Member News

EU: Parent Companies Are Liable for Cartel Damages Caused By Their Liquidated Subsidiaries

By Till Steinvorth and Boris Marschall | Orrick In a landmark judgment (Case C‑724/17, Vantaa vs. Skanska Industrial Solutions and others), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided on March 14, 2019 that companies cannot use corporate restructuring to escape their liability for cartel damages. Background The Skanska case concerned a cartel in the asphalt market in Finland. Seven companies were ultimately fined for their participation in the cartel. After the cartel became public, the municipality of Vantaa, which had bought asphalt during the cartel...

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Member News, Trade & TTIP Related

U.S. Trade Representative Releases 2019 Trade Policy Agenda and 2018 Annual Report

By TH International Trade The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released President Donald Trump’s 2019 Trade Policy Agenda and 2018 Annual Report, detailing how the Trump administration’s trade policies “are benefitting American workers and contributing to the strongest economy in decades.” Claiming that the Trump administration “inherited a significantly flawed trading system,” the report states that the administration “took immediate and decisive action to implement a new trade agenda.” The USTR indicated that it “and other parts of the Administration...

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Member News

U.K. Employment Law Update: Accrued Holidays, Disability Benefits and Age Discrimination

By Alex Denny, Emma Vennesson, Katherine E. Newman, Philip Novak | Faegre Baker Daniels LLP If Accrued Holidays Are Not Used, Will They Be Lost? In the cases of Kreuziger v Berlin (C-619/16) EU:C:2018:872 and Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenschaften eV v Shimizu (C-684/16) EU:C:2018:874, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) considered the right to payment for accrued but untaken holidays on termination of employment under EU law. As a current EU member state, the U.K. must interpret national legislation as...

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Brexit News, Chapter News, News

UK parliament votes to reject no-deal Brexit

by Charlie Cooper MPs are concerned that leaving the EU without a deal on March 29 would damage the UK economy. MPs voted outright to reject a no-deal Brexit, paving the way for a vote on whether Theresa May will ask the EU to agree a delay to Brexit. The vote, which passed by 312 to 308 is non-binding on the government. It came in the form of an amendment to a government motion which, while also rejecting a no-deal exit on...

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Member News

What you need to consider when doing business in Europe | A view from Brussels

When expanding into and operating across Europe, US companies need to navigate an entirely different legal landscape and address a number of key issues that impact the success of the business overseas. With a view from Brussels in the “center of Europe”, this checklist covers many of the key legal issues companies encounter when doing business in the EU. With Brexit looming on the horizon, we’ve also addressed some of principal ways this will impact companies trading in the...

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Member News

The main innovations of the newly enacted Italian Code for Distressed Companies and Insolvency

On 10 January 2019, the Italian Government enacted the Legislative Decree No. 14 of 2019, also known as “Code for Distressed Companies and Insolvency” (the “Code”). The Code aims to allow early detection of a financial “crisis” and prevent future insolvency. When such prevention fails, the Code also aims to handle insolvency with the goal of overcoming distress and return to profitability. The Code’s provisions will take effect 18 months after its publication in the Italian Official Journal (Gazzetta...

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Brexit News, Chapter News, News, Uncategorized

MEPs vote to limit negative impact of no-deal Brexit on citizens

To ensure the least possible disruption, MEPs on Wednesday vote on travel, transport, Erasmus, social security and fisheries measures. At the request of the European Parliament and the Council, the European Commission proposed urgency measures to mitigate the effects of a withdrawal of the UK from the EU without an agreement. These measures include legal safeguards for current Erasmus students and teachers in or from the UK to complete their ongoing learning activity abroad, continued funding of EU programmes building cross-border and cross-community...

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Brexit News, Member News

Second defeat for the UK Prime Minister as MPs vote against the deal

By Mike Archer & Gavin Rice | FTI Consulting Eight weeks since the UK Parliament rejected the Government’s negotiated Brexit deal by a historic margin, they have once again voted down the agreement – although with a significantly reduced majority. The Prime Minister responded by declaring that the Government will agree time to debate and vote on motions relating to no deal and on extending Article 50. Despite the defeat, it remains entirely possible that the Government would seek to...

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Brexit News, Chapter News, News

Second Brexit deal defeat throws UK politics into crisis

By Charlie Cooper Rejection by House of Commons leaves Theresa May’s strategy in tatters. MPs in Westminster dealt another heavy defeat to the Brexit deal agreed between the U.K. and the EU, voting against it by 391 to 242 — a majority of 149. It is the second time that the House of Commons has rejected the deal following the thumping 230-vote margin of defeat when Prime Minister Theresa May first called a ratification vote in January. The defeat leaves May's government in jeopardy...

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