Sustainability and social responsibility are among Simonsen Vogt Wiig’s strategic priorities, and we are highly committed to contributing beyond our own sphere as well as running our business in a sustainable way. In connection with the firm’s internal work with sustainability, goal 16 «Peace, justice and strong institutions» was identified as one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to which we want to pay a particular focus ...
Legal professionals live in a world dominated by electronic messages. Most of us can name at least one colleague with carpal tunnel syndrome, a side effect of banging on a keyboard all day trying to stay afloat in an ocean of emails. Email, the default communication mode for professionals, brings all sorts of advantages that make it indispensable. It’s so ubiquitous that we often forget about other options for exchanging information, including the phone. But A.G ...
The evolution of technology is bringing rapid change to the world of work and employers who fail to embrace new tech will fall behind those that do. This is as true of the transport industry as any other. Employers that are leveraging technology are able to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and deliver a superior customer experience ...
UAE companies can offer significant tax benefits when used as holding companies in certain scenarios. As an example, assume that an Italian limited liability company (“ItalianCo”) holds a 90% stake in a Moroccan operating subsidiary (“MoroccanCo”) and does not have a permanent establishment in Morocco ...
Overview Jersey property law is derived from a mixture of local statute and customary (common) law. Jersey's customary law has evolved from Norman-French law and is primarily contained in the judgments of the Royal Court of Jersey and the writings of local and French jurists. In Jersey law property is either "movable" or "immovable". These classifications are broadly similar to the English classifications as "personal" or "real" property ...
How does Singapore's business environment make it an attractive location for foreign law firms? Anthony McKenzie: Singapore is considered a favourable destination for doing business due to its political stability, strong legal framework, well-regulated financial sector, competitive tax rates, excellent infrastructure and pro-business policies that attract foreign investment. It has a highly skilled and educated workforce with a strong emphasis on innovation and technological advancements ...
In an increasingly digital age, paper documents are often regarded (at best) as quaint and (at worst) as unnecessary and expensive. But when it comes to international trade, paper documents have been fundamental in terms of giving the holder of that physical document the benefit of valuable rights. This has now changed. From 20 September 2023, the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 places certain electronic trade documents on an equal footing as their paper counterparts under English law ...
Shoosmiths explore the need for regulation in the evolving landscape of Web 3.0 and the Metaverse, focusing on recent approaches to regulating emerging technologies, and the importance of striking a balance between flexibility and effective safeguards. At a Web 3 ...
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published its policy recommendations for decentralised finance (DeFi) as a consultation paper. Responses are due by 19 October 2023 ...
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) represents an emerging financial model that utilises distributed ledger technologies to provide functions like borrowing, investing, or trading digital assets, all without the need for conventional centralised intermediaries. Here is a quick update with what is occurring on the international stage ...
SyCipLaw's Tax Department has prepared the T.I.P.S. for July which covers the following tax issues: 1. May the Bureau of Internal Revenue validly serve an assessment notice through the central receiving station of an establishment where the taxpayer is a tenant without proof of authority of the person who allegedly received the mail as part of her functions? 2 ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (the “Division”) issued a Risk Alert on September 6, 2023 that describes the Division’s risk-based approach for selecting advisers to examine and outlines the scope of areas to be examined ...
The conversation around Artificial intelligence (AI) regulation is set to go into a “supercharged” phase globally. At least, that’s the conclusion one can’t help drawing from the hype around the UK’s AI Safety Summit, which takes place in early November, and from comments this week by Senate Leader Chuck Schumer around upping the pace of AI regulation in the US ...
When does the directors' duty arise to consider creditors' interests in the face of insolvency if a liability is disputed? Hayley Capani and Kate Garcia consider the case of Hunt v Singh and conclude we still don't have all the answers. When the decision in Sequana was handed down, commentators expressed both disappointment and (dare we say it) joy that a clear test had not been laid down as to when the creditor duty arose ...
Battery as a Service (BaaS) allows customers to keep their vehicles charged up and running, without recharging the drained-out batteries. The concept allows customers to lease out batteries as a separate component from the car, on a subscription based model, and swap it for a fully charged one as and when it depletes power. Last year Shoosmiths published a report highlighting the benefits of the BaaS business model, driven by the increasing use of battery storage technology ...
Blockchain litigation lead, Matt Green will be hosting our latest podcast series, 'In Early - The Crypto Podcast' - Listen to episode 19. Episode 19 features Jonny Fry the Crypto AM Influencer of the year 2022. With a wealth of knowledge in this sector, Jonny runs Digital Bytes, which creates and distributes a weekly roundup of the biggest stories in the world of digital assets, and is the CEO of Team Blockchain ...
On Tuesday September 12, Patterson Belknap Partner Bill Cavanaugh delivered the opening statement on behalf of a coalition of the Attorney Generals from 38 states and other jurisdictions in the trial of a historic monopoly antitrust lawsuit against Google involving its search engine. Bill was appointed by the Attorney Generals of Colorado and Nebraska, the lead plaintiffs in the states' case, to serve as lead trial counsel ...
PCC Issues Motu Proprio Merger Review Guidelines for Digital Markets On 21 August 2023, the Philippine Competition Commission (“PCC”) issued the Guidelines for the motu proprio review of Mergers and Acquisitions in Digital Markets (the “Guidelines”) to provide greater transparency and predictability over the PCC’s power of motu proprio review of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within the digital market ...
The Digital Assets Law, which is in force since February 1, 2023, aims to establish a legal framework that provides legal certainty to the transfer operations of any title of digital assets used in public offerings issued in El Salvador ...
Blockchain litigation lead, Matt Green will be hosting our latest podcast series, 'In Early - The Crypto Podcast' - Listen to episode 18. This week Matt speaks to the man claiming two names - Dr Craig Wright and Satoshi Nakamoto ...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the global real estate landscape. In the United States alone, AI companies are predicted to have a 1.6m sq m real estate footprint by the end of 2023, according to JLL ...
Craig Thomas and Sarah Buxton take a look at the recent changes to corporation tax. Policy changes It is fair to say that the UK’s corporation tax rate has been on something of a policy rollercoaster of late. As far back as 2016, when the rate was 20%, George Osbourne announced that he would reduce corporation tax to 17% with effect from 2020 (and even expressed his fervent desire to get the rate as low as 15% thereafter) ...
On 9 August 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern (the "Executive Order"), to regulate U.S. persons engaged in transactions or investment activities in China (including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau) that involve certain technologies and products. The U.S ...
Legal Property Due Diligence In a property transaction, whether that is buying, leasing, or financing, a legal property due diligence exercise may be required to assess the potential risk to a client before committing to the transaction. The potential for AI to be used to review and digest legal property DD documentation with speed and accuracy is clear ...
Current Regulatory Regimes Bermuda was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce sector specific laws and regulations relating to the issuance of ‘digital assets’ and the provision of ’digital asset business’ services. Bermuda's regime regulates the activities of issuers and services providers rather than the technology or digital assets themselves ...
