The SEC Division of Examinations (“Examinations”) issued a Risk Alert on April 26, 2023 to highlight the importance of establishing written policies and procedures for safeguarding customer records and information at branch offices. Examinations provides that a branch office includes any location other than a firm’s main office, including offices of any independent contractors through which a firm may offer investment products and services ...
The new framework for assessing non-domestic property rateable values has been set out under the draft Non-Domestic Rating Bill, introduced to Parliament on 23 March 2023 – but only likely to take effect on or after 1 April 2024. As business rates policy is fully devolved, not all of these measures will apply in Wales. The more regular revaluations should keep rateable values closer to market reality ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament) that would materially affect merger control for transactions. This comment addresses the proposed changes that would be of concern to those engaged in mergers affecting local markets ...
The European Commission has confirmed that it has started dawn raids at the premises of companies operating in the fashion industry in several Member States. Officers from national competition authorities accompanied Commission officials at these inspections. The Commission has also sent out formal requests for information to such companies ...
On April 20th, 2023, President Gabriel Boric announced the guidelines of the National Lithium Strategy, through which the Government seeks to promote the lithium exploitation by the Chilean State (by means of State-owned companies or in association with private entities), to generate value-added lithium products and investment in technology and research ...
On April 18, 2023, the Financial Market Commission ("FMC") opened a public consultation process regarding the complementary activities that may be developed by bank or non-bank payment card operators ("Regulatory Proposal"), given the incorporation of new participants into the payments system, as a consequence of the implementation of the four-party model ...
Private companies doing business with the federal government won a major COVID-19-related victory recently when the Sixth Circuit held in Ciraci v. J.M. Smucker’s Co.[1] that government contractors are not subject to constitutional limitations merely because they follow federal requirements for contracting. The Sixth Circuit—covering Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee—rejected a claim by former employees of the J.M ...
Introduction An EU Regulation on the making available on the Union market as well as export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation (“Deforestation Regulation”) was agreed upon by the EU legislators in December 2022. The European Parliament has now green-lighted the Provisional Agreement at this month’s plenary session ...
The rules of state aid work for the implementation of public-private partnership projects and require the state, as a partner, to comply with the conditions of the transfer of budgetary resources to private partners, in order to avoid a ban on the conclusion of state contracts due to the incompatibility of state aid with economic competition. The Ministry of Economy proposed a plan to restore Ukraine with a price tag of $750 billion of budget funds ...
On 21 November 2022, the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (“MISTI”) issued Prakas 252 on the Implementation of General Principles of Food Hygiene in Factories, Enterprises and Handicrafts (“Prakas 252”) to establish standard requirements for food factories, enterprises and handicrafts in Cambodia ...
“Electrification” has become a ubiquitous term these days, although depending on who you ask, it might have different meanings. However defined, a critical component of electrification as a policy choice to reduce reliance on fossil fuels is the need to fully evaluate both its practicality and the transparency of its cost impacts, particularly as that relates to lower income and middle class families, as well as small business ...
Brandon Bundren and over 100 lawyers from around the country who practice extensively in the area of trade secrets and restrictive covenants co-signed a written submission to the Federal Trade Commission regarding its recent noncompete ban ...
The month of March 2023 has brought with it a new legislative Act to amend the Financial Markets Act (Chapter 345 of the Laws of Malta) and to provide for other matters ancillary or consequential thereto in the form of Act No. IX of 2023. This Act was passed by the House of Representatives on the 8th of March and assented to by the President on the 14th of March ...
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And lawyers, being trained to answer them, will want to address their clients' questions. But a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court means that Georgia lawyers generally cannot ethically advise participants in this new program ...
The Chilean Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has recently announced the possibility to apply to a program for fast-tracking patent’s and utility model’s applications, provided that said applications relate to technical solutions capable of impacting the environment positively ...
On the 2nd of February 2023, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (hereinafter referred to as “EIOPA”) published a Supervisory Statement on the use of governance arrangements in third countries to perform functions or activities (hereinafter referred to as the “Statement”) ...
Simonsen Vogt Wiig is ranked a top tier firm in the following categories: Dispute resolution EU and competition Fishing and aquaculture Insolvency and corporate recovery Maritime law Offshore construction and shipbuilding Energy: Oil and gas TMT We have more than 50 lawyers acknowledged in this year’s guide, and want to highlight the following new rankings: Espen Tøndel: Hall of Fame – TMT Thomas Talén: Leading Individuals – Employment Espen Ba
At a time when some are demanding that artificial intelligence (AI) research and advanced systems development be temporarily suspended and others want to close Pandora?s box, it is appropriate to ask what effect chat technology (ChatGPT, Bard and others) will have on businesses and workplaces. Some companies support its use, others prohibit it, but many have yet to take a stand. We believe that all companies should adopt a clear position and guide their employees in the use of such technology ...
April 5, 2023 By: Julian Gurule Turmoil in the tech ecosystem and escalating sentiment that a recession in the U.S. might occur in the near-term, indicate that startups, their lenders, and investors may soon confront extreme financial challenges – and will force all stakeholders in a troubled venture to consider strategic options ...
The Limited Partnerships (Jersey) Law 1994 (the “Law”) governs Jersey limited partnerships. A limited partnership seeks to combine the flexibility and “tax transparency” offered by a partnership structure with the benefits, for limited partners, of limited liability offered by a company ...
Approval process The Jersey Financial Services Commission (“JFSC”) does not need to review the fund structure, documentation or the promoter. Instead the fund administrator certifies to the JFSC that the fund complies with the EF Guide and once the certification and the fund’s offer document are filed the JFSC aims for a 3 day turnaround on the application for approval ...
April 5, 2023 By: Nora Sheriff and Samir Hafez In their Wildfire Mitigation Plans (WMPs), Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) indicate plans to spend roughly $18 billion and $5.8 billion respectively over the 2023-2025 WMP cycle. These total figures represent an approximately 26% increase over the utilities’ 2020-2022 WMP expenditures ...
