Expert Analysis

• ClientEarth Case Shows Shareholder Hurdles In Climate Suits

  

  Climate-related shareholder activism is on the rise, but ClientEarth's recent setback in the High Court case ClientEarth v. Shell suggests that derivative action may not be a fruitful route to force directors to move closer to net-zero targets, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.

• Benefits Of Unified Patent Court Compared To Local Litigation

  

  Recently opened for business, the Unified Patent Court offers a faster, cheaper and more streamlined solution to handle patent disputes compared to EU countries and the U.S., and could become the most important forum for patent litigation in Europe, if not worldwide, say lawyers at McDermott.

• Expansion Of Court Filming May Carry Reputational Risks

  

  In light of the U.K. government’s recent consultation on expanding filming across the courts system in England and Wales, our right to open justice must be weighed carefully against the reputational risk that litigation poses to all parties involved, says Bella von Bohlen at FTI Consulting.

• A First Look At UK's Reform Approach To EU Employment Law

  

  The U.K. government's recent proposal on EU employment laws is relatively modest, retaining the post-Brexit law in areas such as recording working hours and holiday pay calculations, and assuaging predictions of a bonfire of EU employment rights, say Sally Hulston and James Davies at Lewis Silkin.

• PR Perspectives: Strategies For Lawyers Publicizing Litigation

  

  Any business or high-profile individual could end up in court, and with a global audience watching on through social media, lawyers would be wise to use strategic methods to shine a favorable light on their work and cases, says Steve Rudaini at MD Communications.

• Alstom Arb. Case Shows 3 Approaches To Corruption Claims

  

  French, English and Swiss courts have provided differing assessments of post-award corruption allegations in the long-running case Alexander Brothers v. Alstom, which is clearly undesirable, and may affect arbitration tactics, says Harriet Chopra at Fladgate.

• Applying The Singapore Convention In UK: The Key Questions

  

  While the U.K. government's recent decision to join the Singapore Convention is welcome, the hard work arguably starts now in devising the domestic rules to implement it, which should not be treated as a straightforward exercise, says Jan O'Neill at Herbert Smith.

• Judicial Review Lessons From Financial Ombudsman Case

  

  Even though the judicial review claim was dismissed in the recent High Court decision Shawbrook Bank v. Financial Ombudsman Service, it has important legal and practical takeaways for lenders who can obtain real value by challenging FOS decisions, say lawyers at Linklaters.

• Understanding ESG Considerations In Social Lending

  

  In light of recent updates to sustainable finance guidance by loan market associations, lenders should ensure they request compliance information for projects intended to provide social benefits in order to encourage borrowers to hold environmental, social and corporate governance factors as a priority, says Jasmine Robinson at Taylor Wessing.

• How To Approach Different Data Types In E-Disclosure Matters

  

  The High Court's recent decision in Terre Neuve v. Yewdale highlights the importance of practitioners adequately approaching e-disclosure obligations, including understanding their data landscapes and the nuances of different data types, say Fiona Campbell at Fieldfisher and Alejandro Gomez-Igbo at Forensic Risk Alliance.

• EPO Decision Adds To Sparse Case Law On Core AI Patents

  

  The recent European Patent Office Board of Appeal decision in the Sparsely connected neural network/Mitsubishi case is remarkable for its technicality, and provides rare guidance for companies on the requirements for core artificial intelligence invention patents, says Alexander Korenberg at Kilburn & Strode.

• Key Takeaways From Recent UK Insolvency Disputes

  

  As recent insolvency statistics show that U.K. registered company insolvencies are up 16% compared to last year, having a strong understanding of recent key U.K. decisions and how insolvency disputes operate is more important for companies now than it has ever been, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Why The Draft UK Fraud Offense May Not Be A Game Changer

  

  Although the U.K.’s proposed "failure to prevent fraud" offense will generate a need for large businesses to reassess their existing processes, given the long lead-in times for prosecutions and the Serious Fraud Office's current success rate, it seems unlikely that the corporate fraud landscape will be immediately transformed, say Charles Kuhn and Charlotte Gill at Clyde & Co.

• A Review Of The EU FDI Screening Regulation And Its Scope

  

  The EU advocate general’s recent broad interpretation of the EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation takes account of some of the geopolitical challenges faced by the bloc, and may foreshadow a revision of the regulation and widen the scope of investments screened, say Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring.

• How Lawyers Can Best Avoid Money Laundering Issues

  

  There are basic questions that solicitors must ask of clients to avoid money laundering risks, but in light of recent fines imposed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority for failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, firms must also ensure they document their diligence process, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.