Dear Readers,

It's no secret that predictions work best with hindsight, but this year venturing any forecasts seems particularly fraught with risk. Reality, including legal reality, has sped up greatly and the number of unknowns is mounting. There are so many recent and planned changes in law that they deserve a volume to themselves.

This is one of the reasons we are updating the approach of the Yearbook this time around, focusing primarily on issues faced by specific businesses. The great majority of the articles here by our lawyers arose out of concrete mat­ters, from which we have chosen those that best illustrate some broader truth and could be helpful for others. We describe the types of matters in which our clients more and more often seek our advice, as well as issues we have encountered for the first time, opening new fronts in our work for clients.

Once again this year, threats connected with cybercrime take the foreground. Although widely reported on, these threats continue to be ignored, and this in turn is fully exploited by organised criminal groups. Cyberspace is to­day's Wild West, where criminals seem to have taken free rein. The sheriffs—specialists among the police and pros­ecutors—are too few to protect our personal and financial interests effectively. Therefore we must take the initiative to help ensure that instruments of legal protection can function online.

The role of lawyers is to protect their clients and the soci­ety in which they operate against those acting in bad faith. Drawing attention to threats is thus one of the duties of lawyers. Our task is to explain what is new in legislation and case law and indicate the ramifications for specific legal solutions. The touchstone here is the unchanging values essential for the functioning of the civil society.

For the seventh year, we hope you find useful insight in our annual publication.

Download >> 2017 Yearbook

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.