Introduction The supply chain effects from the global spread of the novel coronavirus have been building for nearly two months, and are expected to reach a peak in the near future (if not necessarily then to recede).[1] The effects have centered on China to date, but the epidemic has spread to other centers of production and the duration of its threat to public health and of the governmental and social measures taken to address its spread remains unknown ...
The Insolvency Practitioners Act, the Pre-Insolvency Act and the Commercial Code (Amendment) Act were passed by the House of Representatives on the 14th of December 2022 and were assented to by the President on the 23rd of December 2022. For more information, please see our articles on the Proposed Pre-Insolvency Bill, on the Proposed Insolvency Practitioners Bill and on the three proposed Insolvency Bills, collectively ...
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published its proposed regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) in the Federal Register. The PWFA, which became effective on June 27, 2023, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants suffering limitations from pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions ...
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 ...
Amidst price wars, a global pandemic, and the diminished demand for oil, E&P borrowers and secured lenders face inevitable credit agreement defaults ahead (if not already). Although real property foreclosure of oil and gas assets is often seen as a secured lender’s primary remedy, negative oil prices, operational challenges and the potential for liability may leave some banks contemplating whether a real property foreclosure is the best course of action ...
Shortly after his administration began, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, "Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government." In April 2022, in accordance with this Executive Order, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") released its "Equity Action Plan," which contains several items that may impact employers ...
By: Artin Betpera The Telephone Consumer Protection Act has for over a decade been a source of significant legal risk for any business that communicates with consumers by phone or text. The TCPA prohibits making calls without consent to cell phones using an “Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (“ATDS”), and contains a private right of action that provides for statutory damages of $500 up to $1,500 per offending call or text ...
A Los Angeles Police Department Captain was en route to a homicide scene when he received a radio call for a robbery in progress. The Captain noticed a patrol car parked in the alley near the robbery location which was not responding to the call; the Captain assumed it was a traffic car on a different radio frequency, and decided to respond to the call himself. As he was arriving, he saw the patrol car back up and leave the area ...
Following the introduction in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) of the Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 (ESA), which became effective on January 1st, 2019, some questioned the sustainability of BVI’s position as a leading international financial centre. While we cannot underestimate those concerns, we believe that there is also evidence that ESA will not have a negative impact on the BVI ...
This is a briefing on the following issuances as of May 10, 2020 in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. Suspension of Periods to File Applications and Other Documents with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) B. Issuances Supplementing the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF) Omnibus Guidelines on Community Quarantine (Omnibus Guidelines) C ...
Market participants are undertaking significant work to prepare for a transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) in the UK has made it clear that the publication and dissemination of LIBOR cannot be guaranteed after 2021. The launch and reform of preferred alternative reference rates to USD LIBOR and GBP LIBOR are important steps in this transition journey ...
Strict data protection requirements apply to the use of location tracking systems both in the employment context and in cooperation with other companies. In its partial judgement from March 19, 2019, the Lüneburg Administrative Court ruled in compliance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation and the new Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) that unrestricted tracking of employee vehicles is impermissible ...
It’s 8 am, and you just learned that a material cyber-incident occurred in your organization. You fire up your Incident Response Plan. You engage outside counsel, and outside counsel engages a forensic firm. Your company, your outside counsel, and your forensic firm all sign an agreement that the forensic firm will work at the direction of outside counsel ...
Introduction Copyrights are defined in the Copyright Act as “Original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device ...
The Pension Schemes Act 2021 (the 'Act') amends the Pensions Act 2004 (the '2004 Act') in order to provide the Pensions Regulator ('TPR') with a wealth of new powers. Now that the day we have all been waiting for, 1 October 2021 (when the majority of the Act’s provisions were due to come into force) has come and gone, we’re taking a look the material provisions which came into force on that date - and what those changes mean ...
In July, the Antimonopoly Committee asked the Ministry of Strategic Industries to update the conditions for providing state aid to companies that develop, manufacture, repair, and service aviation equipment and engines. What to update and how, the committee wrote in recently adopted recommendations . Asters lawyer Olena Gadomska told Mind what the latter envisage, why AMCU is resorting to such changes and who they will affect ...
INTRODUCTION In a previous issue of Decoded, we discussed the alarming fact that many medical devices, including those implanted in patients' bodies, are leaving the manufacturers with known cybersecurity flaws. Due to these known flaws, these devices are vulnerable to being hacked, and patients’ personal/protected health information ("PHI") stolen; or worse, the device being held hostage in a ransomware attack ...
Since the introduction of Law 32 of 1927, the Law on Corporations of the Republic of Panama has remained virtually unchanged, serving both Panamanians and well as foreigners to put in order, protect and plan the transfer of their patrimony in an orderly fashion ...
Controversially, the ‘Everyone Wins’ goody bags gifted to this year’s Oscar nominees included “the title of Lord or Lady of Glencoe, along with a small plot of land in Scotland”. However, the recipients may be disappointed to learn that this particular ‘freebie’, distributed alongside gourmet foods, cosmetic surgery, and luxury trips, confers neither title nor ownership ...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are seeking to improve the operational resilience of the UK financial sector. This applies to many organisations, including: banks building societies, PRA-designated investment firms and insurers. The new rules and guidance will come into force on 31 March 2022. By then, firms must have identified any vulnerabilities in their operational resilience ...
On January 3, 2012, the Ontario Superior Court ordered that Solid Gold Resources Corp. ("Solid Gold"), a junior mining exploration company, be enjoined from carrying on any further mineral exploration activity for 120 days on a parcel of land claimed by the Wahgoshig First Nation ("Wahgoshig") as its traditional territory ...
I. Introduction The Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law at the University of Houston Law Center publishes “www.patstats.org,” providing United States patent litigation statistics. Specifically, with respect to the issue of validity, in 2000, the alleged infringer “won” the issue 53% of the time and the patent was held invalid, while the patentee “won” the issue only 47% of the time, and the patent was held valid ...
