The Australian face of
Norton Rose Fulbright’s new global regulations and investigations practice says the new team will help counter growing instances of regulatory ‘ripple effect’.
Michael Tooma, the local contact for the new practice, said that the Australian market is seeing a rise in the number of regulatory investigations many of which have their origins overseas.
“Regulators are globally connected. Corporate activity is multijurisdictional. A stone thrown in one part of the world can have a ripple effect in others,” Tooma said.
Australian companies need to ensure they are across the global regulatory trends, according to Tooma.
“We are seeing more organisations being investigated in relation to anti-bribery and corruption, and there is an increase in focus on regulatory issues driven by regulators and government,” he said.
Tooma named the Financial Systems Inquiry as an example.
“Legal counsel and senior executives need to assess how ready they are to respond to regulatory, compliance and investigative matters if they arise,” he said.
As justification for the global practice launch, Norton Rose cited research from Acritas which claimed that regulation was the number one worldwide challenge for businesses in 2013.
