and UK shareholder class actions
Continuous disclosure obligations applicable to shareholder class action claims have been the subject of much debate in Australia in recent years. Recent amendments to the continuous disclosure provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) are intended to reduce opportunistic shareholder class...
03 August 2020
Governance: CORPORATE INSOLVENCY AND GOVERNANCE ACT 2020 - SOUNDBITE SERIES (UK)
Welcome to our soundbite series on the new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 which came into effect on 26 June 2020. The provisions of the Act are complex and could have significant impact on companies in distress and their creditors, particularly landlords, suppliers, financial services...
30 July 2020
Funded class actions under the spotlight: Australian Federal Government introduces new regulations
On 24 July 2020, the Australian Federal Government introduced new regulations, removing the ‘managed investment scheme’ ( MIS ) and other financial services regulatory exemptions that apply for litigation funding schemes used in class actions.
30 July 2020
Human rights arguments increasingly deployed in climate change litigation
There has been a significant rise over the past five years in the number of climate change claims that have been based (at least in part) on human rights principles, according to the latest report from the London School of Economics Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment...
29 July 2020
Pressure points: Trustees and administrators prepare for what’s ahead: Ombudsman to see a rise in complaints due to Covid-19 (UK)
The Pensions Ombudsman recently published both its Corporate Plan 2020-2023 and Annual Report for 2019/2020, which reveal that the number of enquiries the Ombudsman received has significantly increased in the last year. In addition, the Ombudsman expects the number of complaints to “undoubtedly”...
28 July 2020
UK autonomous sanctions underline importance of human rights due diligence
The importance of human rights and robust human rights due diligence was underlined earlier this month, by the UK government’s introduction of the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 (the “ Sanctions Regulations ”). The Sanctions Regulations are the UK’s first autonomous sanctions...
