This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced a new fee schedule that is slated to go into effect on April 1, 2024. Although it has been seven years since the last comprehensive fee increase, the new fees represent a substantial increase across several different forms and case types. Notable fee increases include: I-129 Petition for H1B nonimmigrant workers increases from the current level of $460 to $780 ...
Background On 20 June 2023 the Norwegian government made a proposal to amend Norwegian law by introducing regulation on gender balance for the board of directors in large and mid-sized private limited liability companies (Nw. aksjeselskaper), as well as certain partnerships, cooperatives and foundations. Previously, such requirements only applied to public limited liability companies, and the purpose of the proposal is, inter alia, to increase the proportion of women in Norwegian board rooms ...
Following from the recent geopolitical developments in Ukraine, there has been a heightened interest in international sanctions ...
The launch of our annual conference, Data Insights x Shoosmiths, took place on Wednesday, 24 January 2024 at our offices in London and virtually via live-stream. We were delighted to see a conversation between the titans of data transfer: Privacy Lawyer and Activist at NOYB Max Schrems and French MP Philippe Latombe, followed by a keynote from Barrister, Author and AI visionary Jamie Susskind ...
The Home Office has published a timeline for the implementation of measures to reduce net migration over the next 2 months. 6 February 2024 Immigration Health Surcharge will increase by 66% to £1,035 per year: Update: Confirmed date for increase to Immigration Health Surcharge (shoosmiths.com). 11 March 2024 Care workers and senior care workers will no longer be able to bring dependants ...
Employees have a statutory right not to suffer discrimination in the workplace; religion and belief is one of nine characteristics that are protected by discrimination legislation. We focus on this characteristic and the key issues employers face. What the law says Direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation are collectively referred to as prohibited conduct under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) ...
On 31 January 2024, the UK government will bring into force HM Treasury’s proposed reforms to the financial promotion rules. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO) contains restrictions on the issue of communications which amount to “promotions” of investments in securities ...
The EU Digital Services Act (‘DSA’), formally titled as the ‘Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC’ is intended to overhaul the outdated framework that previously regulated online intermediaries such as auction sites, social networks, ISPs and platforms which allow for the sharing of content over the Internet ...
Carey Olsen trio elected as members of STEP Contentious Trusts and Estates Steering Committee STEP is a global professional body encompassing over 21,000 lawyers, accountants, trustees and other practitioners who, as specialists in inheritance and succession planning, draft wills and trusts, administer estates, act as trustees and advise families on how best to structure their finances ...
As employees start to push the boundaries and consider travelling abroad to profit from a ‘working vacation’, it is essential that UK employers are aware of their obligations and the checks that must be carried out. Visa requirements should not prove an issue if the employee is remaining within the UK, but there are numerous visa considerations and contractual terms that should be reviewed before approval is given to work overseas ...
In August 2023, we reported on the government’s announcement of an increase to civil penalty fines for employers and landlords who employ or let properties to foreign nationals who do not have the right to work or reside in the UK. The Home Office has now communicated that the increase to civil penalty fines for employers and landlords will come into force on 13 February 2024 ...
If you have checked your licences overnight you may have seen the unexpected news from UK Visas and Immigration. They have published a notification on the landing page of the Sponsor Management System (on 24 January 2024) informing sponsors that they are removing the requirement to renew a sponsor licence. This impacts sponsors whose licence was due to expire on or after 6 April 2024. Those whose licence expires before this date will need to renew as usual ...
This article looks at current trends in UK mid-market debt finance and what we anticipate for 2024. Businesses have faced a perfect storm of challenges in the last twelve months: slow economic growth, rising interest rates, geopolitical unrest and struggles to curb inflation. Despite all that, Q4 of 2023 was a busy one, with a definite uptick in new deals off the back of more positive economic news towards the end of the year ...
SyCipLaw Senior Partner Leslie C. Dy and Senior Associate Mark Kevin U. Dellosa provide an update on labor laws and employment rights in the Philippines in a special report published by Conventus Law. Contractualization and Workers' Rights SyCipLaw:Contractualisation may relate to the engagement of job contractors to perform services for a principal or the engagement of workers under short-term contracts ...
Please note the following press release. This press release is available at our homepage. A Hamburg-based HEUKING team led by new Equity Partner Christoph Prochnau, LL.B., legally advised bigmed Beratungs GmbH & Co. KG on the sale of digmed GmbH to LOGEX Healthcare Analytics AG. Founded in 2008 by anesthetist Dr. Enno Bialas, digmed is a leading provider in the analysis of operating and surgical processes in hospitals in the German-speaking region ...
Carey Olsen advises on launch of new private capital administration business, Palmer Palmer was founded by chief executive officer Martin Schnaier, chief financial officer James Ireland, chief legal officer James Bermingham, chief commercial officer Jason Bingham and chief technology officer Phil Godley. All have previously held senior leadership positions in the industry, including at FTSE 250 company, Sanne Group plc, prior to its take-private in 2022 ...
Fintech companies and their partners are on alert as a flurry of new state and federal cybersecurity requirements take effect. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) both recently finalized changes that will create additional compliance obligations, expand existing regulations to new entities and mandate that banks and fintech firms move quickly to update their cybersecurity policies and incident-response capabilities ...
Please note the following press release. This press release is available at our homepage. A HEUKING team, led by Munich-based Partner Boris Dürr, advised PRIMEPULSE SE on the sale of its majority stake in publicly listed KATEK SE to Kontron Acquisitions GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly listed Kontron AG. The transaction involved the sale of roughly 60% of all KATEK shares at a price of about EUR 130 million ...
On August 11, 2023, the Court of Appeal of Quebec handed down a decision in CFG Construction inc. c. R.,1 dismissing the appeal of the guilty verdict against an employer, CFG Construction inc. (?CFG?), for criminal negligence having caused the death of one of its employees. This decision serves as a reminder of the potential criminal liability of an employer, depending on its legal form, for the death or bodily injury of its employees in the workplace ...
The beginning of the new year 2024 is a good time to look back to 2023 and to have a look at upcoming changes within the field of employment law. In this article, we will wrap up the previous year by examining two relevant employment law precedents issued during the last months of 2023 and discuss some of the legislative reforms that are expected during 2024 ...
On 10 January 2024, the Pensions Regulator’s General Code of Practice was laid in Parliament, 2 years and 9 months after it was first published for consultation ...
