27th Apr 2023
As part of our In-House with You monthly Q&A series, Georgia Shriane and Daniel De Saulles of our Commercial team spoke about the development of data protection over the past five years (since GDPR and following Brexit) and how data protection law is now applied in the UK. The slides can be accessed, here. They […]
27th Apr 2023
Dispute resolution clauses play a critical role in protecting an organisation’s interests. As part of our In-House with You monthly Q&A series, Partners from our Dispute Resolution and Commercial teams covered how to ensure contractual negotiations are equipped with effective and tailored dispute resolution clauses. The slides can be accessed here. Elizabeth Beatty and Robert […]
24th Jan 2023
As part of our In-House with You monthly Q&A series, insurance specialist Jonathan Edwards spoke about the key aspects of a health and safety investigation, handling investigators, preventing recurrence and more. The slides can be accessed here. Jonathan answers some of your key questions below: Why do companies not invest more in planning? Risk management […]
24th Jan 2023
As part of our In-House with You monthly Q&A series, Partners from our Commercial, Corporate and Dispute Resolution teams spoke about the key differences between warranties and indemnities in your contracts and best practice for implementation. The slides can be accessed here. David Beynon, Alison Scott and Elizabeth Beatty answer some of your key questions […]
23rd Jan 2023
Businesses tend to occupy property either as an owner or under the terms of a lease; when considering the sale of freehold property, it’s important to think about the timescale. If you are desperate to move the property from your books to repay debt or invest the sale proceeds elsewhere, it may be a straightforward […]
16th Sep 2022
The National Security & Investment Act 2021 (“NSIA”) came into effect at the start of this year. The aim was to tighten existing safeguards, which enable the government to monitor and, where it is deemed in the national interests, to intervene to block an acquisition or to impose conditions on it. In fact, it has […]
16th Sep 2022
From time to time, you will have undoubtedly been approached by colleagues for counsel on how the business can extract itself from a contract which no longer serves its needs. That is a good place to be, of course, as experience shows that, in many cases, advice is not sought until after steps to terminate […]
17th May 2022
In response to the recent escalation in Ukraine, the British government imposed extensive sanctions and asset freezes over individuals and corporate entities with links to Russia, effective from 24 February 2022. The implications of these sanctions have been highlighted in the recent administration application of VTB Capital, which is the UK arm of Russia’s second-biggest […]
17th May 2022
Since the start of the global pandemic in March 2020, force majeure clauses have been under close scrutiny and their application in commercial contracts have increased. The days of these being considered boilerplate terms in commercial contracts are well and truly over. Ultimately, this means that it is more important than ever to consider these […]
16th May 2022
Whilst this newsletter focuses on sanctions, lenders and borrowers should not lose sight of the new national security regime introduced on 4 January 2022 by the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSI Act). The NSI Act establishes a stand-alone statutory regime under which the government may scrutinise, and intervene in, certain acquisitions and investments […]
16th Feb 2022
When parties enter into a contractual relationship, they tend not to assume that a dispute will arise and often fail to give full consideration (if any) to an appropriate dispute resolution clause (DRC). A well drafted DRC will serve to substantially reduce the amount of time and costs spent arguing over the issue of governing […]
16th Feb 2022
The court is the default forum for determining commercial disputes in England and Wales. However, parties may agree that a binding decision on their disputes is reached through arbitration instead of through the courts. Should you consider arbitration? What should you do if it is specified in a contract? We will look at what arbitration […]
15th Feb 2022
What does a ‘HCR Flex’ day look like for us and our clients? Daniel De Saulles, an associate in our commercial team, provides us with a detailed account. 07:15 – My HCR Flex day is provided on-site at the client’s head office in Gloucester. I have been seconded to this particular client for over two […]
11th Feb 2022
Organisations are increasingly finding themselves embroiled in inquiries, inquests, regulatory investigations and prosecutions. The experiences and insights I have gained working with many of these organisations, across a wide range of industry sectors, has enabled me to work effectively with them putting in place strategies that will avoid events that lead to damaging and costly […]
02nd Dec 2021
The UK has rebounded well from particularly troubling economic times. Unfortunately, all indications are that neither the UK nor the wider world economy is out of the woods yet as less developed nations continue to struggle. One only needs to look at the extent of government borrowing and funding associated with Covid-19 to understand the […]
02nd Dec 2021
The identification of the Omicron variant of coronavirus has already triggered swift action by the UK government. News of the government’s reaction to Omicron should prompt any responsible employer to review how they are managing the workplace risk presented by coronavirus. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises on, investigates and prosecutes work-related health and […]
02nd Dec 2021
Cyber-attacks can have a devastating impact on a company; it can be even more devastating when the attack is made by an employee or other insider. The trusted insider has distinct advantages to the external attacker: access to and knowledge of people, structures and systems that can cause critical damage to an organisation from inside […]
26th Nov 2021
Boilerplate clauses are wide ranging and vary depending on the individual commercial contract and the attitude of the contracting parties. While some boilerplate clauses simply restate the common law position (the position implied by English law), other clauses will never be implied under common law and will need to be expressly included. Frequently, contracting parties […]
26th Nov 2021
The duties of insolvency practitioners to preserve the assets of an insolvent company for the benefit of creditors occasionally crashes into the immovable object that is employment law, as it did in the case of Carillion Services Limited & others v Benson & others. Since the mid-1970s there has been a duty on employers to […]
27th Jul 2021
Prize draws and competitions are often seen as a popular way for businesses to engage with their customer base and attract new customers. There are many examples in our everyday lives where businesses run prize draws or competitions, either through a loyalty programme or by way of some other customer activation and which are now […]
27th Jul 2021
The worldwide insurance market has taken a big hit from Covid-19 related claims. Earlier this year Lloyds of London reported that it expects 2020 pay-outs for claims related to the pandemic to reach £6.2bn, making it the mosy costly insurance event in history. Business interruption insurance (BII) related losses have been well publicised, but the […]
06th Apr 2021
Now that the UK has left the EU, where do we stand in terms of disputes with parties within the EU? Can we rely on jurisdiction agreements in our contracts? Will we be able to enforce an English judgment abroad? These are important considerations when entering cross-border contracts and also if a dispute arises. In […]
06th Apr 2021
I recently attended an enlightening seminar presented by Robin Moira White who, in 2011, became the first barrister to transition from male to female in practice at the discrimination bar. The subject of the seminar was September’s employment tribunal decision of Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover, in which Robin represented the successful claimant. The tribunal […]
23rd Feb 2021
The Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) has just announced the formal launch of its free and independent service to try to help larger SMEs resolve disputes with their banks over lending and payment services. The BBRS provides an alternative to court litigation over disputed banking services, especially as it has long been recognised that the […]
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