Insights & News

Limited partnerships: litigation following dissolution and winding up

30 November 2023

A decision has been taken to wind up a limited partnership - that heralds the end for all concerned… or does it? Can a cause of action which accrued pre-dissolution be litigated by the general partner post-dissolution following the apparent winding up of the limited partnership? The High Court (at least on an interim basis) has said, yes.

Lewis Silkin recognised with top rankings in Chambers UK 2022 for Employment, Media and Entertainment: Advertising and Marketing, and Intellectual Property: Law Firms with Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys

Press

21 October 2021

Lewis Silkin’s performance in the sector continues to improve following a strong performance in Legal 500, earning 69 individual and practice rankings – of which 6 are top tier practice rankings and 5 are new entries or improvements.

Innocent partners may not be liable for losses caused by the fraudulent conduct of rogue partners

28 July 2021

In July 2021 the Court of Appeal held that innocent partners in a firm of solicitors are not always liable to former clients of the firm for losses caused by the acts of a fraudulent partner[i].

Any member of an LLP may be subject to a Disqualification Order – not just those on the Management Committee

06 April 2021

Pursuant to the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) the court may, in certain circumstances, make a ‘Disqualification Order’ preventing an individual from being a company director for a period of up to 15 years.

A Deed of Retirement doesn’t always protect a retiring partner

09 June 2020

It’s not unreasonable to think that if a partner retires from a limited liability partnership (“LLP”) under the terms of a Deed of Retirement which contains a waiver and release clause, that partner will not be subjected to claims for any liabilities to the LLP.

Deferring tax to January 2021 – a word of warning to management teams and partners

05 May 2020

In seeking to survive the coronavirus lockdown, partners and management teams at many professional services firms will have welcomed the package of support provided by the UK Government, including the proposal that on account tax payments due by 31 July 2020 may be deferred until 31 January 2021.

Expansion of HMRC’s “Time to Pay” Arrangements during the Covid-19 Outbreak

27 March 2020

Due to the immediate and stark effect that the Covid-19 outbreak is having on a lot of businesses, the Government has reminded everyone that it often reaches arrangements with businesses in financial distress for deferred payment of their tax liabilities. While this facility is not new, the Government expects the demands on the service to increase dramatically and is therefore scaling up its capacity to deal with new enquiries.

VAT and income tax deferrals to assist VAT-paying businesses and the self-employed during Covid-19 Outbreak

Inbrief

27 March 2020

As part of the sweeping financial package announced by the Government on 20 March 2020, the Government is offering VAT and income tax deferrals to assist with the cash-flow of VAT-paying businesses and the self-employed. These deferrals are expected to provide over £30bn of additional cash-flow to a wide variety of British businesses.

Mark Lim writes for Accountancy Age: Insolvency of LLPs – liability and risk for partners

Press

07 June 2019

In an article for Accountancy Age, Mark Lim outlines what partners need to know in the event of an LLP’s insolvency.

Fergus Payne writes for Accountancy Age: Top tips for updating your LLP Agreement

Press

25 April 2019

In an article for Accountancy Age, Fergus Payne, partner and head of our partnerships and LLPs practice group, explains how to update your LLP Agreement.

Fergus Payne features for The Law Society Gazette: New model army

Press

01 April 2019

Fergus Payne recently attended the latest Gazette roundtable, where mergers, finance, technology and succession planning were high on the agenda and changing law firm business structures were discussed.

Andrew Wanambwa writes for Accountancy Daily: Section 2 notices raise risk level for accountants

Press

18 March 2019

Professional services firms, requests for documents and Section 2 notices under Criminal Justice Act 1987 could pose a risk for accountants and auditors as illustrated in the recent Omers case at the High Court, explains Andrew Wanambwa, in an article for Accountancy Age.

Supreme Court decision on professional negligence and loss of chance: Perry v Raleys Solicitors

21 February 2019

The Supreme Court has upheld the appeal of a firm of solicitors defending a professional negligence claim and helpfully reiterated well-established principles about the approach the court must take when considering the issue of causation in loss of chance cases. The decision clarifies what has to be proved in cases where the question for the court depends on what: (a) the claimant would have done (which the claimant must prove to the usual standard ‘on the balance of probabilities’); compared with (b) what others would have done (which are better assessed on a loss of chance basis).

James Gill and Mark Hersey write for Accountancy Age: Moving to the Cloud in 2019: 10 steps to avoid the common pitfalls

Press

08 January 2019

Mark Hersey and James Gill have written an article for Accountancy Age explaining how to make your move to cloud accounting as smooth as possible this year.

Fraser McKeating writes for Accountancy Age: Professional privilege and investigations – what do accountants need to know?

Press

26 November 2018

In an article for Accountancy Age, Fraser McKeating explains how the law of privilege operates in the context of investigations.

The regulator and the right of reply: two recent cases involving the Financial Reporting Council

Case Study

29 October 2018

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the regulator for UK statutory audits. Its responsibilities include setting audit standards, as well as enforcing the quality of audit. It is the investigative and disciplinary body for UK accountants dealing with cases affecting the public interest. FRC investigations naturally focus on those under its jurisdiction, such as its member accountancy firms and individual auditors. Sometimes, however, the conduct of the audited company and its managers will also be relevant. Two recent cases have discussed the duties owed by the FRC to these entities. The cases will be relevant to other regulators.

Two wrongs don’t make a right: Court of Appeal decides illegality is no defence to professional negligence claim

16 October 2018

For public policy reasons, the Court of Appeal has held that the defence of illegality was not available to a firm of solicitors that failed to register a property transfer to a client involved in mortgage fraud. The court decided that there was no risk that enforcing the client’s negligence claim would undermine the integrity of the justice system and she was entitled to damages, in spite of the fraud.

Clive Greenwood writes for Accountancy Age: How to protect LLP firms from a damaging team move

Press

10 January 2018

In an article for Accountancy Age, Clive Greenwood discusses that while accountancy firms heavily invest in attracting and retaining talent, do they devote sufficient effort to ensuring teams can’t go and play for the opposition?

Fergus Payne writes for Accountancy Age: LLPs in Top 50+50: Will LLPs continue to be the preferred set-up?

Press

15 December 2017

In an article for Accountancy Age, Fergus Payne discusses why and how do accountancy firms set up or convert to an LLP, and will LLPs continue to be the preferred set-up in the future?

Lewis Silkin is proud to support Createch 2017

Press Release

23 June 2017

Createch - the emerging category in which technology enables new forms of creativity and vice versa - was celebrated as a new growth opportunity for the UK at a unique gathering of business leaders, entrepreneurs and creatives.