On 24 November 2021 Shoosmiths hosted a webinar exploring recent developments and forthcoming changes in environmental regulation – the COP26 climate change conference, the Environment Act 2021 and trends in sentencing for environmental offences. COP26 David Symons, director of sustainability at WSP UK outlined the three main messages from the COP26 conference: The 1 ...
Experts from Shoosmiths and BDO recently led a panel discussion regarding the upcoming introduction of Solent’s Freeport. Shoosmiths’ Kirsten Hewson (head of real estate), Stephen Porter (head of corporate) and Solent office head Paula Swain (also a board member of the Solent Freeport Consortium & Solent LEP) discussed the upcoming development. Also on the panel were Cllr ...
On Tuesday, November 30th, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction halting the government's enforcement of the federal contractor vaccine mandate on federal contractors and subcontractors in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. A copy of the decision is attached ...
As 2021 runs in search of what’s new, we realize that the pandemic disruption has continued through 2021. The NMLS Ombudsman Meeting was held virtually and the upcoming American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) Annual Conference will be held in person, but with reduced capacity. These frame the search for “a” normal as licensed mortgage companies balance licensing requirements and health risks while serving their borrowers ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) vaccine mandate (Mandate)[1] has been preliminarily enjoined[2] on a nationwide basis due to a Nov. 30, 2021, decision by Judge Terry A. Doughty of the Western District Court of Louisiana, Monroe Division. Among other conclusions, Judge Doughty stated that mandating vaccination of health care workers should be done by Congress, not a government agency, although he also questioned whether even Congress had such authority ...
Given the growing need for new sources of water for human and industrial consumption, in order to unify criteria in the evaluation of desalination projects, the General Directorate of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (“DIRECTEMAR”) has published the following 3 guides with basic technical guidelines: Guide for the Environmental Assessment of Industrial Desalination Projects in Jurisdiction of the Maritime Authority The purpose of this guide is to update the minimu
The UK Government’s consultation on mandatory climate-related disclosures As the old saying goes – ‘knowledge is power’, and businesses caught in the net of proposed mandatory climate-related disclosures will need to empower themselves quickly in order to get up to speed by the proposed April 2022 rollout ...
The issue of online court hearings, and many other types of dispute resolution processes, has been a hot topic over the last few months as restrictions have eased and court users try to figure out what the new normal is, or should be. The Scottish Civil Justice Council has just closed a consultation that seeks views on proposed new rules covering the most appropriate mode of attendance at civil court hearings in the Court of Session and in the Sheriff Courts in Scotland ...
With COVID-19 vaccination campaigns nearing completion or still in progress in various countries across Southeast Asia, our experts take this opportunity to look at some of the top questions and concerns on the minds of employers and employees when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination considerations ...
On November 18, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order reinstating a version of the Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts executive order that had previously been implemented by President Obama and then rescinded by President Trump. The new clause is reproduced below. President Biden’s new executive order applies to contracts and subcontracts that are covered by the Service Contract Act ...
On October 6, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 45 (AB 45) into law. AB 45 permits the manufacture and sale of a wide range of products containing regulated amounts of industrial hemp. Below is a brief overview: What is industrial hemp? “Industrial hemp” is defined as cannabis plants that have no more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ...
The Norwegian government, as owners of the frigate, has held the owners of the tanker liable for the collision and presented a claim of some NOK 13 billion for the loss of the frigate and an additional NOK 770 million for costs related to removing the wreck. Liability is disputed and is due to be adjudged next year. Simonsen Vogt Wiig acts for the owners of the Sola TS ...
