It appears to have become the new norm. Not a week seems to go by without a report about a data breach. America’s largest bank, JP Morgan Chase, is the latest high-profile victim, and it is still reeling from this summer’s cyber attack that compromised the accounts of 76 million households — the equivalent of 65% of all U.S. households — and seven million businesses. Law firms are far from immune. An American multi-state criminal firm discreetly filed a report in late June with California authorities, the first U.S. state to adopt data breach notification legislation, after a hard drive containing backup files for one of the firm’s servers was stolen from the locked trunk of an employee’s vehicle.
risk management
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Information Governance: Taming a world of chaos
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Risk management advisors must be registered with the provincial securities regulator, says court
Independent risk management advisors must be registered with the provincial securities regulator in order to carry on advisory activities related to insurance product offerings, following a precedent-setting ruling by the Court of Quebec that is being hailed as a victory for Quebec consumers by insurance and legal experts.
Up until the ruling Quebec consumers had no recourse against risk management advisors because they operated outside the scope of An Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services (Act) thanks to a loophole in the law.
“This ruling sheds light on what has been considered to be a grey zone,” noted Sylvain Théberge, a spokesman with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector. “It’s not because you are an unregistered risk management advisor that the repercussions of the advice being offered will have less of an impact than a consultant who is duly registered. The ruling clearly states that by the very nature of their work these consultants must be duly registered.”
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Doing business in China – With rewards comes risks
When Montreal toy maker Mega Brands Inc. was awarded $1.3 million by Quebec Superior Court following a legal tussle with a Chinese supplier, it highlighted the perils of doing business abroad but also underscored the value of putting pen to paper a comprehensive, detailed and binding contract that clearly spells out the obligations of each party.
Keen to strengthen ties with the world’s fastest-growing economic juggernaut, Canadian business all too often gloss over the risks and exposure of doing business with Chinese suppliers. Risk management is frequently eschewed, due diligence shirked, and contracts inadequately drafted.
“What is so surprising is that in Canada even small business would not conceive of entering into a relationship without having a contract, yet when we go into China we lose our minds and don’t undertake the due diligence because we are so eager to have the business relationship,” observed Cyndee Todgham Cherniak, a leading lawyer in international trade.