Expert Analysis

• The Outlook For UK Restructuring Plans At Home And Abroad

  

  The U.K. continues to be a center for large-cap, cross-border restructurings, though its competitive edge over the EU in this regard may narrow, while small and medium-sized enterprises are already likely to avoid costly formal processes by reaching out to their secured lenders for restructuring solutions, say Paul Keddie and Timothy Bromley-White at Macfarlanes.

• Best Legal Practices For The Holiday Party Season

  

  With the holiday party season in full swing, two recent Solicitors Regulation Authority decisions serve as a useful reminder to both individuals and firms of the potential employment and regulatory consequences when misconduct is alleged to have occurred at a work event, say lawyers at CM Murray.

• Insights For Cos. As Sustainability Reporting Goal Posts Shift

  

  The European Commission’s recent measures proposing relief in sustainability reporting for small- and medium-sized enterprises mean that many businesses already preparing to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive will find they are still on the right path, say Sarah-Jane Denton and Alexandra Macbean at Travers Smith.

• Foreign Assets Ruling Suggests New Tax Avoidance Approach

  

  The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in His Majesty's Revenue & Customs v. Fisher, which found that the scope of the transfer of foreign assets is narrow, highlights that the days of rampant tax avoidance have been left behind, and that the need for wide-ranging and uncertain tax legislation is lessening, says James Austen at Collyer Bristow.

• Lessons To Be Learned From 2023's Bank Failures

  

  This year’s banking collapses, coupled with interest rate rises, inflation and geopolitical instability have highlighted the need for more robust governance, and banks and regulators have learned that they must adequately monitor and control liquidity risk to protect against another financial crisis, say Juliette Mills and Alix Prentice at Cadwalader.

• Key Questions Ahead Of 2024 Right-To-Work Changes

  

  In 2024, the U.K. will increase the maximum civil penalty for companies hiring employees who don't have legal permission to work, so employers should work toward minimizing the risk of noncompliance, including by using an identity service provider to carry out digital right-to-work checks, says Gemma Robinson at Foot Anstey.

• Class Action-Style Claims Are On The Horizon In 2024

  

  Following the implementation of an EU directive enabling consumers to bring actions for collective redress, 2024 will likely see the first serious swathe of class action-style cases in Europe, particularly in areas such as cyber exposures, ESG and product liability, says Henning Schaloske at Clyde & Co.

• An Overview Of European Private Investments in Public Equity

  

  Although still fairly rare, private investments in public equity may continue to be an attractive option for some European issuers seeking to secure equity financing, and advisers planning such an investment should consider the various local options, requirements and norms, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Cos. Must Monitor Sanctions Regime As Law Remains Unclear

  

  While recent U.K. government guidance and an English High Court's decision in Litasco v. Der Mond Oil, finding that a company is sanctioned when a designated individual is exercising control over it, both address sanctions control issues, disarray in the law remains, highlighting that practitioners should keep reviewing their exposure to the sanctions regime, say lawyers at K&L Gates.

• Unpacking The UK's Proposals To Regulate Crypto-Assets

  

  Recent proposals for crypto-asset regulation in the U.K. demonstrate support for crypto's potential, but there is concern around the authorization process for organizations undertaking crypto-asset activities, and new regulations will require a more detailed assessment of firms' compliance not previously addressed, say Jessica Lee and Menelaos Karampetsos at Brown Rudnick.

• The Top 7 Global ESG Litigation Trends In 2023

  

  To date, ESG litigation across the world can largely be divided into seven forms, but these patterns will continue developing, including a rise in cases against private and state actors, a more complex regulatory environment affecting multinational companies, and an increase in nongovernmental organization activity, say Sophie Lamb and Aleksandra Dulska at Latham.

• Proposed Amendment Would Transform UK Collective Actions

  

  If the recently proposed amendment to the Digital Markets Bill is enacted, the U.K.'s collective action landscape will undergo a seismic change that will likely have significant consequences for consumer-facing businesses, say lawyers at Linklaters.

• UK Takeover Code Changes: Key Points For Bidders, Targets

  

  Newly effective amendments to Rule 21 of the U.K. Takeover Code, which remove legal and administrative constraints on a target operating its business in the ordinary way during an offer, will add clarity for targets and bidders, and are likely to be welcomed by both, say lawyers at Davis Polk.

• EU GDPR Ruling Reiterates Relative Nature Of 'Personal Data'

  

  The Court of Justice of the European Union recently confirmed in Gesamtverband v. Scania that vehicle identification number data can be processed under the General Data Protection Regulation, illustrating that the same dataset may be considered "personal data" for one party, but not another, which suggests a less expansive definition of the term, say lawyers at Van Bael.

• How The UK Smart Regulatory Strategy Fuels AI Innovation

  

  Eight months after the U.K. government published its artificial intelligence white paper, the Communications and Digital Lords Committee considered regulators' role regarding large language models, illustrating that the government is ramping up efforts toward solidifying the U.K.'s position as a global leader in AI regulation and development, say attorneys at Akin Gump.