Sort by
14 December 2020
Workplace change for the Covid recovery
Australian Industrial Relations reforms In May 2020, the government announced its intention to introduce workplace changes to support the rebuilding of a post-Covid economy. Join our Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety team as we unpack the headlines and follow the latest developments on...
18 November 2020
UK Government announces plan for a Green Industrial Revolution
Today the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out the Government’s ten point plan for what it is calling the green industrial revolution. This is part of the blueprint for the UK to meet the legally-binding target to produce net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
06 November 2020
That’s Gold: Federal Court gives Gascoyne DOCA the green light
On 29 September 2020, the Federal Court of Australia published its much anticipated decision in Habrok (Dalgaranga) Pty Ltd v Gascoyne Resources Ltd [2020] FCA 1395, dismissing Habrok’s attempt to set aside a Deed of Company Arrangement ( DOCA ). The DOCA had been the culmination of a 15 month...
20 October 2020
International Arbitration in Australia in 2020 – state of play
International arbitration continues to play an increasingly important role in Australia. In this note we canvass some of the key developments in the international arbitration space in 2020, including: Recent judicial support for international arbitration and the enforcement of arbitral awards,...
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.
23 July 2020
Pressure points: Insurance cover for COVID-19 related financial losses? (Australia)
There has been significant debate about insurance coverage for financial losses associated with COVID-19. Uncertainty exists because of the absence of any ‘physical damage’ to insured property, 1 which typically triggers the ‘business interruption’ ( BI ) coverage in the industry standard...
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...
Loading Results
Loading
Hubs
Featured
Recent Articles
15 January 2021
Supreme Court hands down judgment in FCA’s Covid-19 Business Interruption Test Case
The Supreme Court has today handed down judgment in the Covid-19 Business Interruption insurance test case of The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and Others . Herbert Smith Freehills acted for the FCA who advanced the claim for policyholders.
14 January 2021
Why the Worley court action is a landmark case for boards
A recent landmark court decision on class actions is being interpreted as a signal to boards and directors that they may successfully defend class actions if they can show they took reasonable steps to determine how decisions were made. Herbert Smith Freehills partner Jason Betts, who will host an...
14 January 2021
The Al-Ula Declaration – GCC diplomatic relations restored
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (the “UAE” ), Egypt and Bahrain announced that they would sever diplomatic ties with, and cut off transport links to, Qatar. Three and a half years later, the states have agreed to restore diplomatic relations. While details of the reconciliation...
13 January 2021
VIEWS ON AN EVOLVING AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY – STANDARDS AND ESSENTIAL PATENTS
The automotive industry is unquestionably evolving at considerable pace whether through advances in connectivity and autonomy in vehicles, developments in the way that consumers access and use vehicles or changes driven by the 'electric revolution' and the industry disruption caused by the COVID-19...
13 January 2021
New Italian rules on the review of foreign investments in Italy: dawn of an era of greater certainty for foreign investors? A focus on the energy sector
Article 10-ter of Law of 18 December 2020, no. 176, extended the temporary regime introduced with the Liquidity Decree until 30 June 2021. Following the extension of the Governmental Powers on FDI carried out with Law Decree of 8 April 2020, No. 23 (the “ Liquidity Decree ”), on 18 and 23 December...
12 January 2021
Executive remuneration and accountability – the revised APRA CPS 511 Remuneration
On 12 November 2020, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority ( APRA ) released a revised draft Prudential Standard CPS 511 Remuneration for consultation ( Revised Draft CPS 511 ). The revised standard has moved away from the prescriptive requirements of the initial consultation draft,...
11 January 2021
Green finance and innovation - point 10 of the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan
In the final limb of its Ten Point Plan (the Plan ), the Government acknowledges the significant investment required to achieve net zero through the developments and innovations elsewhere in the Plan. It seeks to leverage public and private sources of financing, increasing investment in research...
11 January 2021
New year, new UK sanctions regime
Upon the end of the Brexit transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020, the UK ceased to implement EU sanctions. UK sanctions are now in force under the UK’s domestic sanctions regime, the framework for which is contained in the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018 (“SAMLA”). The UK has...
11 January 2021
M&A in 2021: Resilient, agile and coming off mute
2020 proved to be a year of two halves. In Q1 and Q2 the market suffered the effects of the pandemic in a dramatic way. But Q3 and Q4 proved surprisingly resilient, and we saw significant M&A activity, whether paused deals restarted, or new opportunities taken. After a year when the three most...
08 January 2021
TROUBLE AND HOW TO AVOID IT WEBINAR SERIES
By virtue of the types of financial services our client institutions provide to customers ranging from individuals to professional investors and the client-facing nature of these services, they are often on the receiving end of unexpected events and trouble. In this series that is designed...
08 January 2021
Protecting our natural environment - point 9 of the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan
Recognising that the natural environment plays a key role in capturing and sequestering carbon, and with the objective of reversing environmental harm and enhancing biodiversity, the government has committed to “safeguard our cherished landscapes, restore habitats for wildlife…and adapt to climate...
