Our knowledge resources reflect the breadth and depth of our expertise, our insight into the issues which matter to your business, and our understanding of the markets in which you operate.
There is a growing trend amongst activists and claimant law firms to pursue novel causes of action against companies for acts or omissions that, while not directly attributable to them, are said to result in alleged human rights breaches in their value chains.
On 20 July 2022 the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, announced a package of measures designed to tackle the increased use of SLAPPs in the courts of England and Wales.
Since the Supreme Court's rulings in Vedanta Resources Plc v Lungowe [2019] UKSC 20 ("Vedanta") and HRH Emere Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell [2021] UKSC 3 ("Okpabi"), much has been written about the potential impact these decisions may have on UK-domiciled businesses with foreign operations and, in particular, how they will assist claimants who wish to initiate large-scale group litigation.
Welcome to the third episode in our Spotlight on ESG video series.
Welcome to the second episode in our Spotlight on ESG video series.
On Thursday 16 June Travers Smith hosted a webinar focusing on the regulation of impact funds in the EU and the UK. As more alternative asset managers seek to raise dedicated "impact funds", regulators have responded with more regulation to increase disclosure and prevent "greenwashing".
Welcome to the first episode in our Spotlight on ESG video series.
ESG and sustainability issues continue to be a priority for policy makers and regulators globally. The impact of the Ukraine conflict on energy policy and the recent publication of the IPCC's (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) "state of the union" report on the slender window we have to take action in order to meet our climate targets both highlight the scale of the global challenge we face on climate issues.
With claimants around the globe continuing to bring novel and ambitious climate change-related cases before common law Courts, some judges are hesitant to be drawn into what may be perceived as a political debate.
Meet the people who make up our Dispute Resolution practice and learn more about the market-leading work we do. Containing a host of thought leadership pieces on trending topics and current developments in the UK litigation market and insights into what matters to us as a team.
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre recently produced a report calling into question the quality and utility of the now ubiquitous social audit reporting (Social Audit Liability: Hard Law Strategies to Redress Weak Social Assurances) (the "Report").
Shareholders in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Australia's largest bank, have applied to the Federal Court of Australia to compel the CBA to furnish them with documents pertaining to its decisions to finance certain energy projects.
It has been reported that two German NGOs (Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe) have written a letter of claim to Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and independent oil and gas company Wintershall Dea, alleging that the companies need to put in place measures to reduce their CO2 emissions by 45% (as against 2019 levels) by 2030.
English courts are seeing an increasing number of claims brought against UK companies who are said to be responsible for harm to claimants who live outside of the UK, even though the company was not directly involved in the wrongful conduct alleged.
The recent judgment of the High Court in Josiya & Ors v British American Tobacco PLC & Ors [2021] EWHC 1743 (QB) is the latest in a series of cases in which the English Courts have refused to strike out novel claims against UK companies in respect of alleged unethical conduct in their overseas business operations.
A recent Court of Appeal judgment (Hamida Begum v Maran (UK) Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 326 ("Maran")) may have significant ramifications for the scope of corporate risk faced by UK companies conducting business overseas.
On 12 February 2021 the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited judgment in Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell [2021] UKSC 3.
Find out more about our disputes practice and how we go about our business.
In late January 2021, the Court of Appeal of the Hague considered in some detail whether to hold Royal Dutch Shell (UK plc) responsible for the actions of its indirect subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, in a long-running litigation relating to a significant oil leak in Nigeria.