Internal Investigations Archives

In Internal Investigations

Future of Disputes UK

July 6, 2022 by Steve Abraham, Yindi Gesinde, Edward Poulton, Ash Tiwari, Dr. Markus Altenkirch LL.M., Mark Banks, Katia Finkel, Carinne Kamdar, Ben Ko, Ben Levitt, Richard Molesworth and Jack Secunda 4 Mins Read

Our Future of Disputes UK Virtual Programme brought speakers from leading in-house institutions – including AON, Gilead, GPW Group, HSBC, JP Morgan, Rio Tinto, Salesforce and Siemens – together with Baker McKenzie dispute resolution specialists to discuss key challenges in litigation, arbitration and investigations likely to arise over the next year.
We tackled the practicalities around contract disputes and termination, engaging with government and regulators, strategies to manage litigation risk arising from internal investigations, and provided an overview of how case lifecycles are likely to unfold following recent reforms of litigation and arbitration mechanisms. Our speakers share insights garnered from managing complex, multijurisdictional disputes and offer strategies to help you shape your organisation’s business resilience and readiness for litigation in the medium and long term.

In Antitrust / Competition

Hong Kong: Navigating Competition Investigations – Knowing Your Legal Rights and Protecting Your Business (Webinar Invitation – 7 July 2022)

July 1, 2022 by Stephen Crosswell 2 Mins Read

In 2008, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal issued a landmark judgment in Koon Wing Yee v Insider Dealing Tribunal deciding that if a regulator is seeking a financial penalty, the individual or company being investigated is, for human rights purposes, facing a criminal charge and entitled to fundamental Bill of Rights protections.

Hong Kong’s competition law was being drafted at the time. The enforcement framework and law were fundamentally rewritten because of Koon. The Administration said that appropriate criminal safeguards, including fair trial, protection against self-incrimination and standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt, must be in place both during investigation and trial to meet the requirements of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. In 2019, in the first case to come to trial, Hong Kong’s Competition Tribunal agreed.

In Asia-Pacific

Singapore: Duties and obligations during employment investigations (Case Update)

June 2, 2022 by Celeste Ang and Pradeep Nair 8 Mins Read

Dong Wei v Shell Trading (Pte) Ltd and anor [2022] SGHC(A) 8 concerned an appeal from the decision of the Singapore High Court in a case relating to the termination of an employee’s employment without cause and with pay in lieu of notice, following two investigations into allegations of conflicts of interest.

In Anti-Corruption

Spain: First steps of the Government to implement the EU’s Whistleblowing Directive

April 12, 2022 by Montserrat Llopart and Claudia Grau 6 Mins Read

On 4 March 2022, the Government approved the Draft Law on the protection of persons who report infringements of regulations and the fight against corruption, aimed at transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on whistleblowers’ protection.

In Internal Investigations

United States: Tales From the Trenches

March 3, 2022 by William Dugan, James (Joe) Ward, Jacob M. Kaplan, Christine Streatfeild, Alexander G. Davis, Sara Victoria Pitt and Erin Shields 2 Mins Read

Late last year, after a month-long trial, a Baker McKenzie team secured a complete defense verdict in favor of our client MedMen and its two co-founders. The trial was the culmination of three years of intense litigation. The result was publicized in Law360, among other outlets.
In this unique three-part webinar series, members of Baker McKenzie’s North America Trial Team will provide insight surrounding this litigation win and the steps taken to achieve it, from inception to defense verdict

In Data Privacy

South Africa: Gag agreements – dishonest conduct will not see the light of day if employer consent is required

February 16, 2022 by Johan Botes 4 Mins Read

The Labor Appeal Court in South Africa recently considered the binding nature of confidentiality agreements in the workplace. Both employers and employees should note that the courts will consider each case on its merit and will consider the scope and reach of the agreement, and the substance of any disclosure that breaches this undertaking.

In Corporate Compliance

United States: This week in government enforcement

February 11, 2022 by Thomas Firestone and Jerome Tomas 12 Mins Read

This week’s discussion will cover the following:
• Indictment of Belarus government officials for air piracy in connection with forced landing of Ryanair jet
• First DOJ indictment over threatening of election officials
• SEC v. David P. Forte, et al. – SEC and DOJ Continue to Pursue Insider Trading Based on Circumstantial Evidence
• Discussion of most recent tipper-tippee insider trading case

In Anti-Corruption

Switzerland: Compliance & investigations webinar series

February 11, 2022 by Christoph Kurth, Simon Ntah and Caleb Sainsbury 2 Mins Read

Baker McKenzie are now inviting you to join sessions on specific developments and areas of risk that are on the minds of risk managers and require forethought today. The Series is designed for legal and compliance as well as interested business leaders who want to invest 50 minutes every month to these topics and come away with ideas and practical guidance.

In Cyber Security

Latin America: Quick guide to workplace investigations in LATAM

February 10, 2022 by Jonathan Adams, María (Vanina) Vanina Caniza, Jesus Davila, Sebastian Doren, Carlos A. Felce, Tatiana Garcés Carvajal, Alberto José González Torres, Ma. Rosario Lombera González, María Carolina Pardo Cuéllar, Monica Pizarro, Teresa Tovar, Andrés Valdés, Leticia Ribeiro and Heloísa Barroso Uelze 2 Mins Read

Mainly during the pandemic, the use of technological resources for performing a job has significantly grown. As a result, the access to such resources in the context of internal investigations has become almost a must. This triggers relevant concerns from a data privacy and a labor perspective.

In Asia-Pacific

Japan: The requirement for whistleblowing systems under the Amended Whistleblower Protection Act

February 6, 2022 by Dr. Akira Inoue, Toshio Ibaraki, Dominic Sharman, Takumi Hasegawa and Rieko Yamauchi 5 Mins Read

In June 2022, amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act, which protects employees who have reported violations of certain laws specified in the WPA, are expected to come into force. Amongst other items, the Amended WPA includes a mandatory obligation for companies of a certain size to establish a whistleblowing system with the aim of ensuring the protection of whistleblowers.