Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
BOOK REVIEW
DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION
A Global Guide
4th edition
Consulting Editor: Edward Smerdon
ISBN 978 1 78742 836 2
GLOBE LAW AND BUSINESS
globelawandbusiness.com
A TERRIFIC NEW EDITION OF DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION FROM GLOBE FOR THE POST COVID ERA
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
We are delighted to review Globe Law’s excellent new edition of “Directors Liability and Indemnification” compiled by consulting editor Edward Smerdon. It’s a detailed global guide now in its fourth edition. And it remains essential reference for directors, officers, in-house counsel, and lawyers in private practice advising them. We feel that practitioners will find that the title offers a starting point for their assessment of what today’s legal exposures may be, and to assist with the management of business risk.
As we in the professional world recover from the effect of covid, both companies and individuals face increased risks and heightened uncertainty. And then there are stock market fluctuations, increased international tensions, and the effects of Brexit which are yet to be felt, with China and India gaining economic superpower strength to challenge, for the first time, the supremacy of the United States of America and the European Union.
Linked to these events is the increase in cyber-attacks, enhanced scrutiny of “cultural perspectives” within business after #MeToo, Just Stop Oil and Black Lives Matter incidents, plus climate changes as issues “now front and centre in boardrooms”. And whilst this is taking place, directors find themselves facing more legal scrutiny than ever before. In the six years since the last edition, company law and financial regulations have been revised, with more diligent and better resourced enforcement of bribery and corruption laws- and about time, too.
Today, shareholders around the world enjoy more extensive rights to hold directors to account than ever before. Directors are less likely to be forgiven for ignoring their responsibilities as a result. They are looking ever more closely at the protection available to them, through both indemnification and directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance. D&O has recently been through what the editor says is “the ‘hardest’ market for decades, with reductions in the amount of cover available and significantly increased premiums, partly because of the increase in volume and severity of directors’ claims”.
However, exposures faced by directors and the extent to which the concepts of “indemnification” and “insurance” may give protection around the world are “still very nuanced” says Smerdon. “There can be no “one size fits all” approach”, is the conclusion. We feel that the 4th edition of this title offers us 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.
As is to be expected with the Globe house-style, every chapter follows a set structure which is updated for this edition. They include commentary on the risks of civil, criminal, and regulatory claims against directors, and addresses the availability of indemnification and D&O insurance. Additions for the 4th edition include greater scrutiny between criminality and regulatory liability, the forecasting of trends, and the insurability of fines and penalties in the jurisdictions covered.
The new edition also includes useful new chapters on Jersey and Guernsey (Offshore), Sweden (Nordics) and Saudi Arabia.
The date of publication of this new hardback fourth edition is cited as 31st October 2022.
BOOK REVIEW
DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION
A Global Guide
4th edition
Consulting Editor: Edward Smerdon
ISBN 978 1 78742 836 2
GLOBE LAW AND BUSINESS
globelawandbusiness.com
A TERRIFIC NEW EDITION OF DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION FROM GLOBE FOR THE POST COVID ERA
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
We are delighted to review Globe Law’s excellent new edition of “Directors Liability and Indemnification” compiled by consulting editor Edward Smerdon. It’s a detailed global guide now in its fourth edition. And it remains essential reference for directors, officers, in-house counsel, and lawyers in private practice advising them. We feel that practitioners will find that the title offers a starting point for their assessment of what today’s legal exposures may be, and to assist with the management of business risk.
As we in the professional world recover from the effect of covid, both companies and individuals face increased risks and heightened uncertainty. And then there are stock market fluctuations, increased international tensions, and the effects of Brexit which are yet to be felt, with China and India gaining economic superpower strength to challenge, for the first time, the supremacy of the United States of America and the European Union.
Linked to these events is the increase in cyber-attacks, enhanced scrutiny of “cultural perspectives” within business after #MeToo, Just Stop Oil and Black Lives Matter incidents, plus climate changes as issues “now front and centre in boardrooms”. And whilst this is taking place, directors find themselves facing more legal scrutiny than ever before. In the six years since the last edition, company law and financial regulations have been revised, with more diligent and better resourced enforcement of bribery and corruption laws- and about time, too.
Today, shareholders around the world enjoy more extensive rights to hold directors to account than ever before. Directors are less likely to be forgiven for ignoring their responsibilities as a result. They are looking ever more closely at the protection available to them, through both indemnification and directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance. D&O has recently been through what the editor says is “the ‘hardest’ market for decades, with reductions in the amount of cover available and significantly increased premiums, partly because of the increase in volume and severity of directors’ claims”.
However, exposures faced by directors and the extent to which the concepts of “indemnification” and “insurance” may give protection around the world are “still very nuanced” says Smerdon. “There can be no “one size fits all” approach”, is the conclusion. We feel that the 4th edition of this title offers us 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.
As is to be expected with the Globe house-style, every chapter follows a set structure which is updated for this edition. They include commentary on the risks of civil, criminal, and regulatory claims against directors, and addresses the availability of indemnification and D&O insurance. Additions for the 4th edition include greater scrutiny between criminality and regulatory liability, the forecasting of trends, and the insurability of fines and penalties in the jurisdictions covered.
The new edition also includes useful new chapters on Jersey and Guernsey (Offshore), Sweden (Nordics) and Saudi Arabia.
The date of publication of this new hardback fourth edition is cited as 31st October 2022.
