October 2010

Commercial litigation in Scotland: fast and flexible | Brodies

Most commercial organisations try to avoid court actions if at all possible. The fear of becoming embroiled in a long-running and potentially intractable dispute understandably puts many businesses off enforcement of their contractual rights through standard legal channels. Alternative means of dispute resolution have sprung up to fill the gap. Mediation, arbitration and adjudication have …

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IPOs of Dutch public companies: practical notes | Boekel

Dutch Public companies, NVs (Naamloze Vennootschappen), are commonly selected as entities for initial public offerings (IPOs), mostly through conversions of existing Dutch private limited companies (BVs or Besloten Vennootschappen) that are part of the group for the purpose of tax structuring. The purpose of this article is to give in-house counsel a headstart on the …

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Protecting corporate reputations during deal times | Schillings

Generally speaking, 2010 has not been a good year for the M&A market. According to recent data published by Dealogic, global M&A volumes have dropped to their lowest levels in six years, reaching only £785bn in the first six months of the year, a mere 3% increase on the same period last year.1

Property and telecoms: easy money, but at what risk? | Bond Dickinson LLP

It is estimated that in 2009 there were in excess of 70 million mobile phone connections in the UK.

Ireland’s outsourcing future: challenges and opportunities | Byrne Wallace

Outsourcing is a key strategic decision for businesses, enabling more efficient operation through a focus on core areas, while leveraging the capabilities and scale of specialist service providers to effectively operate non-core areas. The economic downturn has increased the pressure on businesses, in Ireland and globally, large-scale corporations and SMEs, to maximise competitiveness while controlling …

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Preventing trade name infringement in Vietnam | Rouse

One of the most important steps in setting up a new business is finding a name for the company. When choosing a name, the two main concerns are usually the meaning of the name and its availability for use. Given that there are countless businesses already established, it is a challenge for a new firm …

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Insurance and the Bribery Act 2010 | Holman Fenwick Willan

Born from increasing international co-operation on anti-bribery issues and a general acceptance that legislation relating to the issue in the UK is outdated, the Bribery Act 2010 (the 2010 Act) received royal assent on 8 April 2010.

Minister’s support is not illegal state aid | SJ Berwin LLP

On 21 May 2010, the EU’s General Court ruled that statements made by the French Minister of the Economy in July 2002 to the French press, pledging financial support from the French state to struggling public company France Telecom (FT), and the government’s subsequent offer of a €9m shareholder loan to the company, did not …

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Enforcing a foreign non-convention country award in India | Amarchand Mangaldas

Enforcing a foreign judgment or a foreign award has always been a contentious issue across the globe. More so because concepts of reciprocity of recognition of judgments and awards have become fundamental in determining the enforceability of a judgment or an award. Indian law also has provisions for dealing with this in the statutes governing …

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Annual quotas set to curb immigration | Magrath Sheldrick LLP

A hot topic in the UK Immigration world is the introduction of an annual quota in respect of migrant workers who enter the UK under either Tiers 1 or 2 of the points-based system (PBS). The government’s stated aim is to ‘reduce net migration to tens rather than hundreds of thousands’. This was a key …

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Managing internal investigations: seven key considerations | DLA Piper

By now, everyone is familiar with the stories in the press about prosecutors and regulators. On the one hand there are swingeing budgets cuts, stripping them of resources and affecting their capacity to investigate. On the other, record fines are being handed down and they are taking every opportunity to remind us that they are …

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New legislation on genetically modified produce | Burges Salmon

The Debate over Genetically Modified organisms (GMOs) has been active for several years now. In 2005 the media regularly depicted protesters against GM trials. The debate may have largely subsided since then but it has risen again recently with news that scientists at Bristol and Liverpool universities have cracked the complete genetic code of wheat. …

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