Identifying and managing risk is a perennial concern for all businesses. The past year has presented significant new risks in dealing with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has made its impact felt globally across all sectors and industries, as well as on the daily lives of individuals. But of course that is not … Read more

The Lord Chief Justice’s Report 2020 was laid before Parliament yesterday. It notes, unsurprisingly, that the last seven months have been dominated by the courts’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic – a response which has been remarkably successful in civil commercial cases, with a widespread move to video and telephone hearings to allow the administration … Read more

When we originally published this article in April we used the term “potential” in respect of a second wave of Covid-19. Back then many countries were contemplating an easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions following a downturn in cases, and a second wave was discussed as a possibility. In the six months since, we have seen … Read more

A “consequentials hearing” in the FCA’s COVID-19 test case (The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and others [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm)) took place on Friday 2 October 2020. The purpose of the hearing was to: determine the declarations to give effect to the findings of the Court as set out in its judgment dated 15 … Read more

When events take a dramatic turn, parties may be left unable to perform their contractual obligations, or may find that their counterparty is unable or unwilling to perform. In such circumstances, a party may be able to rely on contractual provisions, such as a force majeure or material adverse change (MAC) clause, to suspend its … Read more

The High Court has today handed down judgment in the COVID-19 Business Interruption insurance test case of The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and Others. Herbert Smith Freehills represented the FCA (who was advancing the claim for policyholders) in the case, which considered 21 lead sample wordings from eight insurers. Following expedited proceedings, the judgment … Read more

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 introduces sweeping insolvency reforms in response to the business impacts of Covid-19, designed “to give companies breathing space and keep trading while they explore options for rescue”. Our UK Restructuring, Turnaround and Insolvency team have published an article in International Corporate Rescue which considers the key elements of … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has published a new guide exploring a number of areas in which we anticipate that disputes may arise around the globe as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic or associated disruption. These include contractual disputes, where parties may take steps to terminate a contract or claim damages if their counterparty is not … Read more