Dan Hyde, Partner

Identify what the problem is and whether you need expert help to resolve it.

If you do need help, make sure you choose the right expert for you – is this someone you can happily deal with for a length of time if things get tough?

Ensure you agree exactly what is going to be done and, where possible, what the likely cost will be – avoid surprises!

Has my employee committed an offence by accessing sensitive data that he used to facilitate commercial espionage against the company?

Yes, if the access was to data that, as a matter of fact, was unauthorised. This is a question that involves examining precisely what he was entitled to access and whether the data accessed was within that authority. He may have committed a further offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 if he intended, by that access, to facilitate a serious criminal offence; this involves understanding exactly what the subsequent espionage entailed and showing it was linked to the unauthorised access.

Do I, or my proposed cryptocurrency business, need to be regulated in order to conduct business as I’m told crypto isn’t regulated?

That depends on what your business and the services wrapped around it involve. There are a myriad of rules that may mean you are still caught by regulations; if you conduct business that isn’t authorised when it should be, you are probably committing a criminal offence. It is essential you obtain bespoke advice from a lawyer who is a specialist in this field.