THE LAWYER: Briefings Digest
| TThis week the Briefings bowl is full of nutritious alphabet soup — perfect for a cold, grey City where, notwithstanding all those salary rises and promotions, anxiety throngs the air, holiday plans are being cancelled and the spectre of Christmas last hovers. Bibs at the ready? Then let’s tuck in. The first spoonful brings up your three favourite words of the year: environmental, social and governance; fondly known as ESG. Legislation is rife with them, government departments are fluttering green and white papers on them at each other, boards across the globe are rifling through policy amendments and careful aim is being taken at greenwashers. COP26 crops up a lot. |
| Sustainable litigation is becoming a thing. For example, a High Court Chancery Division judge in a recent decision broadened the scope of CPR 1.4 so that the requirement to conduct proceedings “efficiently” could include carbon-reduction efficiency, e-trials and e-hearings. Many sun-soaked funds have been bathed in green. Cayman Funds are subject to ESG regulations in their asset managers’ jurisdictions and SFDR (if marketed in the EU), but may also come under new regulations being formulated in the Caymans for sustainability-related disclosure to try to contain greenwashing. Although the new initiatives are laudable, what happens when the rules are just too much to stomach? This may become the case for PE/VC firms invested in SMEs if or when BVCA-endorsed climate-related reporting requirements proposed by the FCA come into effect. The FCA Handbook also comes under scrutiny in its definition, or lack thereof, of the phrase “web-based trading platform” in its attempt to regulate them under MAR and UK MiFir. This affects a host of other acronyms you are being spared here but which you should scoop up on your own. In an attempt to avoid using the new C word in this email, let’s go back a letter and talk about the dread B word. It’s been a long year since Brexit (said it!) and this week some of you have paused to reflect, perhaps just before dashing to the slopes before they’re out of bounds. It’s therefore a bit of shame Shoosmith’s article on how to divorce well didn’t appear in the Government’s inboxes a year ago. This week, as British tourists are being beaten back from France with a festive bûche, William Fry reflected on the UK’s bar from Lugano and Brussels (recast), too. The UK Cabinet Office has published responses to its green paper proposals for public procurement processes post-Brexit. They claim to ensure the new procedures will provide for “the public good, value for money, transparency, integrity, fair treatment of suppliers and non-discrimination” in line with current UCR and DSPCR regulations but without the concept of proportionality as a general principle. Hmm, not mmm. (And, yes, too many “p”s in this mouthful.) It was a bountiful week and this selection just skims the surface. See below for North American IP and UK RE tax changes , an ME four-day work week, new Listing Rules and the latest on tech in the CEE. The Lawyer website has lots more, so poke around there, too. Bon appétit! |
| Top briefings by author |
| TLT Sustainable litigation: Signs of progress Ogier An ESG framework for Cayman Funds Collyer BristowThe impact of the FCA climate-related disclosure rules on funds and investors Shoosmiths A venue, or not a venue, that is the question Shoosmiths Our tips to achieving a good divorce William Fry End of year review: Cross border recognition and enforcement of judgments (Part 2) Browne Jacobson Transforming public procurement: Government response to consultation |
| Top briefings by practice area |
| In-house: The Tech-Enabled Lawyer: The evolution of the legal function | LexisNexis Pharmaceuticals and healthcare: EUDAMED – A work in progress! | William Fry Real estate tax: What changes could be on the way? | TLT Technology: to the point: technology & digitalisation | December 2021 | Schoenherr Litigation: The end of oral court hearings? | VdA Corporate: FCA announces new Listing Rules to boost growth and innovation | Gowling WLGMore → |
| Top briefings by region |
| US & the Americas: Upcoming changes to the Canadian Patent Rules | Gowling WL GOffshore: Cayman Islands restructuring: No place like home | Conyers Middle East & Africa: The new UAE Labour Law: What’s keeping your HR team awake at night? | Gowling WLG Europe: Employee training: working time or rest period? | SchoenherrMore |
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