It has been an interesting year. Trade, and therefore, shipping can only circumnavigate the persisting and many awful geopolitical challenges. The Shipping industry’s commitment to improvement continues, both introvert (governance) and extrovert (environment and social responsibility). The Norwegian shipping cluster pioneers still in those areas, not least on the development of technologies and infrastructure toward minimizing impact on the environment ...
The story of the Captain Tom Foundation reinforces the basic point that a charity should not be established for the purpose of making money for private gain, even if that would not be the only reason for setting one up. For those of us who have been sitting in a tin can far above the world, by way of a brief recap in April 2020 Captain Tom inspired the nation, completing the challenge of walking 100 laps of his garden whilst recovering from illness and in tribute to the NHS ...
In this edition, we offer a diverse range of content: First, we present an update on an upcoming case before the Supreme Court concerning section 36 of the Contracts Act. We will also provide some insights from a recent Supreme Court ruling on the insurance condition regarding sudden and unforeseen physical damage. Additionally, we discuss significant takeaways from the appeals judgment in the Dutch Shell case ...
In a decision rendered on September 16, 2024,1 the Administrative Labour Tribunal (the ?ALT?) found that a company (the ?employer?) had violated the Charter of the French language2 (the ?CFL?) by requiring knowledge of languages other than French as part of a hiring process. This is one of the first decisions ruling on the new complaint mechanisms introduced by Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec3 (?Bill 96?), aimed at amending the CFL ...
On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”).[1] The CTA, and its Reporting Rule, were set to require approximately 32.6 million existing reporting companies to file beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) reports with FinCEN by January 1, 2025 ...
In an era of increasing data breaches and cyberattacks, businesses face mounting risks that can lead to financial, reputational, and operational damage. The cost of a data breach reached an average of $4.88 million in 2024, a 10 percent increase from the previous year ...
The Employment Rights Bill seeks to bring about seismic change to the employment law landscape, requiring employers to adapt their current practices and policies. Our latest webinar focused on the key provisions of the Bill and how these will impact on current practices and procedures. We also looked at what further changes may be coming down the line and what steps organisations can take to prepare for them ...
HR teams have a lot on their plate, but a key priority for 2024 is undoubtedly protecting the employee brand proposition. Our 2024 online programme is focused on supporting HR teams to do just this, equipping them with the tools they need to protect the employee brand proposition of the organisations they work for. Our latest webinar focused on what organisations need to do to respond to workers who blow the whistle ...
On December 2, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced it had received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory H-1B visa cap of 65,000, plus the 20,000 “master’s cap” for applicants with a U.S. master’s degree. Registrants who have not yet been selected will be sent non-selection notices through the online system ...
Just seven weeks after the 158-page Employment Rights Bill was introduced into Parliament, the House of Commons issued a 53-page paper full of various proposed amendments to the Bill. Almost all of them are government led, made by Justin Madders, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade). We consider below some of the key amendments proposed by Mr Madders and other Labour MPs ...
Bermuda Insurance Litigation Guide 2025 (Chambers) Contents Rules governing insurer disputes Jurisdiction and choice of law Arbitration and insurance disputes Coverage disputes Claims against insureds Insurers’ recovery rights Impact of macroeconomic factors Emerging risks Significant legislative and regulatory developments 1 Rules governing insurer disputes 1 ...
Carey Olsen's FinTech practice ranked Band 1 in Chambers 2025 guide The firm's Bermuda and Jersey FinTech practices have retained their Band 1 position, as have partners Steven Rees Davies (Bermuda), Chris Duncan (Cayman Islands) and Christopher Griffin (Jersey). Steven Rees Davies is praised in the guide as being "able to understand FinTech regulatory detail beyond the words that are written and from the client's perspective" ...
The Office of the Small Business Commissioner has announced the New Fair Payment Code. This is now open for businesses to apply to the new Code and it replaces the Prompt Payment Code which was introduced in 2015. Following on from our article on Payment Terms in Supply Chains (Payment Terms – what are the current rules and those coming down the track), we now have clarity on what is included in the new Fair Payment Code ...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released its long-anticipated final rule on patent fee adjustments (“Final Rule”). Set to take effect January 19, 2025, these changes represent the most significant fee restructuring since 2020. The changes aim to generate sufficient revenue to recover the USPTO's operational costs, while promoting efficient patent prosecution practices. Here's what patent applicants and owners need to understand about the upcoming changes ...
In case number 4109/JHP decided on 25 November 2024, the Industrial Tribunal upheld the dismissal of a former employee by a Company, determining that the termination was lawful and justified. The case centered on the employee, who had served as a Senior Customer Support Agent, and whose ongoing mental health challenges and resulting inability to perform his duties led to his dismissal ...
The European Blockchain Sandbox (the ‘Sandbox’) is a pan-European dialogue between innovators who come up with particularly interesting, original and useful applications for blockchain technology, and the relevant regulatory authorities that would be involved in such a project. The Sandbox is running from 2023 to 2026 and each year is supporting 20 use cases on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) ...
Stay up-to-date with the ****latest developments in labour law related to employee remuneration****. These updates are essential for ensuring accurate payroll calculations, particularly in cases of employment termination, and for aligning local regulations with current legal requirements. New Minimum Wage Effective January 1, 2025, a revised minimum wage for a standard monthly work schedule will come into force ...
Siri comes to us from her role as a private practice lawyer at Legal in Stavanger. With more than two decades of experience as a corporate lawyer, she has worked with major international entities in the oil and gas sector, including Aker Solutions, Subsea 7, Aibel, and Archer. Additionally, Siri led the contracts and legal department for Acergy’s Asia and Middle East region in Singapore for a period ...
Family offices which choose to manage their global investments from Malta have been given a new legal exemption through a recent amendment in the applicable investment services rulebook of the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”). On the 27th of November 2024, the MFSA issued a circular titled “Establishment of Single Family Offices in Malta” ...
On November 26, 2024, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued its long-awaited decision in AutoZone Stores, Inc. v Indus. Comm., reversing the Tenth District’s interpretation of R.C. 4123.56(F) and indirectly restoring the employer-friendly doctrine of voluntary abandonment. See Slip Opinion 2024-Ohio-5519 here. In 2020, the Ohio legislature enacted the divisive R.C. 4123.56(F), which superseded any previous precedent on the issue of “voluntary abandonment ...
Artificial intelligence (‘AI’) is revolutionising various industries and in today’s consumer-driven world, ensuring the safety of products is of paramount importance, more so when considering the innovative products being placed on the market. At the core of the AI Act [1] are requirements that providers, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of AI systems must meet before making an AI system available for use or distribution on the Union market ...
Crypto currencies (also known as crypto assets) have seen rapid development since Bitcoin's emergence during the financial crisis in 2008. Due to their anonymity and privacy, crypto currencies are widely used for illegal and criminal activities and serve as a tool to evade judicial accountability. In response to the increasingly frequent criminal cases involving crypto currency, Chinese governments grapple with the complexities of judicial disposal at both policy and practice levels ...
The presidential and congressional campaigns brought considerable disagreement on a number of platform issues that were constantly in the daily news cycle. Each brings their potential political polarization, yet we heard less about economic development incentives that often bring bipartisan support. Many of these vehicles lead to accomplishing the common goals of stimulating economic development and community revitalization ...
Enforcement priorities frequently change with administrations, but the recent presidential election may produce a sea change for corporations. Over the last four years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has focused on corporate financial misconduct and created incentive programs to encourage whistleblowing. This strategy builds on the civil False Claims Act (FCA), which includes a qui tam provision allowing private citizens to sue on behalf of the government and share in any recovery ...
