“We continue to see rapid digitalization across all industry sectors, in addition to rising expectations and accountability in relation to ESG matters, empowerment of employee and customer voices, and growing enforcement efforts and coordination between global authorities,” said Jennifer Semko, a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Litigation & Government Enforcement Practice based in Washington, DC. “These issues have only been accelerated by COVID-19, with some organizations beginning to uncover vulnerabilities arising from their response to disruption, and governments under pressure to fill holes in domestic finances. All of these factors are combining to create significant litigation risk for companies going forward […]

The litigation fallout against employers over COVID-19-related issues is starting to take shape in California – and there has been a definitive uptick in cases alleging the employer is not accommodating physical and/or mental disabilities under California’s version of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Accommodating employees’ physical and mental COVID-19-related illnesses has proven to be challenging for employers, but you can prevent (and defend against) potential litigation in this area by learning from recent cases. Prime Example One such example is the recent lawsuit filed by Jonathan Pantani against his former employer, Instapage, Inc. Pantani alleges that Instapage failed […]

It’s exempted from the probate process; courts don’t get involved in its execution TopicsTrusts | Will With stories of loss of life due to the pandemic coming in every day, those who have not given any thought to estate planning should do so at the earliest to secure their family’s future. A Will works well for smaller families with simpler inheritance objectives. It is also cost-effective. However, in many instances, the authenticity of the Will gets challenged, resulting in lengthy court cases. This can be avoided by setting up a trust. Moiz Rafique, managing partner, Privy Legal Service LLP, said, “There […]

At some point in life, statistically, a large percentage of Americans are going to have to endure some form of legal matters with family or business partners. The idea of having to go through any type of proceeding like this makes some people swear off marriage or any type of risk-taking in their lives that may result in a legal dispute in front of a court of law. What if I told you that you could resolve your legal dispute in the matter of six to 12 months, while saving money and having the opinion of an attorney, mental health […]

Bill and Melinda Gates have announced they are to divorce after 27 years of marriage, saying they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple”. The Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist and his wife have built up a combined $124bn (£89bn) fortune, making them among the five richest couples in the world. “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the pair said in a joint statement posted on Twitter on Monday. The couple, who jointly run the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a […]

The Delhi High Court on Monday came down on several petitioners for filing “publicity interest litigations” on various issues, like regulating news reporting of COVID issues and investigating the alleged misuse of the Lt Governor-Chief Minister Relief Fund, saying these were filed without any homework and imposed costs on some of them. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh said some of these pleas appeared to be filed on ideas which came to the petitioners’ minds while having tea or walking on the road. “Chai peete peete idea aaya toh socha file karo PIL (while […]