In the last couple of years in-house lawyers have been flooded with extra work, first from GDPR preparedness and then Brexit. Were it not for these two events it is likely in-house lawyers would already be focusing their minds toward climate change risks. However, despite the ongoing distraction of Brexit, climate change is a fundamental risk that in-house lawyers need to get ahead of.
Last week, the Institute of Business Ethics launched its Board Briefing on “Corporate Ethics in a Digital Age”. A wide-ranging panel discussion and Q&A session at the launch event tackled some of the implications of new technology for ethical business practice and emphasised that, despite its novelty and seeming complexity, it should be subject to the same standards of review and control as any other risk the board might consider.
For those board members exasperated at hearing that they might be expected to drill down into the detail of AI and machine learning on top of their usual agenda, the discussion gave some practical examples of when ethical problems arise out of the use of technology, and reassurance that in fact they may already have all the tools they need.
M&A lawyers are well aware of the importance of assessing the possibility of litigation when their companies (or clients in the case of external lawyers) are acquiring new companies. No company likes to get sued, and even less so when this relates to actions taken by a predecessor.
We have discussed elsewhere that anticipating and quantifying litigation risks is increasingly challenging to do when it comes to a target company’s human rights-related actions: we now have a surge in human rights-related litigation and law suits against companies for allegations of past human rights violations, resulting in acquisitions that can end up costing significantly more than anticipated.
In our Spring agenda piece, Brexit dominated the horizon in the privacy and cyber world. And while many of us will still be transfixed by political events, the extension of the Article 50 process, in all likelihood up to 31 October, has given us momentary relief.
With the Brexit hiatus, attention has turned back to day-to-day compliance concerns. The summer is traditionally a quiet time of year of course but this agenda piece will highlight a number of events coming up you may need to be aware of. It will also highlight some of the key recent developments you may have missed. Continue reading
“I’ve done some questionable things” says Roy – a replicant, a robot – to its maker in a famous scene of the sci-fi cult movie Blade Runner. The movie came out in 1982 and it was set in an imaginary future – the year 2019 – where humanity was struggling with the question of what to think of machines that think and with the ethical and moral implications of artificial intelligence (AI). Continue reading
The recent landmark of the GDPR’s first birthday has given us reason to reflect on current trends in data protection since the Regulation’s implementation last year (see GDPR one year on: some highlights in words and numbers). One of the key trends over the last few months has been the explosion in the number of data controllers identifying as “joint controllers”, likely due in large part to the outcome of three cases decided by the CJEU in 2018. Continue reading
There are many reasons why professionals and business leaders should consider the transition to a non-executive career. Here are our top ten benefits of becoming a non-executive director (NED).
In addition to Brexit, key focus areas for in-house lawyers this month include climate change, corporate transparency and smart contracts.
Saturday marks the first birthday of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). While this time a year ago, up to our necks in updating privacy policies, getting subject access procedures up to standard, delivering training and so on, perhaps few of us would have been wishing this complex behemoth of privacy law well!
Expolink’s new Whistleblowing Benchmarking Report has revealed the latest trends in workplace whistleblowing.
The report analyses 18,335 whistleblowing disclosures made by the employees of more than 650 organisations worldwide. All disclosures were submitted through Expolink’s independent Speak Up service during 2018.
I have picked out five key highlights for compliance teams to consider.