Expert Analysis

• Human Rights Benchmarks: A Primer For In-House Counsel

  

  A number of corporate institutions and nongovernmental organizations have partnered together to “benchmark” how peer companies compare to each other in the area of human rights compliance. The reputational damage that these studies can cause should not be underestimated, say Viren Mascarenhas and Kayla Winarsky Green of King & Spalding LLP.

• Basic Human Rights: Whose Job Is Enforcement?

  

  The cases of Jesner v. Arab Bank and Doe v. Cisco Systems pose different legal tests under the Alien Tort Statute. But these decisions could hold major consequences for environmentalists, human rights activists and even individuals who have turned to ATS to go after transnational corporations, says Dan Weissman of LexisNexis.

• Cos. Should Note Guidance From Gov'ts On Human Rights

  

  Recent legislative and courtroom developments in the U.K., the U.S. and further afield may have a significant impact on human rights compliance requirements for companies doing business internationally, say attorneys with Covington & Burlington LLP.

• Preparing For UK Litigation As A US Lawyer

  

  Counsel fees, issue fees, risk of loss and the “additional” cost of a barrister mark significant differences between the U.K. and U.S. legal processes. The good news is that the bond between the U.K. and the U.S. arising out of our common history and law renders retaining and working with U.K. counsel seamless and rewarding, says Richard Reice of Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney LLP.

• Whistleblower Protection: When Private Turns Public

  

  In Chesterton v. Nurmohamed, a U.K. appeals court recently found that disclosing a breach of a worker's contract may satisfy the public interest requirement for whistleblower protection if a sufficiently large number of other workers are affected. This decision may cause some concern for well-known employers, say Emma Vennesson and Katherine Newman of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.

• Uber May Have Met Its Waterloo In Europe

  

  Recent developments in Europe suggest that Uber’s business model — built on its claims that it is a digital platform between consumer and driver, not a transportation company, and that its workers are merely independent contractors, not employees governed by local labor laws — may be approaching collapse on the continent sooner than anticipated, says Thomas Dickerson of Herzfeld & Rubin PC.

• Harmonizing US And UK Workplace Dress Codes

  

  Given recent publicity surrounding workplace dress codes for women in both the U.S. and U.K., it's likely the issue will be subject to greater scrutiny going forward. Companies with an international reach must exercise particular caution when seeking to coordinate workplace dress codes across the business as considerations may differ widely, says Furat Ashraf of Bird & Bird.

• Top 5 Business And Human Rights Concerns For Companies To Monitor

  

  Businesses are being bombarded with information about their responsibilities toward global human rights and other nonfinancial efforts. According to Covington & Burling LLP attorneys Christopher Walter and Hannah Edmonds, U.K. businesses should be actively monitoring five key developments.

• FCA's Work In Progress: Individual Accountability

  

  In the case of the U.K. accountability regime, the sea change seems to have been more about the Financial Conduct Authority sending a message to firms, leaders and the public that things would be different — rather than replacing an ineffective regime. We anticipate a change within the financial services sector, as individuals are likely to want to eat more carrots and feel fewer sticks, say members of Taylor Wessing LLP.

• Conflict Minerals Compliance: What To Do Now

  

  In the final part of a three-part series on conflict minerals compliance, Michael Littenberg at Ropes & Gray LLP discusses practical compliance tips for this cycle and the next in light of past and expected trends in conflict minerals compliance.

• UK Modern Slavery Act: Public Shame In The Supply Chain

  

  Businesses are increasingly expected to respect human rights wherever they operate. Though light on government regulation, the U.K. Modern Slavery Act is designed to engineer pressure from consumers, investors and the media, which could ultimately be more effective at driving up standards than the threat of legal enforcement action, says Richard Tauwhare at Dechert LLP.

• New UK Supply Chain Disclosures Apply To US Companies

  

  Starting in October 2015, some U.S. companies, including many that already come within the scope of the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, will be required to make disclosures about the steps their supply chains are taking to prevent human trafficking under the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act, says Michael Littenberg at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.

• A New Compliance Challenge For Cos. Doing Business In UK

  

  On the heels of the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 — a close copy of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — the United Kingdom has now taken cues from another novel U.S. enactment, this time the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and delivered its own disclosure regime on the doorsteps of the international business world, say attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP.

• UK-Based LLP Partners Now Enjoy More Protections

  

  The crux of the debate in Bates van Winklehof v. Clyde & Co LLP was whether a partner could be considered a “worker” under U.K. law. The U.K. Supreme Court's holding will have potentially wide-reaching implications for LLPs with U.K.-based partners, say Katie Clark and Sharon Tan of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

• Mapping The Revised UK Takeover Landscape

  

  The key impact of recent and impending changes to the U.K. Takeover Code for private equity bidders is that a bidder is now required to disclose its plans for employer contributions to the target’s defined benefit pension schemes, including the current arrangements for funding any scheme deficit, say attorneys with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.