Our Handbook is a practical guide designed to help you:

• Safeguard reputation and competitive edge in a fast-changing environment.
• Avoid last-minute surprises that derail business objectives.
• Stay ahead of proliferating laws and sharper enforcement without losing focus on growth.

You can think of this as your go-to resource throughout 2026 – you might wish to save it to your desktop or browser so that it’s always to hand. We’ll keep the regulatory trackers updated and share the latest versions as the year unfolds - just contact any member of the team for your copy.

This year's report distils key legal and regulatory changes into short, user-friendly checklists, timelines, and summaries, organised into the following five sections:

• Regulating intelligence: explores the accelerating AI and data agenda across the UK and EU, from evolving regulatory timelines to the practical centre of gravity shifting into contracts-covering data access and portability, model governance, vendor due diligence, and procurement-ready AI controls to deploy systems responsibly and at speed.
• Staying safe in the online world: sets out the implementation phase of online safety, including Ofcom’s final codes, risk assessments, age-assurance expectations and enforcement posture, alongside the requirements under the EU's Digital Services Act helping platforms, publishers and brands operationalise duties and evidence compliance.
• Harnessing and exploiting IP: analyses what’s new in protecting and commercialising IP in an AI-enabled creative economy, from co-development and licensing playbooks to emerging boundaries on AI-generated content, practical approaches to copyright, and monetisation strategies across media and creator rights.
• Selling, buying, and marketing: details the changes businesses must make under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act and related regimes, covering pricing transparency and drip-pricing, reviews and online targeting rules, green and ethical claims, and the CMA’s expanded powers and GDPR-style fines.
• Running a business in 2026: highlights core operational updates, including contract and governance changes driven by corporate crime reform, late-payment and workplace duties, employer-of-record risks spanning tax, IP and co-employment, and cross-border considerations for routes to market and supply chains.

We hope that you enjoy reading the report, please submit your details below to access a copy.

Kind regards,

James Gill & Alan Hunt