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Inside Counsel

Law firm hourly rates jumped 4.8% last year

According to the latest figures, law firms are clawing back some of the pricing power they lost during the recession.
13 minute read

Inside Counsel

UK regulator orders Google to destroy user data collected during Street View project

The U.K.s overseer of data privacy, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) announced today that it has ordered Google to destroy user data it collected during its Street View mapping project, or the regulator will bring criminal proceedings.
4 minute read

International Edition

The cost of compliance – offshore tax structures are in the spotlight post-G8

Top of David Cameron's stated agenda for the G8 summit on 17-18 June was a move towards tax openness and transparency – part of a political campaign that came into the media spotlight last year when it was discovered that large multinationals such as Google and Starbucks had avoided paying large sums of tax in the UK. But lawyers in offshore jurisdictions are divided as to whether the UK's calls for automatic tax information exchange, hot on the heels of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), will have a positive or negative impact either on or offshore. What is clear is that this move towards global tax information exchange is well underway, with more governments signing up all the time – with the exception of China, which has sufficient economic clout not to feel pressured to fall in line with what the US or any other jurisdiction might demand.
8 minute read

International Edition

Crystal clear – is transparency the solution to the 'dirty tactics' of tax avoidance?

It is perhaps unsurprising that mass media outlets in the UK have increased their focus on tax avoidance by large corporations as well as by private individuals, not least as we begin to feel the pinch from the government's austerity package and as politicians start to limber up for the next general election. Hearts and minds are to be won, and the legality and morality of tax mitigation are hot topics with a plentiful diet of opinion. The voice of the international financial centres (IFCs), which are criticised for their use of attractive rates of taxation to entice business, is often quieter than the voice of their critics. This is particularly the case for the smaller IFCs among the UK's crown dependencies (CDs) and overseas territories (OTs), but what they have to say is of merit and should be listened to. Indeed, in many areas of tax transparency as well as compliance and anti-money laundering, standards are higher in the more sophisticated and well-regulated offshore centres than in their counterparts onshore. Furthermore, with IFCs contributing to the efficient flow of capital between developed and less-developed economies through direct and indirect investment, their role in promoting trade is well-established.
5 minute read

International Edition

Senior City lawyers lambast 'naive' and 'monstrous' bank reform plans

Senior City partners have come out strongly against proposals for banking reform published yesterday (19 June) by the commission tasked with restoring confidence in the industry in the wake of the Libor scandal. The parliamentary commission's report on banking standards, which includes proposals to jail bankers who engage in "reckless misconduct", has been met with strong criticism from senior lawyers, who describe aspects of the report as 'unworkable', 'naive' and 'monstrous'.
3 minute read

Inside Counsel

Regulatory: The dos and don’ts of internal investigations—Part 4

In this article, we cover the importance of the timing and sequence of your witness interviews (Dont Start At The Top) and proper staffing for your interviews (Dont be a lone ranger.)
3 minute read

Inside Counsel

Regulatory: Antitrust Division modifies “carve out” policy for corporate plea agreements

The Antitrust Divisions carve out policy, has finally been modified to bring it in line with the policies of the rest of the Justice Department.
8 minute read

Inside Counsel

Canada accuses Nestle and Mars of price-fixing chocolate

Chocolate is delicious; price-fixing, a little less so.
2 minute read

Inside Counsel

Cheat Sheet: A guide to the NLRB recess appointment controversy

President Barack Obamas first term saw a spate of pro-labor rulings emerging from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which included three Democratic members with links to unions.
19 minute read

Inside Counsel

5 notable GCs in the news

General counsel sound off on NSA surveillance, gene patentability, "patient dumping" and more
10 minute read

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