Extended producer responsibility for packaging: and so it begins in the US

October 2021  |  RISK MANAGEMENT

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

On 13 July 2021, Maine became the first state in the US to enact extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation for packaging. Quickly thereafter, on 6 August, Oregon became the second state to enact a similar EPR law applicable to packaging. Other states are poised to enact…

States forge ahead in regulating PFAS while federal legislators continue to lag behind

October 2021  |  RISK MANAGEMENT

Sullivan & Worcester LLP

Despite increased efforts by federal legislators, comprehensive per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) legislation still has not been enacted by Congress, nor has the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted regulations that directly address the health risks…

Green IP: the role of intellectual property in sustainability

October 2021  |  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Pinsent Masons LLP

At the beginning of August 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report stating that climate change is “widespread, rapid and intensifying”. The report prepared by scientists across 66 different countries has been described by the United Nations…

A key ruling concerning platform liability and its practical relevance in light of the DSM Directive

October 2021  |  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

On 22 June 2021, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) finally ruled on the joined cases C-682/18 (YouTube) and C-683/18 (Cyando), which concerned platform liability pursuant to Article3(1) of the Infosoc Directive on uploading user content which infringes third-party copyright…

Drilling for opportunity: geothermal, carbon capture and the Canadian energy industry

October 2021  |  SECTOR ANALYSIS

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP

One of the greatest drivers of future change in the Canadian economy is the increasing desire of governments around the world to reduce their reliance on traditional carbon-based energy systems in favour of lower emitting alternatives. For decades, Canada has relied heavily on…

The intersection of insolvency proceedings and arbitration in financing transactions: a recent judgment of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Court of First Instance

September 2021  |  BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING

Al Tamimi & Company

By last year, the NMC Group, the largest provider of private healthcare in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had incurred debts, calculated at between US$4.3bn and US$5.3bn, which had not been disclosed in its financial statements. In September 2020, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)…

Venture capital, an investment attracting investors in the UAE

September 2021  |  FINANCE & INVESTMENT

Horizons & Co.

In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), national efforts are ongoing to maximise foreign investments. One of the main areas of rising investment flows into the UAE is venture capital (VC). The UAE understands that small and…

Practical insights on open insurance and open banking in Brazil

September 2021  |  BANKING & FINANCE

Chalfin, Goldberg & Vainboim Associated Lawyers

On 5 May 2020, the Central Bank of Brazil and the Ministry of the Economy published Joint Resolution no. 01 from 2020, which implemented ‘Open Banking’ in Brazil. According to the Central Bank, open banking enables “the possibility for clients of financial products and services to…

New challenges for Belgian directors in a modern business environment

September 2021  |  BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE

CMS DeBacker

In recent years, directors of companies of all sizes have faced new risks and an increase in the number of liability claims being made against them. One cause of this increase in Belgium is the recent reform of the Belgian insolvency and corporate legislation which facilitates the…

The key role of the mutual agreement and the arbitration procedures in the resolution of international tax disputes

September 2021  |  CORPORATE TAX

Ashurst LLP

Traditionally, the resolution of tax disputes has taken place exclusively through national courts. However, in the specific field of international taxation, where disputes involve cross-border transactions, the use of domestic judicial resources does not guarantee elimination of…

Corporate governance in the post-pandemic world

August 2021  |  BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE

Brown Rudnick LLP

The COVID-19 pandemic began at a point during which the importance of corporate governance had already been increasing. The crisis has, in many cases, accelerated the trend of integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into decision making by…

A practice guide for fighting ransomware

August 2021  |  RISK MANAGEMENT

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

In the past two months, ransomware attacks have captured the attention of the American public and Congress. These attacks now come with ransom demands of many millions of dollars and typically involve the theft of sensitive data, which the attackers threaten to leak on the dark web…

Digital platforms

August 2021  |  SECTOR ANALYSIS

Shoosmiths

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to greater reliance on digital platforms with the use of technology being fundamental to the way in which industries have operated during the last 16 months. Technology companies have produced strategies and new software platforms…

Leaders need to embrace the moral spiral

July 2021  |  BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE

Frank C. Bucaro, LLC

The ‘moral spiral’ is the reality that no decision is made in isolation and without affecting others. One thing leads to another, then another, and then another – hence the spiral effect. As the spiral spins there are consequences. These can be called the ‘prices to pay’…

The EU Commission’s bold move to expand its merger review powers – legitimate policy shift or excessive power grab?

June 2021  |  MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Clifford Chance Europe LLP

Merger control is a critical part of the European Commission’s (EC’s) enforcement powers to ensure competition throughout the common market. The European Union (EU) merger review overlayers the national control regimes operated by all member states except one…

Key considerations when selling your business

June 2021  |  MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Becker & Poliakoff

The decision to sell your business is a landmark event, whether you are an entrepreneur, the owner of a family business or a business owned with partners. The skills used to build and operate a successful business, however, are different than those necessary to achieve a successful sale…

Cartel regulations in Taiwan – present and future

June 2021  |  COMPETITION & ANTITRUST

Lee and Li

According to the Taiwan Fair Trade Act (TFTA), the term ‘concerted action’ (or ‘cartel’) refers to the conduct of any enterprise, by means of a contract, agreement or any other form of mutual understanding with a competing enterprise, to determine jointly the price of goods or services…

Foreign direct investment: what is the impact of the new EU FDI screening regulation on investments in Europe?

May 2021  |  MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

K&L Gates

EU Regulation 2019/452 of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the European Union (EU FDI Regulation) became applicable on 11 October 2020, introducing several changes to the way FDI is addressed at EU level…

A practical view on intra-EU cross-border mergers

May 2021  |  MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Uría Menéndez

The number of cross-border mergers within the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) has increased significantly over the past few years. This has been principally fuelled by the creation of a harmonised framework that makes cross-border mergers…

Nigeria: achieving private equity exits in today’s market

May 2021  |  PRIVATE EQUITY

Olaniwun Ajayi LP

Nigeria has attracted more private equity (PE) investments in the last decade than previously, particularly in its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), technology and financial services sectors. According to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA)…

Syndicated loans in project financing for energy projects in Vietnam

May 2021  |  FINANCE & INVESTMENT

YKVN LLC

The Doi Moi Policy, launched in 1986, helped Vietnam transition from a closed economy to a market-oriented one and opened the country to foreign investors. Vietnam’s success was facilitated by its accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007, which drastically…

Director & officer indemnification and advancement provisions under Delaware law

May 2021  |  BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

Section 145 of Delaware General Corporation Law permits companies to commit to advance directors and officers (D&Os) for indemnifiable legal expenses. It also permits and requires indemnification of certain expenses to officers. At the threat of impending litigation…

The ESG imperative – Canadian legislative and regulatory developments

April 2021  |  FINANCE & INVESTMENT

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP

Investors are increasingly relying on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria to complement the various financial factors that guide their investment decisions. Strong performance in these metrics can make a business an attractive investment…

Business continuity in pharmaceutical company research and development – can one size fit all?

April 2021  |  RISK MANAGEMENT

Novartis Global Drug Development

2020 turned out to be the year that business continuity was pushed to the forefront of many minds. Until the emergence of coronavirus (COVID-19), business continuity was mostly something performed in the background, often by a few risk professionals…

UK’s post-Brexit Operation Bleach plan unlikely to emulate Singapore success

April 2021  |  GLOBAL TRADE

Henley Business School

The UK’s post-European Union (EU) membership trade negotiations mean that Brexit is anything but the finished article. As of 29 December 2020, Britain had hastily negotiated 34 free trade agreements (FTAs) with a variety of countries, ranging from Chile and…

SEC amendments promise help for early stage companies

March 2021  |  FINANCE & INVESTMENT

Becker

Capital is the lifeblood of business enterprises. After the resources of founders and friends and family are exhausted, few alternatives exist for most early stage and emerging growth companies. Compounding this capital conundrum is the difficulty of accessing the capital…

Reputation for growth – a three-act play

March 2021  |  BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE

Reputation Economy Advisors

Most companies have done some impressive, and in some cases, heroic things during the 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. And they have been quiet about it, especially in a world without much proactive communications and a need to focus on retention over new customer…

Corporate internal investigations – what you need to know if your business is international

March 2021  |  FRAUD & CORRUPTION

McGuireWoods

Businesses with operations in more than one country need to be aware of the exposure they face when conducting internal investigations. Such investigations raise unique challenges, including a need for the investigators to familiarise themselves with the substantive and procedural…

Trump administration sanctions Turkey’s military procurement agency for 2017 purchase of Russian missile system

March 2021  |  GLOBAL TRADE

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

On 14 December 2020, the US imposed sanctions on the Republic of Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), the country’s defence procurement agency, and four senior officials at the agency, for knowingly engaging in a “significant transaction” with Rosoboronexport (ROE)…

AI and intelligent document processing for the insurance services industry

March 2021  |  SECTOR ANALYSIS

Cortical.io

While artificial intelligence (AI) has gained traction with enterprises in other industries, insurance providers have been slower to adopt. In 2016, research by Deloitte noted that less than 2 percent of insurance companies were currently investing in AI technologies. This same research…

The new German restructuring regime

February 2021  |  BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING

BBL Brockdorff & Partner

Based on current EU directives and given the economic disruption seen in 2020, on 1 January 2021, the German legislator enacted a new restructuring framework: The Law on the Stabilisation and Restructuring Framework for Companies (StaRUG). Small and medium-sized…

How European competition law can contribute to achieving sustainability objectives

February 2021  |  COMPETITION & ANTITRUST

K&L Gates

On 11 December 2019, the president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, introduced the ‘European Green Deal’, a comprehensive roadmap with the overarching ambition to make Europe the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050…

Impact of COVID-19 on labour and employment

February 2021  |  LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal

As in most countries, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a great impact on the Argentine labour market and company production. The mandatory isolation decreed by the Argentine government on 20 March 2020 drastically immobilised everyone from…

M&A activity in the analytical services sector: points to consider

January 2021  | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

There has been remarkable consolidation in the analytical services sector in the US and elsewhere globally over the past few years. Make no mistake; the need for analytical and related testing services is growing significantly. Because of the legal and regulatory…

Is COVID-19 changing the rules of the game for biopharmaceuticals M&A?

January 2021  |  MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Rising Pharmaceuticals

Leading up to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, M&A activity in the pharmaceuticals sector was soaring, with $414bn worth of deals in 2019, an all-time high. With the onset of COVID-19, the pace and volume of M&A announcements have been rather muted…

CMMC – what is a prime contractor to do to prepare?

January 2021  |  RISK MANAGEMENT

Reed Smith LLP

The theft of intellectual property and sensitive information from all US industrial sectors due to malicious cyber activity threatens economic security and national security. Last year, in response to that threat, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that it was working…

Managing intangible data assets and making sure they do not become a liability

January 2021  |  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Shelston Lawyers

As the global challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to create waves that will change our planet, it is useful to reflect on the remarkable ability of many modern corporations to continue operating through the uptake of digital technologies. Cyber…