This is the 31st episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts. In this episode we will discuss fake authorities, the Hague 2019 judgments convention, the Civil Justice Council's report on litigation funding, a recent decision where the English court has accepted jurisdiction despite acknowledging that the case had a closer connection with Brazil, and some interesting recent cases on responding to proceedings and inadvertent disclosure of privileged material.

This episode is hosted by Maura McIntosh, a knowledge counsel in our commercial litigation team, who is joined by Neil Blake, a disputes partner, and Tracey Lattimer, a knowledge lawyer in the commercial litigation team.Below you can find links to our blog posts on the developments and cases covered in this podcast.

Links

• Court lambasts citation of fake authorities in proceedings and orders wasted costs
• The Hague 2019 Judgments Convention: Bolstering the UK's position as a jurisdiction of choice for international dispute resolution
• Civil Justice Council's final report on litigation funding recommends "light touch" statutory regulation
• High Court allows case to proceed against defendant companies domiciled in England despite claims having more real and substantial connection with Brazil
• High Court declines to extend time for defendant to challenge court's jurisdiction, despite claim form having been served out of time
• High Court grants permission to rely on inadvertently disclosed privileged documents where the mistake was not obvious

Changes are being made to company law, to tackle fraud and boost transparency. The changes affect pension schemes. In particular, trustee directors will in future need to verify their identity.

Isobel Hoyle from our corporate team joins to discuss. She explains what identity verification will involve, and flags other points which should be on the radar of trustees and employers.For more on identity verification and the changes generally, click here for a suite of guides published by Isobel and colleagues.

Subscribe to the HSF Pensions Notes Blog here: https://www.hsfkramer.com/notes/pensions/subscribe

After initial scepticism, Crypto is making its way into the UK regulatory perimeter. In the sixth episode of the FSR Brief, Jon Ford and Michael Tan are joined by Chris Ninan and Elizabeth Stephens to discuss the road to regulation, with a focus on the recently published statutory instrument from the UK Government, and the FCA's "DP25/1: Regulating cryptoasset activities".

We explore how the Government and the FCA propose to balance the promotion of growth of the Crypto industry with the need to protect consumers.

This episode supplements the podcast by our FSR advisory team on the Top 3 Takeaways from the new Crypto Rules, and the blog post about the draft rules.

In this episode we talk about auction procedures under the Takeover Code. We discuss:

• what an auction procedure is;
• when they are used; and
• how they work.

Marina Reason and Ioannis Asimakopoulos discuss the scope of the new UK crypto rules and highlight the top 3 takeaways. They consider the draft legislation that will bring certain cryptoassets within the financial services regulatory perimeter. They also outline the key aspects of a related Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) discussion paper that sets out the FCA's initial proposals for regulating these new activities.

Speakers: Marina Reason, Partner, Financial Services Regulation, London and
Ioannis Asimakopoulos, Senior Associate, Financial Services Regulation, London.

Tune into our 27th episode of Inside IR, in which IR experts Rohan Doyle (Partner) and Emma Vautin (Senior Associate) are joined by Steve Bell, Managing Partner and Safety lead, to discuss “Managing picket lines at the workplace – the crossover between IR and safety”. In this episode, the team share their extensive experience in working alongside clients in managing pickets outside their workplaces and reflect on what they see as an increasing frequency of workplace pickets. Steve, Emma and Rohan reflect on the harm that obstructive pickets can cause, the psychosocial health and safety risks that they sometimes present, and share tips on how employers and principals can promote safe access to and egress from their worksites during these events.

Artificial intelligence is upon us, but are schemes ready? Trustees may not yet be offering AI tools, but members have been quick off the mark. In this second episode, we discuss how members are using AI, before closing with practical tips for trustees. Our guest, again, is comms consultant Thomas Joy (Quietroom). Subscribe to our Pensions Notes Blog.

Tim Stutt, Anna Coroneo and Isabella Kelly delve into the integration of sustainability reports into annual reports, exploring the challenges and strategies for clear and effective climate-related disclosures. They cover a broad spectrum of topics including the potential for ASIC relief applications, complexities of cross-referencing and implications of the modified liability regime. They share insights from the latest ASIC sustainability guidance released in March 2025 and practical tips for ensuring compliance and effective communication in your sustainability reporting.