Dentons Hong Kong partner Robert Rhoda has been shortlisted for International Arbitration Lawyer of the Year at the Asia Legal Awards 2025, hosted by Law.com International.

Global law firm Dentons has advised the founders of Adastra Group SE on the sale of a majority stake in the group to global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG).

United Kingdom: In February 2024, Moody's updated their rating methodology for hybrid equity credit. Working within these new rating methodology requirements, the Dentons DCM team have recently worked on a corporate hybrid transaction for a non-investment grade European corporate that has achieved 100% equity credit from Moody's under the new methodology. This type of instrument could represent a new path to 100% equity credit corporate hybrids for some non-investment grade issuers.

Dentons has advised mBank on the PLN 130.5 million (€30.7 million) financing, which includes an investment loan, to BXF Energia for the development, construction and operation of the Azalia project – a photovoltaic farm with a total capacity of up to 60 MW located near Rzeszów. BXF Energia is a joint venture owned by Budimex S.A. and Ferrovial SE.

New Zealand: Shareholders are not just chasing dividends anymore, but are increasingly values-based investing and demanding a voice. A clear example of this, shareholder activism is no longer considered a fringe, reactive tactic, but is increasingly a strategic tool used by mainstream shareholders to influence corporate strategy, decision-making, governance, and risk management. This article discusses how shareholder activism operates, including recent examples of shareholder activism in New Zealand, and recommendations for how companies should respond. 

United Kingdom: Many articles have been written summarising the long-awaited Supreme Court judgment in URS Corp Ltd v. BDW Trading Ltd [2025] UKSC 21. The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal decision, confirming that a developer can recover costs incurred in remedying defects from third parties, even where the developer no longer owns the building or where no third-party claim has been made against it in relation to the defects.

Australia: The Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner has issued what should be considered a warning that reporting entities can no longer ignore or under-deliver on their modern slavery reporting obligations. Following the 2024 review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), in which penalties for non-compliance were recommended and with which the Government has agreed in principle, the Attorney General’s Department has commenced consulting with relevant stakeholders on the potential penalty regime and stronger due diligence requirements. With penalties likely on the way, entities must act now to put appropriate measures in place to comply with their obligations and avoid legal and reputational risks following any changes to the Act as a result of the consultations.

In today’s cross-border M&A landscape, shareholder rights plans – commonly known as “poison pills” – continue to be a common defensive mechanism for US targets to prevent or delay hostile or unsolicited takeovers; however, these plans have largely become redundant for Canadian targets following the sweeping changes to the Canadian takeover bid regime in 2016.

Six months into President Donald J. Trump’s second term, U.S. sanctions policy has undergone notable shifts in both designation trends and enforcement activity.

Dentons attorney Tara Hall was recently appointed to the Des Moines Public Library Foundation Board of Directors. Board appointments are made by the Mayor of Des Moines and approved by the City Council.

United Kingdom: The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) is consulting on establishing a mandatory community benefits scheme across all large-scale low‑carbon energy infrastructure in Great Britain

On June 13, 2025, amendments (the Amendments) to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations (the Procurement Inquiry Regulations) came into force.

In this episode, Jason Saltzman, Partner and National Lead of Dentons’ M&A group, is joined by his colleagues, Alex Farcas, M&A Partner and member of the Dentons’ Canada Region Board, and Matthew Fleming, Partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group and Co-Lead of the Securities Litigation group.

United States: Following the 2025 Supreme Court decision in McLaughlin Chiro. Assoc., Inc. v. McKesson Corp., et al., the Hobbs Act cannot act as a barrier to independent judicial review.

Dentons has advised The National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK) on its issuance of US$300 million Perpetual Additional Tier 1 Capital Securities. The issuance was RAKBANK's first Additional Tier 1 issuance following its inaugural Tier 2 issuance last autumn.

Global law firm Dentons has advised DoubleU Games, the South-Korean parent company of the NASDAQ-listed gaming specialist DoubleDown Interactive, on DoubleDown’s acquisition of German social casino developer WHOW Games GmbH from Azerion Tech Holding B.V. 

Welcome to Special Edition of the AI & GDPR Monthly update, bringing you the latest insights into artificial intelligence and data protection. We’ll cover new AI regulations, opinions, court and authority decisions across the EU, and the latest use cases in AI implementation.

United Kingdom: In Scotland, Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are based on the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (the 2008 Regulations), as amended.

München/Berlin (DAV). Eine Anordnung zur Beibringung eines medizinisch-psychologischen Gutachtens (MPU) kann nicht mit einem Antrag auf einstweiligen Rechtsschutz angegriffen werden. Dies entschied der Bayerische Verwaltungsgerichtshof am 2. Juni 2025 (AZ: 11 CE 25.519), wie die Arbeitsgemeinschaft Verkehrsrecht des Deutschen Anwaltvereins (DAV) mitteilt.

Damit bestätigte das Gericht die vorangegangene Entscheidung des Verwaltungsgerichts Würzburg.

Die Antragstellerin, eine erfahrene Kraftfahrerin mit vielfachen Fahrerlaubnisklassen, verursachte am 8. August 2023 einen Unfall auf einem Parkplatz, als sie beim Ausparken ein nebenstehendes Fahrzeug mit der kompletten rechten Seite ihres Autos streifte. Polizeibeamte berichteten von einer stark verwirrten und teilnahmslosen Fahrerin, die keine Erklärung für das Geschehen abgeben konnte. Sie verneinte zunächst die Einnahme von Alkohol oder Medikamenten, nannte jedoch später die Einnahme verschiedener Psychopharmaka.

In der Folge holte das Landratsamt Würzburg mehrere ärztliche Stellungnahmen und ein fachärztliches Gutachten ein. Diese bescheinigten der Antragstellerin eine seit 1999 bestehende rezidivierende depressive Erkrankung und eine zeitweise Überdosierung des Medikaments Lithium, welche kognitive Einschränkungen hervorgerufen haben soll. Trotz der positiven Aussagen über ihre aktuelle Fahreignung durch Fachärzte ordnete das Landratsamt am 22. November 2024 eine MPU an. Die Antragstellerin kam dieser Aufforderung nicht nach und versuchte im Wege eines Eilantrags, die Anordnung außer Kraft zu setzen.

Der Verwaltungsgerichtshof wies die Beschwerde als unzulässig zurück. Nach ständiger Rechtsprechung stelle eine MPU-Anordnung lediglich eine vorbereitende Verfahrenshandlung zur Sachverhaltsaufklärung dar und sei kein selbstständig anfechtbarer Verwaltungsakt im Sinne. Ein Antrag auf einstweilige Anordnung sei daher nicht statthaft.

Zudem liege keine schwerwiegende, nicht wiedergutzumachende Beeinträchtigung der Rechte der Antragstellerin vor, da sie im Rahmen des regulären Rechtsschutzes gegen die später ergangene Fahrerlaubnisentziehung vorgehen könne. Der Schutz der Allgemeinheit im Straßenverkehr habe Vorrang, insbesondere da im konkreten Fall hinreichende Zweifel an der psychophysischen Leistungsfähigkeit der Antragstellerin bestünden. Das Gericht betonte, dass die Anordnung der MPU aufgrund der konkreten Umstände sachgerecht erfolgt sei und sich die Zweifel trotz ärztlicher Gutachten nicht eindeutig ausräumen ließen.

Die DAV-Verkehrsrechtsanwälte drängen schon länger darauf, dass es auch ein Rechtsmittel gegen die Anordnung einer MPU geben muss.

Informationen: www.verkehrsrecht.de

Every artificial intelligence (AI) system has legal implications—if it processes personal data, as it so often does, it engages privacy laws; if it involves using copyright-protected works, it may infringe intellectual property rights; if it materially displaces or replaces staff functions, employment law may come into play; and if it makes decisions autonomously, it may raise liability issues.