In 2023 organizations can apply for a European patent with unitary effect in 25 European Union countries. The system brings many simplifications to obtaining protection, but it also comes with some limitations. The aim of the paper is to explore the possibilities and limitations that a European...

This paper identifies a new and previously unidentified trend that is changing corporate governance: board liability for misconduct based on operational risk. Operational risk is serious business. When boards slumber, hundreds of people die in airline accidents, pipelines explode causing massive...

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised serious questions about disputants’ access to justice. Early on in the pandemic, in March 2020, U.S. courts shut down jury trials, judges conducted almost all appearances and arguments on videoconference, and clerks placed many civil cases on hold. Similarly,...

This column provides practical steps toward protecting an LLC's written operating agreement from claims of oral or implied-in-fact modification. Such claims undercut the purpose of “reducing the agreement to writing,” replacing definiteness with uncertainty and substituting swearing matches...

Current accounts and securities accounts have more in common than meets the eye. Both are organised in a hierarchical fashion, with the ‘best’ instruments at the top, and 'derivative' instruments lower down. Both change the nature of what the “depositor” holds from what he/she has...

This chapter examines the often-cited distinction between private international law and public international law in the context of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (‘CISG’). The traditional view holds that private and public international law are separate...

Can parties contract out of the general partnership form of business organization, even if their conduct would otherwise establish a partnership? Although a recent judicial decision suggests that they can, treating contractual disclaimers of partnership as dispositive is inconsistent with modern...

The year 2021 was a remarkable one on many levels for M&A and the transactional market more broadly. Building on the strong market that began in the middle of 2020 following a sharp, but short, pandemic-driven downturn, 2021 witnessed shattered records across every dimension, including: M&A...

Environmental, social, and governance accountability for companies has become an important topic in popular and academic debate in modern society. The idea that corporations should have ESG goals has been embraced by major investment companies, employees, and many corporations themselves. Yet,...

For a long time, the European insolvency laws have been considered as country-specific regulations, entirely focused on national needs and expectations. This perception depends on several factors. First, the debtor’s financial distress tends to be systematic by naturally expanding its effects...