A dispute resolution clause could solve the Brexit impasse. The Attorney-General is in Brussels to seek the amendment of the 'backstop'. The EU says it won't amend the Withdrawal Agreement, so some form of add-on is needed. The 'backstop'...

Silence in which you can hear a pin drop is not a feature of Brexit. However, any half-experienced negotiator or mediator will recognise the acronym PIN, standing for Positions, Interests, Needs.  A classic approach to negotiation and mediation is to...

A shipless shipping contract: a fish out of water. The Transport Secretary signing a contract for shipping services with a company with no ships could be a script from the 'Yes Minister' TV series and books. But, as we know, it is not fiction. Chris...

Can you really 'Separate the People from the Problem'? This is the first of four principles of 'Getting to Yes', the seminal book on negotiation by Fisher & Ury. More often than not, when negotiating or mediating a dispute, I find that...

(Note: This article is based on an unofficial translation of CNIL’s judgement, so apologies for any errors or misunderstandings arising from this.) Introduction On 21 January 2019 the Commission Nationale de l’informatique et des...

“We met at nine” “We met at eight” “I was on time” “No, you were late” “Ah yes, I remember it well”. Those lyrics from the 1958 film ‘Gigi’, encapsulate the experience of many...

This article first appeared in Construction News . A top judge came out of retirement to help decide a crucial question around interim payments and adjudications, as Hazel Boland-Shanahan explains. Confusing case law on interim payments led...

This article was first published in Prospect Magazine . Why the European Court should never have ruled on Britain’s right to revoke the Brexit letter All the attention directed to the case of Wightman v Secretary of State for Exiting the European...

This article first appeared in Sportcal . The UK’s largest gambling companies have agreed a voluntary ban on advertising during live television coverage of sport amid increasing concerns over the harmful effects of gambling addiction, especially...

With the high street retail and dining sectors in a seemingly constant cycle of reinvention our Real Estate Dispute Resolution team provide guidance in this article for tenants who are considering exercising a break option in a commercial lease. A break...

A version of this article appeared in The Times . “Iceland Christmas Ad: Petition to show it on TV hits 670k” is one of many recent headlines reporting Iceland’s failure to secure clearance for the broadcast of its Christmas...

This article first appeared in UK Tech News . Wearable technology is now common in the workplace, including employer-provided fitness trackers which can monitor employees’ health and activity levels. It seems that the next step, microchipping...

We report on two notable recent decisions from the Information Commissioner’s Office, one pre and the other post, GDPR. 1.Facebook/Cambridge Analytica “Facebook to appeal over record £500,000 fine for data breaches” ran this...

There has been some confusing case law regarding interim applications and payments, valuation disputes and how the adjudication process slots in, which led to the rise of smash and grab adjudications. Sir Rupert Jackson in his Court of Appeal judgment for...

This is for guidance only and not legal advice. Before relying on anything stated below, the reader should take independent legal advice. 1. In England and Wales, the courts apply what American lawyers call ‘costs shifting’ (although the US...

A version of this article first appeared on the Open Democracy website. The ‘Big Four’ accountants - an oligopoly if ever there was one as Bill Michael of KPMG has freely admitted - are charged with lowballing statutory audit services to...

With people living longer, mental illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are on the increase and issues surrounding a person’s capacity are becoming evermore prevalent: consequently LPAs are becoming increasingly relevant. A series...

This article first appeared in the print edition of EG ( Estates Gazette ) on 27th October 2018. Scary stories, haunting nightmares and unexpected shocks may all be associated with Halloween. But for developers the need to look out...

If you are considering entering into a shareholders’ agreement, the recent judgment of United Co Rusal Plc v Crispian Investments Ltd (United) clarifies that the court will generally respect the commercial nature of share transfer provisions by...

This article first appeared in The Times . News of the Duchess of Sussex’s pregnancy has raised a debate on the potential title and surname of the impending addition to the royal household. It is barely more than 100 years since George V decided...

Here is our "Bodyguard" special covering six employment law issues that arise in the recent BBC series. Lesson 1 - RIPA Explained RIPA 18 was the downfall of Julia Montague, the Home Secretary, in BBC's Bodyguard. Far from...

This article was first published on Lexis®PSL TMT on 26 September 2018. Click for a free trial of  Lexis®PSL . How has membership of the EU benefited the industry? First and most obvious is freedom of...

What do Abraham Lincoln and Amy Winehouse have in common? The answer is that both of them – along with a surprisingly large number of people year after year – died without having written a Will. Where this situation arises under English law, a...

The Law Commission has released a Consultation Paper to address the current issues surrounding enfranchisement legislation and its proposed solutions for reform. Views are currently being sought on the Commission’s provisional proposals for a new,...

With the UK due to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 and no deal having yet been made, there is increasing concern over how a ‘no-deal’ will affect the country. Despite the EU rejecting Theresa May’s ‘Chequers Proposal’, she...

Daniel Shein's article first appeared in Financial Times  Property  on 5th October 2018 Our buyers are threatening legal action because our tenants have left the garage full of junk. We live abroad and this is going to be tricky...

Whilst commuting back from work, you may well overhear conversations about the chairman’s Virtual PA coming into the office for their weekly face-to-face meeting, the mother who is working 4 days a week term time only and the person on their way to the...

The recent case of Caridon Property Ltd v Monty Shooltz (2018) has held that landlords cannot obtain possession of residential premises from a tenant held under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (“AST”) in reliance on a section 21 Notice if they did...

When can an employer lawfully suspend an employee and what is the correct procedure to do so? We find that this is a really common stumbling block for employers. Indeed, new guidance on suspending employees has been produced by ACAS this summer, suggesting...

It is not  that often that the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, deals with matters of private Family Law but in the past few months, it has heard not one but 3 such cases. Owens – examined the grounds for divorce and asked if it is...

Rachel Hayward, Associate in Goodman Derrick’s Corporate team, looks at the potentially costly consequences of not getting a contractual termination right, and encourages a cautious approach to the entire process. Common oversights when terminating a...

This article first appeared in Talented Ladies Club . Planning to start a family? Here are three important legal and financial steps you need to take first. (If you already have a family there’s still time to get started on them.) Naturally, as...

(Brian Johnson (Liquidator of Strobe 2) v Arden and Others) This article was written by Clive Ince and Ellie Spencer . The Background In the early years of the new millennium the Luminar Group was a major player within the UK nightclub and leisure...

Daniel Shein's article first appeared in Financial Times  Property  on 7th June 2018 It took us forever to sell our house in London. We’ve finally found buyers, but they want to start work on a loft conversion...

The Secretary of State’s decision to require Sky News to be sold as a condition of Fox’s bid being allowed to proceed, leaves the field open for a bidding war to take place involving Disney and Comcast. The decision not to intervene in respect of...

This article first appeared in the on-line newsletter of the Law Society’s  Civil Litigation Section , of which the author is currently the chair. The traditional position under the contract law of England and Wales (which I shall, with no...

This article first appeared in Property Investor News . The vast majority of long residential leases contain a raft of obligations regulating the use of the property. One such common regulation is the keeping of pets. Some leases contain an absolute...

Efforts to tackle the issue so far have been little more than “nudging” techniques to pay more promptly. Is the government ready to ramp up the campaign? Market surveys in the wake of the collapse of Carillion suggest that protecting cashflow...

The short answer is not quite. The Supreme Court has now given judgment in the long running and important case by plumber Gary Smith against Pimlico Plumbers in which he claimed he was a worker and not a self-employed contractor and so was entitled to...

Indemnities are often one of the most heavily negotiated terms in a commercial agreement, but for non-lawyers their perceived advantages may not always be clear. In this short article we set out how indemnities may vary normal contractual rules, and why it...

Daniel Shein's article first appeared in Financial Times  Property  on 5th October 2018 How to flush out drainage issues I’m buying a house in the country that isn’t connected to the mains drainage. What do I need...

It is now some two years since the events we have come to know as “Heel-gate” when in 2016, a temp called Nicola Thorp was required to wear high heels at work. Ms Thorp was sent home without pay for not complying. She commented about the...

When your contract contains a clause excluding oral variations… A recent decision of the Supreme Court in  Rock Advertising Limited v MWB Business Exchange Centres Limited  brings an end to the long standing debate over whether clauses...

The cladding on my flat has been deemed unsafe. Who is responsible for paying for its replacement and the 24/7 fire watch that is required in the interim? The first place to look is at the terms of the lease. When it comes to the exterior, normally the...

The recent case of  Jean-François Clin v Walter Lilly & Co. Ltd  [2018] EWCA Civ 490 confirms that, without express terms to the contrary in the contract, the employer will usually be responsible for obtaining planning permission for the...

Companies need to look past the endless emails to ensure they are taking the necessary steps to comply with the new rules. By now you’ll be extremely bored of those emails popping up in your inbox and telling you that even your clients are about to...

Goodman Derrick’s dispute resolution team has received a number of recent instructions to act for both consumers and businesses in relation to disputes involving the application and interpretation of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the...

In a global age of technology, we are using more online platforms to assist with many aspects of our everyday lives, whether for ordering our weekly grocery shop online, or taking advantage of social media to interact and share our lives with other online...

Can termination payments of up to £30,000 still be paid tax free after 6 April 2018? Yes, provided however that no part of the termination payment represents unworked notice. Old Position Prior to 6 April 2018 if there was a contractual right to pay...

English law has always placed great value on the principle of testamentary freedom. That is, an individual’s right to leave their estate to whomever they like, with no obligation to provide for family members under a Will. However, under the...

As you will have seen in both the legal and mainstream press, the requirement of a minimum energy efficient standard for premises (known as MEES) was introduced in 2015 as part of a range of measures to meet the UK government’s carbon reduction...

In January the Government completed two consultations regarding construction in the United Kingdom, the first of these was a review of the operation of changes to the payment mechanisms and adjudication under the Construction Act and the second was a review...

To justify this headline claim, it is necessary to go back a bit. Prior to the creation of FAPL, football’s domestic prime events were not televised much – mainly because clubs  wanted to maintain live high attendance levels and feared that...

In the recent case of  Peugeot Deutschland GmbH  v Deutsche Umwelthilfe,  the European Court of Justice gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation and scope of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/EU) (“the...

In the age of Uber Eats, Deliveroo and TripAdvisor, our next meal is only a swipe away, every customer is an expert and word of mouth spreads faster than the speed of a dial-up connection. Studies show that as many as 70% of customers under the age of 34...

If you are buying, selling or developing a property in England or Wales, it is critical that you understand easements and how they could affect a property’s intended use. Easement  is a medieval word that derives from the 14 th century Old...

The performance of a director in a company is pivotal to the success of that company. Accordingly, there is legislation in place to protect a company’s right to remove a director should the circumstances demand this course of action. This right is held...

Construction contract employers who are aggrieved at having to pay out an interim application in full (because they forgot or made mistakes with their payment notices) may now no longer be stuck with that outcome for long, following the recent decision of...

So we have reached the next stage in the plans for a potential major shake-up to employment law and the workplace, announced last year by the Government on a number of fronts on their setting up of the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. But is the...

If so, make sure you have understood your obligations under the lease. You may have read in the news earlier this year about the High Court decision in the case of  Victory Place Management Company Ltd v Kuehn & Anor [2018] EWHC 132 (Ch)...

A Court of Appeal decision on a landlord’s refusal to consent to an assignment It is common for leases to require a tenant to obtain landlord’s consent to an assignment, and to provide that the consent cannot to be unreasonably withheld. This...

The Department of Health and Social care has just published two very useful  guidance notes  for surrogates and intended parents. The note identifies the financial considerations which both the intended parents and the surrogate need to bear in...

We are now just a few months away from the implementation of the GDPR, which is set to significantly change our data protection laws. While some organisations will be in the final stages of preparation, others may have not yet found the time to give it the...

Blizzards and icy winds have swept in from Siberia, with temperatures plummeting and a blanket of snow settling over most of the country. For many HR managers, the Beast from the East may feel like a waking nightmare, causing childcare and travel disruption,...

HMRC’s new online Trusts Registration Service (TRS) was launched in July 2017. This new online facility was introduced partly to implement new regulations relating to the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, and...

Mr and Mrs Conway lived in a prestigious house in London, but in 2010 they decided to sell it with the intention of relocating to Cambridge. When their house first went on the market the asking price was £7m, but that reduced over time as they...

It seems that barely a year goes by without a break clause related tale of woe emanating from the Courts. Sackville Property Select II (GP) No.1 Ltd & Anor v Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers Ltd & Anor  can be added to that ever expanding...

The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) has recently issued guidance on what activities are excluded from the statutory adjudication process under s.105(2) of the Housing Grants (Construction and Regeneration) Act 1996 as amended under the Local...

If you’re contemplating selling your tech company it’s never too early to get your house in order. Here are five key things to do to achieve best value: 1 . Ensure your accounts are in order. Clean, well prepared accounts (including...

It is often the case that a landowner’s exercise of a right of way over a neighbour’s land is challenged and there is nothing in writing to evidence the right. This is not necessarily fatal to establishing a right of way as in certain...

60 second summary: We are used to, and think we understand, percentage probability. Lawyers and their clients find it a useful tool in communicating and understanding the chance of success of a piece of litigation. However, parties need to take the...

It is no secret that sought-after areas with development potential in the UK are densely populated and that securing land is increasingly difficult with demand outstripping supply. Many “infill” development sites rely on access or services being...

A business tenant with the benefit of a lease which has security of tenure is automatically entitled to renew after the expiry of its contractual term. Usually, if the new lease terms cannot be agreed then either the landlord or the tenant may apply to Court...

Contemplating mortality and planning ahead for death is not appealing to most people. There is often a deep-seated fear or unease which surrounds the act of preparing a will and getting one’s affairs in order. It’s no wonder, therefore, that...

It has only been a few weeks since Carillion went into liquidation and suddenly one of the biggest construction and service companies in the country is gone. In this article, we give some practical advice on how best to protect yourself if you are in...

An area of some confusion among clients, now bracing themselves for the arrival of the GDPR, is on what basis they can continue to market themselves to customers: is fresh consent required, or what are the alternatives?  With the 25 th  of May fast...

Happy New Year! 2017 proved to be a considerable year for employment law developments and although there is actually relatively little on the legislative agenda for 2018, there is no doubt that many of the developments from the last 12 months will flow into...

This article first appeared on  www.sportcal.com , a world-leading provider of sports market intelligence A lot can happen on the way to the Olympic Games podium and the IOC can have some influence on that. But what happens on the podium itself is...

Below is an early Christmas gift in the form of some practical advice for construction professionals in the UK in light of  Adam Architecture Ltd v Halsbury Homes Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 1735. The case involved Adam Architecture Ltd (“ Adam ”),...

It is generally accepted that the Defamation Act 2013 (“the Act”) raised the bar in defamation claims, making it harder for those wronged to issue claims. A recent decision of the Court of Appeal has lowered the bar somewhat which should be...

Summary The High Court recently heard the case of  Maxted and another v Investec Bank plc [2017] , which looked at whether amending loan agreements multiple times would discharge a personal guarantee given by the directors of the borrower companies. It...

The watchdog is failing to consider the role of potential competition in Britain’s narrowing grocery sector, writes Stephen Hornsby This article originally appeared in the  The Brief,  the legal supplement by  The Times. It cannot...

The Chancellor announced some welcome changes for first-time buyers (“FTBs”) to the Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) regime in his Budget on 22 nd  November. From this date, FTBs of residential property of up to £500,000 will...

This article first appeared in QuickBite magazine. With thoughts turning to Christmas, employers may be considering what staffing options they have to help cope with the party season when demand for their services may temporarily increase. Below are four...

On 22 November the Chancellor of Exchequer, Philip Hammond introduced to Parliament his Autumn Budget. This time, there are no significant changes in the Private Client sector; although, yet again there is a promise of putting the Inheritance Tax rules under...

While the Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC”) has been with us since August 2007, it has been largely viewed as a administrative bother that has to be done before a premises was to be let or sold that once seen could be quickly discarded and...

Over 13 million files, many of them containing confidential and sensitive client information, were leaked from offshore legal service providers and corporate registries in 19 jurisdictions including the Caribbean, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. More...

On 29 November 2017, the CJEU handed down their Judgment in the case of Mr C. King v The Sash Window Workshop Ltd & Richard Dollar (Case C‑214/16) following a request for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Appeal. The CJEU has held that a...

his article first appeared in  Sportcal . An embarrassing and potentially damaging rift has opened between the International Olympic Committee and the FIS over their treatment of six Russian skiers that were recently banned for life for doping...

This article first appeared in  UK Tech News . The effect of equal pay law is that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. On the other hand, the gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between average earnings of men and women...

This article first appeared in  People Management . What started with Harvey Weinstein has quickly snowballed to include allegations against famous actors and now UK politicians. What can employers do to combat the problem? Using the hashtags #MeToo...

The fast growing trend of ‘gig economy’ working is becoming an ever more divisive and complex area. The term is used to describe a relatively new way of working which involves workers taking on short-term, on-demand jobs on a ‘gig’...

It is as much the case today that “cashflow is the life blood of the building industry” as it was when Lord Denning coined the phrase over 50 years ago in the Court of Appeal judgment of  Dawnays vs Minter  (1971). Slow and uncertain...

Whilst there is a large amount of uncertainty surrounding Brexit, it is possible to look at some of the more obvious implications of Brexit for the Audiovisual (“AV”) sector. We also look at current EU developments which are to be implemented in...

Details have emerged this month on what may replace the unpopular CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (“CRC”). Abolition of the CRC from 2019 Under the CRC, companies consuming significant amounts of electricity must report their energy consumption to...

This article first appeared in QuickBite magazine. Is that delivery driver of yours an employee, worker or self-employed? Many readers will recall that the issue of employment status has been under the microscope a lot recently, in particular during legal...

The High Court has confirmed that risk of concurrent delays in a construction contract can be specifically allocated to the contactor. In an important decision on concurrent delay and the prevention principle, Mr Justice Fraser has seen fit to reinforce the...

When it comes to controversy in the private client world, Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are not generally among the usual suspects. So when retired Court of Protection Senior Judge Denzil Lush vowed on BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme last month...

Background The Bills of Sale Act (the “Act”) was introduced in 1878 and still governs how individuals, partnerships and unincorporated bodies can use goods that they own as security for loans, while retaining possession of those goods. Since...

When carrying out an investigation into alleged misconduct by an employee, the temptation may be to find as much evidence as possible. A recent case in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has addressed the question of whether an investigation can actually...