Blogger Archives: Francis Kean

Francis Kean

Francis is an Executive Director in Willis’ FINEX Global, where he specializes in insurance for Directors & Officers (D&O) of companies. He joined Willis in 2010 and has 25 years of experience as a leading litigation lawyer specializing in professional indemnity, financial institutions and directors and officers liability in the London insurance market.

Where The Buck Stops: Individual Accountability for Corporate Misfeasance

by Francis Kean, May 29, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

LIBOR rate

I blogged a little while back on the fascinating battle underway between Barclays and Guardian Care Homes to do with the manipulation of the LIBOR rate. The key question in that case, in which Guardian is alleging deceit against the … Continue reading →

Corporate Manslaughter, Directors Duties and the Meaning of Neglect

by Francis Kean, May 24, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

D&O, directors and officers insurance, corporate manslaughter

I posted a blog a little while back on the subject of corporate manslaughter which seemed to provoke a lot of interest not least from the Japanese broadcasters NHK who were researching a documentary on the subject. More recently I … Continue reading →

Variations on Piercing the Corporate Veil

by Francis Kean, May 20, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

D&O, directors, insurance

We all know that a company has a separate legal personality and that only in very exceptional cases will the courts be prepared to pierce the corporate veil and look behind it to its owners and managers so as to … Continue reading →

Directors’ Liability Survey Reveals Top Executive Concerns

by Francis Kean, April 22, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

Executive Risk D&O

The second annual Willis and Allen & Overy survey of Directors’ Liability and coverage concerns is hot off the press. As was reported in today’s Financial Times, we polled approximately 130 directors, general counsel, risk experts and compliance professionals in … Continue reading →

It’s Raining D&O Surveys

by Francis Kean, April 8, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

Executive Risk D&O

Well, not quite but I recently spotted the latest edition of the 2012 Towers Watson Directors and Officers Liability Survey which is, of course, a heavily US-centric report. Larry Rachioppo, Vice President of Towers Watson and author of the report … Continue reading →

SEC Versus Siemens: A Postscript

by Francis Kean, April 5, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

arrest

You may remember a previous blog of mine about the curious incident of the SEC serving proceedings on seven former Siemens executives by placing adverts in the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading →

Broken Cover?

by Francis Kean, February 20, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

Is D and O a Broken Coverage?

I spotted this interesting article in a recent edition of The Lawyer magazine: Broken cover. The thrust of it is that D&O cover is not fit for purpose, particularly when it comes to the insurance of legal representation expenses in … Continue reading →

Anthony Verrier vs the FSA: The Perils of Being Summoned as a Witness

by Francis Kean, February 7, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers, Financial Services

FSA

We await the decision of the Upper tribunal of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the case of Anthony Verrier, a senior executive of BGC Brokers who was the subject of a prohibition order by FSA in May 2012 on … Continue reading →

Growth in Corporate Manslaughter Charges: Should You Worry?

by Francis Kean, February 6, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

arrest

The news that the number of corporate manslaughter cases opened by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has risen 40% from 45 in 2011 to 63 in 2012 (according to recent figures published by law firm Pinsent Masons) should perhaps act … Continue reading →

The Latest Banker to be Extradited

by Francis Kean, January 22, 2013 | Posted in Directors & Officers

Aviation

On January 14th 2013 the Westminster Magistrates Court gave the green light to the US authorities for the extradition of former Credit Suisse Trader Kareem Serageldin to the United States where he will face charges linked to allegations that he … Continue reading →

Posts by Author in Portuguese:

Será que sua política de D&O “Walk the WALC”?

by Francis Kean, February 7, 2013 | Posted in Português, Risco Executivo, Seguro de D&O

Walking the WALC

Muito (talvez até demais) tem sido dito e escrito sobre a natureza e o alcance do seguro de D&O – pelo menos, não por mim. A realidade, no entanto, é que poucos diretores (a menos que tenham sido azarados o … Continue reading →

Sigilo Profissional – Quem seu Advogado Representa?

by Francis Kean, October 15, 2012 | Posted in Instituições Financeiras, Português, Risco Executivo, Serviços Financeiros

Who Does Your Lawyer Represent?

Já escrevi sobre a questão vital, mas às vezes negligenciada, do sigilo legal/profissional e como isso pode ser desagradável para os diretores. Simplificando, a grande questão é saber se o advogado(a) que está representando um diretor da empresa, está na … Continue reading →

Farepak: Positivo para Diretores, porém Negativo para os Bancos

by Francis Kean, October 10, 2012 | Posted in Europa, Português, Risco Executivo

Lawbook Glasses

Lembra-se do colapso da Farepak em outubro de 2006 e a exaltação de mais de 100 mil clientes quando perderam seus depósitos de Natal e cupons de alimentação, dentre outros? Continue reading →

10 Questões que Nenhum Director Não-Executivo Deve ter Medo de Perguntar

by Francis Kean, September 17, 2012 | Posted in Português, Risco Executivo

Questions to Ask

Eu participei recentemente de um fórum de diretores não-executivos (“NED’s”). Nos reunimos para discutir como estes diretores poderiam obter níveis suficientes de conforto para que desfrutem de uma proteção adequada sob o programa de diretores e executivos da compania. Continue reading →

“Bom Senso em Negócios” Prevalece em Disputa sobre Contrato Comercial

by Francis Kean, July 16, 2012 | Posted in Português, Risco Executivo

Uma recente decisão da Suprema Corte do Reino Unido no caso Rainy Sky S.A. e outros x Kookmin Bank marca uma sutil, mas benvinda, mudança de enfoque na interpretação de contratos comerciais, inclusive, naturalmente, de contratos de seguros. O caso diz respeito ao … Continue reading →

Cuidado com cães adormecidos em Hong Kong e em outras localidades

by Francis Kean, June 1, 2012 | Posted in Ásia, Português

Por quanto tempo você, como um diretor no banco dos réus, pode ficar sem fazer nada se, após ser processado, o reclamante fizer muito pouco ou nada para levar esta ação a diante? Esta é a questão com que a … Continue reading →

Dois mega processos de D&O pendentes no Japão

by Francis Kean, June 1, 2012 | Posted in Ásia, Português

Oficiais e Juízes na Corte Distrital de Tóquio, provavelmente, vão fazer hora extra  nas próximas semanas e meses. Duas das maiores reclamações já apresentadas no Japão devem começar virtualmente ao mesmo tempo. As semelhanças, todavia, acabam aí: o primeiro caso … Continue reading →

Diretores que abrem mão de bônus também podem ser taxados

by Francis Kean, June 1, 2012 | Posted in Português, Risco Executivo

Enquanto a batalha contra bônus de diretores inflacionados continua inabalável no Reino Unido, dei de cara com este fragmento de informação interessante e digno de nota dos contadores da BKL sobre os perigos de abrir mão dos bônus de diretores. A BKL pergunta: “O … Continue reading →