Insights & News

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].

COVID-19 advice for corporate occupiers

16 June 2021

Commercial tenants – whether occupying offices, retail premises, industrial units or other property - face potentially existential questions arising out of their landlord and tenant relations, how to manage cashflow and outgoings as revenues dry up, premises shut down and uncertainty reigns.

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.

If you refuse to even try and settle a dispute – there will be consequences

28 September 2020

All businesses are suffering from the effects of Covid-19 and the various measures being taken to combat the spread of the virus. Disputes are continuing to rise and contracting parties remain desperate to ensure that they receive their contractual entitlements without delay – particularly payment.

Business Interruption Insurance Claims - The Court Gives a Boost to Business

24 September 2020

Many businesses making claims under business interruption insurance policies for losses resulting from business closures, due to the Covid pandemic and restrictions imposed by the Government, suffered a rejection of such claims by many of the insurance companies. Although the insurance companies would base those rejections on interpretations of the wording of the specific policy and the facts on which a claim was based, it was apparent that a number of common grounds were being used by the insurance industry to reject claims.

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.

Subject access in a professional services context

22 April 2020

Data subject access requests made to professional services firms can raise some particularly difficult issues. This article considers the problems that can arise and how firms can navigate the potentially available exemptions.

Does the management team of a professional services firm have the power to deal with an extended lockdown?

17 April 2020

Like all other businesses, professional services firms are feeling the effect of the coronavirus outbreak and are having to take steps to ensure survival in a world of mass remote working, empty offices, a decline in clients seeking services and increasing financial pressures.

Implying terms into commercial contracts impacted by COVID-19

31 March 2020

We live and work in unprecedented times. The health of the population is rightly the priority, but it is abundantly clear that steps taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are having a very significant impact on the ability of businesses to fulfil obligations in commercial contracts.

Coronavirus creating uncertainty for landlords

13 March 2020

Covid-19 (or the coronavirus as it is more commonly known) has now been labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

Without Prejudice and Without Prejudice Save as to Costs – Reasons to be Careful

21 November 2019

The judgment in Sternberg Reed Solicitors v Andrew Paul Harrison [2019] EWHC 2065 (Ch) has put practitioners on notice that mislabelling without prejudice correspondence may have serious implications.

“Once privileged, always privileged”

24 October 2019

The Court of Appeal has held that legal advice privilege attaching to communications between a company client and its lawyers survived the dissolution of the company client, even where the Crown had disclaimed its interest in the documents concerned.

Unreasonable non-compete clause could be rescued by severance

03 July 2019

The Supreme Court (“SC”) has given a landmark judgment about the limits of post-termination restrictions (“PTRs”) in employment contracts. It ruled that although a six-month non-compete clause went too far by restricting an employee from holding a minority shareholding in a competing business, the employer could still enforce the key part of the clause.

UsToo? – Addressing bullying and sexual harassment in the legal profession

16 May 2019

Earlier this week, the International Bar Association published its report on bullying and harassment in the legal profession. The message is clear – as a profession we are not meeting the highest standards of conduct which are integral to our positions as bastions of the law. We must change within the profession, and take responsibility for driving wider societal change.

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).

The new visa route for recognised or emerging leaders in architecture: what does this mean for the architectural sector?

13 December 2018

The Government has announced a new immigration category for overseas recognised or emerging leaders in architecture that has the potential to ease access to jobs in the UK. With Brexit looming on the horizon, this news will provide some much needed reassurance that the UK’s Architecture sector will still be able to attract the best global talent over the coming years. However the new measures are limited in their scope and are unlikely to plug the gap that will be left once freedom of movement for EU workers comes to an end.

Andrew Wanambwa writes for FT Adviser: Unexplained Wealth Orders

15 November 2018

In an article for FT Adviser, Andrew Wanambwa discusses the powerful new weapon in the armoury of enforcement agencies, unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs).

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.

Michael Burd is quoted in The Law Society Gazette: Exit Wounds

19 March 2018

Michael Burd is quoted in the write up of the latest Gazette roundtable held last week.