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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...
27 July 2020
Amendments to Queensland’s security of payment regime
Amendments to Queensland’s Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 ( BIF Act ) have now passed, simplifying the project bank account framework and amending the rights and obligations of all parties involved in construction contracts in Queensland.
21 July 2020
Can predictive analytics prevent employee misconduct?
With predictive policing and crime forecasting gaining attention, although not always good, it is not surprising that businesses are considering how to deploy analytics in their fight against employee misconduct. Certainly, financial regulators have encouraged organisations to become more...
21 July 2020
Digital forensics in investigations and the growing data burden
The approach to digital forensics in investigations is constantly evolving to keep pace with the increasing volume, velocity and variety of data within organisations. Almost every action we take leaves a digital trail and the type of information businesses are collecting, both internal and external...
21 July 2020
Big data and modern slavery
While the benefits of data and technology can be leveraged to aid businesses with modern slavery compliance and due diligence, businesses should not lose sight of the risks involved with overreliance on these tools. Despite the promise of more informed decision making, big data is not without its...
21 July 2020
Using big data to fight financial crime
In a regulatory environment which demands ever higher standards for anti-money laundering ( AML ) compliance, many financial institutions have responded by significantly increasing headcount in their AML functions, often at significant cost. However, an investment in headcount alone may not yield...
21 July 2020
Regulators lead businesses in monitoring of misconduct
As regulators and law enforcement increasingly rely on advanced data analytics for monitoring and surveillance, the risk is growing that they will detect misconduct by employees and customers that has gone undetected by a company’s own internal systems.
14 July 2020
Future Cities Series: Views from our sector experts
This series examines the most pressing issues facing our cities in the post-Covid era. We have taken a cross-sector view of the legal and regulatory impacts of the pandemic and have scrutinised the key areas that are likely to be affected by it. Across each of those areas, our sector experts...
30 June 2020
CATALYST – Analysis of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, of 23 June: its impact on renewable energy (Spain)
On 24 June Spain’s Official State Journal (Boletín Oficial del Estado) published Royal Decree-law 23/2020, of 23 June, which approves measures in relation to energy and other areas to stimulate economic recovery (“RDL 23/2020”). RDL 23/2020 entered into force on 25 June 2020, although it has yet to...
18 June 2020
Future Cities Series: Emissions down in lock-down – how can we lock-in the climate gains?
We are well into the pandemic and lockdown in many regions, so it is natural to ask the question, “ when will this end and when will we return to normal ”... The problem is, “normal” was not sustainable, in so many ways. Those of us in the energy industry particularly know that to be true. This...
09 June 2020
Governance: Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill: impact on supply chains and their customers (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...
15 May 2020
Regulators set their policy for Consumer Data Right enforcement
The Consumer Data Right ( CDR ) is currently proceeding through a staged implementation in the financial sector. On 8 May 2020 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ( ACCC ) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ( OAIC ) released their Compliance and Enforcement...
13 May 2020
Low oil price - high disputes risk: The scope for disputes in a world of low oil prices
Oil prices have recently reached historic lows. Oil companies are faced with a number of potential legal issues as low oil prices impact their trading and operational agreements. In this briefing we consider some of the key issues triggered by the current low oil price environment.
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...
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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...
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...
