13: The UPC’s first year, and how Germany’s court digitisation could cause rise in mass claims

Companies have focused on the environmental element of ESG activity, but the social element is just as important, says responsible business expert Mike Harvey; and Veronica Scott picks out the measure to watch in Australia’s new cybersecurity law 

Many more companies can be criminally liable for corporate fraud than before, and the scope of the law is expanding still further says Tom Stocker, while Emilie Jones reviews the ways in which in house lawyers can keep documents out of litigation opponents’ hands. 

Donald Trump’s business policies are radical and in some cases untested. Our experts analyse the impact on world trade, climate policy and other areas where Trump’s ideas will have a significant impact. 

Organisations need to start preparing now for an overhaul of employment law by the UK’s new Labour government. Stuart Neilson outlines how. Never miss a story, sign up for business law updates.

A ruling from Europe’s top court could threaten the way companies use huge data sets to train AI systems according to Wouter Seinen. Meanwhile, the English courts have got new powers to force companies into alternative dispute resolution, says Emilie Jones. Never miss a story, sign up for business law updates.

With a new parliament, Commission president and set of proposed commissioners, the European Union is ready to implement a whole new policy agenda. Mark Ferguson tells us how businesses can prepare for it; and Emma Roberts tells us why South Africa's electricity reform might take a while to take full effect. Never miss a story, sign up for business law updates.

The Grenfell Inquiry into a London tower block fire found failings in regulation, government and industry, so what changes in how their activity is controlled should UK construction companies expect? And we investigate why a data processor, rather than a controller, has been fined for the first time following a huge data leak. Never miss a story, sign up for business law updates.

Against the ticking clock of ageing coal power infrastructure, Australia grapples with the challenges of building a new power network to distribute clean energy says Leanne Olden; and Eloise Walker tells us about the surprise tax liabilities buried in the carbon credit system. Never miss a story, sign up for business law updates. 

The new UK government has removed conditions that made it effectively impossible to build new onshore wind capacity in England, but there won't be an immediate goldrush says Gary McGovern. And directors of struggling companies in the UK might have to trigger insolvency earlier than previously thought after an £18m ruling, says Charles Maunder. Never miss a story, sign up for business law updates.

One year into the new system governing patents in Europe, Judith Krens tells us that the UPC has been a success in unusual and unpredictable ways, and Alessandro Capone says that companies in Germany can expect to face more mass actions because of court digitisation plans. Never miss a story, sign up for business law updates.