Insights & News
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Professional Representation before the EUIPO in a Post-Brexit World
30 October 2018Whilst the status of, and procedures affecting, EUTMs and other EU IP rights in a post-Brexit world are a concern for brand-owners, UK trade mark professionals face an additional headache in that there is a significant risk that their ability to represent clients before the EUIPO may shortly be lost. This is an important issue, as acting on matters before the EUIPO will account for over half of trade mark and design related revenue for many firms.
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Budget 2018. What a wonderful surprise! No really, you shouldn’t have!
30 October 2018It was my birthday recently, so I was delighted when the Chancellor told me he had got me a present. A Budget! It was a little late, distinctly homemade, and wrapped in a spreadsheet (natch) - but I was fascinated to find out what was inside. In other words, here is a selection of key tax changes for business that were announced in the Budget.
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Unexplained Wealth Orders
29 October 2018The English courts have handed down their first judgment concerning Unexplained Wealth Orders. As a result of the judgment the wife of a foreign ex-banker faces losing UK property worth millions of pounds unless she can explain the source of her wealth. Set out below is an introduction to Unexplained Wealth Orders, how such orders can be resisted and the recent judgment handed down by the High Court. We also identify some key issues concerning Unexplained Wealth Orders which remain unresolved.
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Disclosure Pilot Scheme to start in January 2019
29 October 2018The Civil Procedure Rule Committee has approved the new Practice Direction which sets down rules for a mandatory disclosure pilot scheme. It will run for two years in the Business and Property Courts in England and Wales, starting on 1 January 2019.
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The regulator and the right of reply: two recent cases involving the Financial Reporting Council
Case Study
29 October 2018The 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.
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James Davies comments for LexisNexis: Revealing the race pay gap
Press
26 October 2018James Davies has taken part in a Q+A for LexisNexis in which he discusses the implications on employers and legal practitioners of the government introducing mandatory ethnicity pay reporting by employers to promote transparency and equality in the workplace.
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Tribunal time limit calculator
25 October 2018We have created a free calculator which will automatically calculate Employment Tribunal time limits.
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Corporate Governance and Insolvency reforms
25 October 2018The UK Government is implementing measures to strengthen corporate governance and insolvency laws. The aim is to increase accountability, improve creditor protection and promote company rescue. This note comments on a selection of the proposals which were published at the end of the summer.
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Non-disclosure agreement injunction granted by Court of Appeal
25 October 2018The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has upheld a set of non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”) and granted an interim injunction which prevents the Daily Telegraph newspaper from publishing details about allegations of “discreditable conduct” by a business executive towards five employees.
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Lewis Silkin French Desk advises long term client Sopra Steria (Euronext Paris) on the acquisition of lending solutions provider Sword Apak
Deal
25 October 2018The Lewis Silkin French Desk has advised its long term client Sopra Steria on its acquisition, through its subsidiary Sopra Banking Software, of lending solutions software provider Sword Apak, a subsidiary of Sword Group.
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Richard Miskella writes for The Drum: 'Businessman' injunction: what can and can't be published in press and social media
Press
25 October 2018Richard Miskella has written an article for The Drum which discusses the recent injunction put in place by a 'leading businessman' against Telegraph Media Group.
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Kathryn Weaver speaking at Women in Leadership forum in Hong Kong
24 October 2018Kathryn Weaver, head of Lewis Silkin’s Hong Kong office, will be speaking at the Women in Leadership forum hosted by Elliott Scott, LinkedIn and Arcadia Consulting on Wednesday 14 November.
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Matthew Rowbotham comments for Essential Retail: Will an Amazon Tax really save the UK high street?
Press
24 October 2018In an article for Essential Retail, Matthew Rowbotham comments on the Chancellor of the Exchequer suggestion of bringing in a special tax on online businesses coined the "Amazon Tax" in an attempt to rescue brick and mortar retailers in the UK.
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Court of Appeal holds employer liable for wrongful disclosure of personal data by ‘rogue’ employee
24 October 2018The supermarket chain Morrisons had an internal auditor who went rogue. Aggrieved at an internal disciplinary process, he disclosed payroll data on the internet relating to about 100,000 of his colleagues. He was tracked down, charged and sentenced to eight years in prison. But was Morrisons liable to the employees whose information he had leaked?
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Colin Leckey writes for The HR Director: Ethnicity pay equality – gender pay gap-style reporting won’t work
Press
23 October 2018Colin Leckey has contributed to an article for The HR Director in which he discusses the proposed new law which requests feedback on the sort of information that employers should be required to publish and whether this should follow current gender pay gap reporting rules.
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Company held liable for managing director’s violent conduct
18 October 2018The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has ruled that a company was vicariously liable for the violent conduct of its managing director in physically attacking one of his employees at a Christmas party, leaving him severely disabled.
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Ethnicity pay gap reporting: why it's not that simple
18 October 2018The Government says it is “time to move to mandatory ethnicity pay reporting”. Last week it launched a consultation on a possible new law.
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Karen Baxter writes for Accountancy Age: Can you keep a secret?
Press
18 October 2018In this article for Accountancy Age, Karen Baxter looks at how the role of settlement agreements may have kept abusive behaviour quiet in accountancy firms.
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Two wrongs don’t make a right: Court of Appeal decides illegality is no defence to professional negligence claim
16 October 2018For 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.
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Alex Kelham writes for LawInSport: The challenges of digitally placed advertising: Ofcom’s decisions on ‘undue prominence’ from the Singapore Grand Prix
Press
15 October 2018Alex Kelham has authored an article for LawInSport on how Ofcom (the British regulator of TV broadcasting in the UK) felt Formula One Management (FOM) had gone too far with its commercial creativity in its coverage of the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix.