Legal briefings from the world's leading law firms

Effective since 1 March 2012, the new German Insolvency Act significantly improves the position of creditors in insolvency proceedings over the assets of German companies. This briefing outlines one of the new features of the Act and how it can help successful restructuring.

This article examines the 2011 inaugural Say on Pay proxy season in the US; the influence of Proxy Adviser recommendations; and shareholder derivative lawsuits following the SOP vote. In the UK, the article describes the current SOP regime, recent developments and potential new regulations.

On 30 September 2011, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance issued a landmark decision concerning the rights of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. The court found that a law prohibiting foreign domestic helpers from acquiring permanent residency in Hong Kong was unconstitutional.

Employers with multi-jurisdictional operations increasingly seek to implement blanket policies that apply equally to their global workforce. This article discusses various anti-discrimination regimes and practices, with a view to addressing the challenge of implementing a harmonised policy.

Do you know your 'negotiable instruments' from your 'nil cost options'? This Book of Jargon® is intended to assist members of the European financial community and recent business or law school graduates in learning or re-learning to 'talk the talk' of banking, capital markets and project finance.

This client alert from Latham & Watkins’ litigation team provides a detailed analysis of SEC v. Citigroup Global Mkts. Inc and asks whether the District Court Judge’s provocative decision signals a new, more stringent, and more disconcerting standard in settling regulatory enforcement actions.

On 5 December 2011, the Italian Committee for Corporate Governance published a revised code of Corporate Governance for listed companies. The new code provides listed companies with best practices on corporate governance. This article discusses the principal changes introduced by the new code.

Many European high yield bonds are trading at substantial discounts to par, providing an opportunity for issuers to repurchase their bonds at favourable prices. Latham & Watkins outline what should be considered in every bond repurchase transaction, and discuss some of the jurisdictional issues.

In this client alert, Latham & Watkins’ litigation team study the case of HICEE B.V. v The Slovak Republic to outline why ambiguous wording in investment protection treaties can lead to devastating consequences for foreign investors should they fail to structure their investments properly.

This quarterly review from Latham & Watkins offers a round-up of key developments in employment law from around the world. This edition focuses on works councils and union strike action in Germany, France and the UK; and US and UK pension funding considerations in corporate transactions.