Laying Down the Law: corruption and governance in the workplace

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Ruth Green

During my time as Knight Fellow at the Salzburg Global Seminar this August, I interviewed in-house counsel at Siemens and Raytheon Company who took part in a panel discussion on corruption, governance and democracy. The interviews with Peter Solmssen, general counsel and member of the managing board of Siemens AG and Robert Shanks, the vice president of legal international operations at Raytheon formed the basis for a feature piece in the October issue of The In-House Perspective, the magazine of the IBA corporate counsel forum. Unfortunately it’s subscription only access, but if you’re interested in reading the article, email me to request a PDF version.

The IBA Profile – Azizah al-Hibri

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Ruth Green

Here is my latest article published in IBA Global Insight:

The founder and chair of KARAMAH – Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights was appointed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in June 2011. Here she shares her views on women’s rights in the Middle East, the developments and implications of the Arab Spring and Western perceptions of the Muslim world since 9/11.

In March this year, over the course of some of the most turbulent days in recent Egyptian history, US-based charitable and education organisation KARAMAH – Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights – conducted three workshops in Cairo. While many other organisations would have shied away from tackling contentious issues on Egyptian soil during this period, KARAMAH took the opportunity to bring together hundreds of scholars and intellectual leaders to discuss Islam, the rule of law and women’s rights in the country’s capital.

Published on 06-10-11. Read on here

Eurozone crisis: reform fatigue a key trend says EBRD chief counsel

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Ruth Green

Here is my latest piece published in the IBA Global Insight newsfeed:

Following in the footsteps of its Eurozone neighbours Spain, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus, fears of deteriorating growth this week saw Italy become the latest country to fall victim to Standard & Poor’s credit downgrading.

As this most recent downgrading demonstrates, the challenges facing the European financial markets are numerous and increasingly complex.

During a plenary session at Session 480, ‘The Rule of Law in a Globalized World’, at the Salzburg Global Seminar, Carlos Primo Braga, Special Representative and Director for Europe External Affairs at the World Bank, and Michel Nussbaumer, chief counsel of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), spoke about the short-term and long-term prospects and challenges to growth in Europe.

Published on 23-09-11. Read on here

Siemens GC Peter Solmssen on governance, corruption and democracy

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Ruth Green

Here is my latest piece published in the IBA Global Insight newsfeed:

Since 2006, the exposure of a series of bribery, corruption and price-fixing scandals at Siemens has led to numerous court hearings and multi-million dollar fines. Peter Solmssen, then executive vice-president and general counsel of GE Healthcare, was brought in to ‘clean up’ the company and firmly bring the issue of compliance to the table.

Solmssen’s experience and knowledge of how compliance systems work made him an ideal choice for the rather daunting task of general counsel and member of the managing board of Siemens AG.

Solmssen spoke about his experiences in a plenary session on governance, corruption and democracy at Session 480, ‘The Rule of Law in a Globalized World’, at the Salzburg Global Seminar, in August 2011.

Published on 15-09-11. Read on here

Rosneft embraces new western partner after abortive BP deal

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Ruth Green

Here is my latest piece published in the IBA Global Insight newsfeed:

The news this week that ExxonMobil has signed a deal with Rosneft to explore oil and gas reserves in Russia’s Arctic shelf has ruffled more than a few feathers.

As IBA Global Insight reported earlier this year, after initial excitement, BP and Rosneft’s momentous US$16bn share swap deal quickly fell apart following a dispute with Russian investors in TNK-BP (BP’s existing Russian joint venture).

BP was eventually forced to pull out of the tie-up in May and the fiasco was an embarrassment for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had previously endorsed the deal.

Published on 02-09-11. Read on here