As the world begins to recover from the global pandemic, companies and
individuals are faced with increasing risks and uncertainty. There are
stock market fluctuations, heightened international tensions, and the
full effects of Brexit which are yet to be felt, as well as India and
China emerging as economic superpowers challenging for the first time
the supremacy of the United States and EU. Coupled with this is the now
daily occurrence of cyber attacks, enhanced scrutiny of cultural
perspectives within the business world following the #MeToo and Black
Lives Matter movements, and ever-present threat of climate change, this
issue now front and centre in boardrooms.Amid all this directors are
subject to more legal scrutiny than ever. In the six years since the
last edition was published, companies' laws and financial regulations
have been updated, and there is more diligent and better resourced
enforcement of bribery and corruption laws. Shareholders around the
world enjoy more extensive rights to hold directors to account than ever
before, and directors are less likely to be forgiven for ignoring their
responsibilities. They are looking ever more closely at the protection
available to them, through both indemnification and directors' and
officers' (D&O) insurance, the latter having recently been through the
"hardest" market for decades, with reductions in the amount of cover
available and significantly increased premiums, partly as a result of
the increase in volume and severity of directors' claims.Nonetheless,
the exposures that directors face and the extent to which
indemnification and insurance may provide protection around the world
are still very nuanced; there can be no "one size fits all" approach.
The fourth edition of this title features fully updated contributions
from leading legal experts around the world on what directors need to be
concerned about in 2022 and beyond, together with the protections
available. Each chapter follows a set structure (updated for this
edition) which includes commentary on the risks of civil, criminal and
regulatory claims against directors, and addresses the availability of
indemnification and D&O insurance. New features of this edition include
greater scrutiny of criminal vs regulatory liability, forecasting of
particular trends, and the insurability of fines and penalties in the
jurisdictions covered. The fourth edition also includes new chapters on
Jersey and Guernsey (Offshore), Sweden (Nordics) and Saudi Arabia.This
title will be an essential reference guide for directors, officers,
in-house counsel and private practice lawyers advising them. It will
provide a starting point for their assessment of today's legal exposures
and assist with the management of their business risks.
