24 July 2017
Privilege, Confidentiality and the Challenge of Modern Technology
The question of when, and in what circumstances, a document capable of enjoying the protection of legal professional privilege will be said to have lost its confidentiality such that privilege cannot apply has arisen in two cases in separate jurisdictions in recent weeks.
18 December 2015
Strengthening accountability in banking: FCA issues final rules for UK branches of foreign banks
With the advent of the Senior Managers and Certification Regimes soon upon us, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a policy statement that sets out the final rules for the application of the new accountability framework for individuals working in the UK branches of overseas banks (incoming branches). Accordingly the position in relation to the application of the Senior Managers Regime (SMR), Certification Regime (CR) and Conduct Rules to incoming branches and their staff is now clear.
6 October 2015
Lessons learned from the first resolution under s7 of the Bribery Act
More than four years since the offence of failure to prevent bribery was introduced through s7 of the Bribery Act 2010, the UK’s first s7 resolution has taken place in Scotland. Following a self-report in June 2015, the Crown Office has agreed a civil recovery order with Brand-Rex Ltd, a company that develops cabling solutions for network infrastructure and industrial applications. The self-report related to an independent installer who had passed on to a customer the benefit of an incentive scheme which was aimed at Brand-Rex’s installers and distributors.
1 October 2015
Corporate liability extension rejected: “failure to prevent” offence confined to the Bribery Act
The government has announced that it will not proceed with the proposed extension of the corporate criminal offence of failure to prevent bribery under s7 of the Bribery Act (“the s7 offence”) to encompass a wider range of economic crime. It has also shelved its review of whether current rules on corporate criminal liability should be widened to make it easier to convict companies who commit wrongdoing.
17 September 2015
The Yates memo: will it make a difference to prosecutions in the UK?
The US Department of Justice (“DoJ”) has issued a memorandum to Federal Prosecutors on Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing (“the Yates memo”). It is widely regarded as the DoJ’s response to criticism that they tend to prosecute companies rather than individuals in contrast to the criticism often levelled at their English counterparts at the SFO.