Increased regulatory and enforcement action will be a key driver shaping the litigation landscape in the year ahead, say MinterEllisonRuddWatts’ leading dispute resolution team in its annual Litigation Forecast 2022.
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Partners and co-leaders of the national law firm’s Dispute Resolution team, Jane Standage and Richard Gordon believe that navigating uncertainty and adapting business planning will be fundamental for businesses in 2022.Jane Standage says that there are more challenges yet to come across New Zealand’s litigation landscape.
“These challenges are not only linked to COVID-19. There is increasing regulatory intervention, climate change pressures, class actions and swift legislative change for some sectors,” says Jane Standage.
“We have seen a shift from regulators who are taking a stronger approach, including more court action for unintentional regulatory breaches – even where those breaches are self-reported and corrected. We can expect this trend to continue with a higher level of enforcement action by the Financial Markets Authority, Commerce Commission and the Reserve Bank.
“Richard Gordon believes that in the coming year, we can also expect increased risk, particularly around compliance, cyber threats and climate-related financial disclosure.”Boards and executives must consider a broader range of risks than in days gone by. New legislation governing financial advice and privacy, along with proposed new laws around climate disclosure bring new penalties, including possible criminal liability for directors,” says Richard Gordon.
“With more employees working remotely and accessing organisational systems through at-home connections, we are seeing the rate of cyber-attacks skyrocket. Organisations must consider a multi-faceted legal response to deal with not only the attacks, but to also more challenges obtaining cyber insurance.”
Read the full publication – https://www.minterellison.co.nz/our-view/litigation-forecast-2022
