International Trade

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models

  

  Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

• Despite Risks, Venezuela May Rekindle Investor Interest

  

  Even in the face of stringent international sanctions against Venezuela, and the country's withdrawal from an investor-state dispute convention, hints of thawing relations between the Maduro regime and the U.S. offer hope for investors with a high risk tolerance, say Stephanie Limaco and Leigh Crestohl at Zaiwalla & Co.

• OFAC Settlement Extends Sanctions' Reach Beyond US Dollar

  

  The recent Office of Foreign Assets Control settlement with JC Flowers & Co. over sanctions arising from non-U.S. currency services provided by its Romanian bank subsidiary extends OFAC's reach outside the U.S. financial system, and highlights the need to educate foreign affiliates about U.S. sanctions compliance, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• 2nd Circ. Vitamin C Price-Fixing Decree Goes Beyond Antitrust

  

  The Second Circuit's recent dismissal of antitrust price-fixing claims against two Chinese vitamin C exporters carries broad implications as to the sources and authorities litigants should present in advancing interpretations of foreign law, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: Leidos GC Talks Social Responsibility

  

  Recent criticisms of corporate commitments to stakeholders such as employees and communities — implicitly opposing environmental, social and governance initiatives — are fundamentally flawed and display a serious misunderstanding of contemporary investor priorities and dynamics, says Jerald Howe at Leidos.

• Lessons In Crisis Lawyering 20 Years After 9/11

  

  Dianne Phillips at Holland & Knight recounts her experiences as in-house counsel at a liquefied natural gas company in the tumultuous aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and details the lessons she learned about lawyering in a crisis, including the importance of careful forethought and having trusted advisers on speed dial.

• Key Anti-Corruption Tips For Green Energy And Tech Cos.

  

  With investments in renewable energy and low carbon technologies growing at unprecedented levels globally, companies in these sectors are rapidly expanding into countries that pose high risks under global anti-corruption laws, so executives must plan to carefully vet risky counterparties, contracts and transactions, says Ryan Hartman at Arnold & Porter.

• Why Structured Data Is Increasingly Important To Your Case

  

  During discovery, legal teams often overlook structured data — the rows of information found in financial ledgers and similar corporate systems — and consider it secondary to emails and other anecdotal evidence, but this common mistake could mean litigators are missing key elements of a dispute, say consultants at Alvarez & Marsal.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert

  

  As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.

• What The Judiciary's Font Recommendations Can Teach Us

  

  The D.C. Circuit's recent soft prohibition on Garamond and the ensuing debates about courts' font preferences should serve as a helpful reminder of a larger point — every departure from convention in legal writing carries some level of risk, says Spencer Short at Stradley Ronon.

• Opinion

  EU Climate Plan Should Involve Taxing Pollution, Not Borders

  

  In order to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions, the European Union proposes to levy carbon emissions at its borders and to overhaul its long-standing energy tax framework, but the latter would hold polluters directly accountable, giving it the better chance for success, says Rebecca Christie at Bruegel.

• Prepare For Global Tax Regime's New Biz Dispute Risks

  

  Companies should take steps to mitigate the business dispute risks of the new international tax framework, which over a hundred countries agreed to in July, as implementing the new regime will be expensive and require substantial organizational restructuring efforts, says Tim McCarthy at Dykema.

• 'Ecocide' May Be New Tool For Fighting Environmental Crime

  

  While it could be difficult for the International Criminal Court to put into practice a recent proposal to make ecocide one of the crimes it prosecutes, it is undeniable that major environmental offenses often have effects similar to war crimes, which are already under the court's purview, says Josef Rybacki at WilmerHale.

• Navigating Asia-Pacific Health M&A In The Wake Of COVID

  

  Bernard Lui and Vanessa Ng at Morgan Lewis discuss new legal considerations for participants in health care mergers and acquisitions with entities in Singapore and elsewhere throughout the Asia-Pacific region as the pandemic continues.

• How The 'Rocket Docket' Continues To Roar Through COVID

  

  While the Eastern District of Virginia rocket docket is no longer the nation's fastest civil trial court, it continues to keep litigation moving efficiently, with pandemic protocols resulting in new benefits for litigants, says Robert Tata at Hunton.