October 2023 / 22 posts found
ESG due diligence: a first step to mitigating litigation risks
ESG regulations, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) passed by the European Parliament in June, and clarifications to existing directives, such as those on SFDR published in the spring, are posing growing challenges for companies. Even more so that we see the same trend in the USA, the UK and even in Asia, where ESG legislation have been introduced and will continue to be strengthened and broadened. “So corporations need to navigate through all of these regulations and ensure their due diligence approach is adequate” says Stéphanie Lhomme, Head of Forensic Investigations, Corporate Intelligence & Litigation Support […]
Sanctioned Russian tycoon makes divorce appeal in UK Supreme Court
Sanctioned Russian tycoon Vladimir Potanin is set to make a legal challenge in the UK Supreme Court next week over a $6bn marital settlement sought by his ex-wife, cementing London’s reputation as the “divorce capital” of the world. Potanin is appealing against a court ruling that gave permission for his former wife Natalia Potanina to bring her claim in England, which could become one of the biggest settlement cases recorded in the country. The appeal brought by Potanin, who was sanctioned by the British government in 2022 because of his support for the Kremlin after Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion […]
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act introduces new offence of failure to prevent fraud
Expert legal commentators appear to be divided over the impact of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which received royal assent today. The House of Lords nodded through the measure, after months of parliamentary back-and-forth, hours after the government rejected amendments which their backers said would close gaping loopholes. Former lord chancellor Sir Robert Buckland MP warned that unscrupulous operators would exploit threshold definitions in the law: ‘We will see shell companies and people of straw,’ he said. However Tony Lewis, head of fraud, corporate crime & investigations at international firm Fieldfisher, warned that the new regime would place additional compliance […]
12 Things I Wish I Knew When I was Getting Divorced
I’d walk around on the verge of tears all day long, every day. I felt really scared. I felt sad. I felt angry. I felt like a failure. I felt worried about my young children. And, I felt very very alone. I’m referring to a time in my life several years ago, when I was first getting divorced. I didn’t know one person who was going through a divorce and I felt like had no one. No one to talk to, no one to listen, and no one who understood how I was feeling. I didn’t want to talk to […]
Visa faces remaining litigation exposure of up to $4B
Merchants entrenched in litigation against Visa for years may still be owed as much as $4 billion, the card network company recently told analysts. In a call to discuss a share exchange offer Visa recently floated with its stockholders, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney told analysts the card giant values the unresolved claims at between $1.4 billion and $4.0 billion, according to a transcript of the Sept. 13 call. That estimated range is based on settlements already reached, he told the analysts. Despite that billion-dollar outstanding amount, the company contended it has largely resolved the claims brought in class actions by […]
Man accused of shooting judge after divorce trial was ‘cruel’ and ‘controlling’ to ex-wife
A man accused of fatally shooting the judge who presided over his divorce case had a history of controlling and cruel behaviour towards his ex-wife, according to court documents. Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson died from gunshot wounds at his home in Hagerstown, Maryland on Thursday evening, hours after he awarded Eugenia Argote full custody of her four children. A manhunt is underway for Pedro Argote, Ms Argote’s ex-husband and the main suspect in the shooting. Police warned the public that the 49-year-old is considered armed and dangerous. Judge Wilkinson had presided over the divorce case since June […]
Transgender Discrimination – What To Consider – Employment Litigation/ Tribunals
For the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, anything done
by an employee over their employment is treated as having also been
done by the employer. An employment tribunal considered whether it was discriminatory
to use a gendered swearword to insult a transgender staff member,
and also what might amount to “a reasonable steps
defence.” Facts Miss Fischer, a trans woman, (the claimant) was an agency worker
engaged as a bus driver by London United Busways Ltd (the
Respondent). The Respondent terminated her engagement after three
months. The claimant subsequently brought a claim of direct gender
reassignment discrimination under the […]
Woman raped by ex-partner left traumatised by English family courts | Family law
A woman who was raped by her former partner has told how her fight for justice in the family courts left her traumatised. The woman, who has a son with her ex-partner, first put the allegation of rape to the court in 2021 after the father, who she also accused of coercive and controlling behaviour, made an application to spend more time with his child. The allegations were dismissed by Judge Christopher Dodd but the woman later won an appeal to have her case reheard on the basis of errors made by Dodd, including that he had failed to facilitate […]
Online courts adding to delays, solicitors claim | News
Digitisation of the court system is adding to the delays plaguing the civil court system and undermining people’s access to justice when they need it most, hundreds of solicitors have told the Law Society. Responses to a survey of practitioners who have used the damages claims, public family law and probate portals has uncovered the extent of technical issues with the system and the impact of these on the delivery of justice, Chancery Lane said today. The survey, covering June and July this year, received 722 responses: 62% of respondents claimed that the portals had caused delays, impacting their cleints. Law […]
Rising AI Use Paired With Layoffs Invites Age Bias Litigation
Employers like IBM that conduct layoffs while integrating more artificial intelligence into operations face potential exposure to age bias lawsuits if older workers are among the first to get a pink slip. Human resources departments increasingly have been adopting AI-powered tools to help streamline their business processes and efficiently complete tasks like drafting job descriptions and performance reviews or responding to employee inquiries. As a result, there’s a growing discomfort at the prospect that jobs traditionally viewed as needing a human touch may now actually be on the chopping block. “In the past, HR fields haven’t necessarily been a field […]