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The European Commission issued, on 13 June 2023, a Sustainable Finance Package with a number of additional ESG measures including:  

In its recent decision in Forster v Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, the High Court found that City law firm, RPC, had breached its duty of care to its client, Ms Forster, after failing to keep her adequately informed of costs incurred under a conditional fee agreement ("CFA"). The Court also held that RPC were conflicted in acting for Ms Forster, and that in failing to enforce the settlement agreement in accordance with Ms Forster's wishes, it caused her to suffer loss. The decision serves as a useful reminder that whilst a CFA governs the solicitor's remuneration, it does not alter the duties owed to the client.

The Government announced on Monday that it will introduce new measures to address Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation ("SLAPPs") through amendments to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. The new measures will only address SLAPPs relating to economic crime and corruption, and it is unclear whether the Government intends to address SLAPPs in other fields in the future, or whether it sees this as the endpoint.

On 9 June, the European Commission published a draft delegated act containing the European Sustainability Reporting Standards ("ESRS") which will implement the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD"). Many organisations are setting out on the journey towards CSRD compliance by understanding how their organisation will need to report (if at all). For those that have already assessed themselves to be in the scope of CSRD, the latest draft ESRS will be of high interest, as they define the scale of the impending reporting task.

The FRC has subsequently stated that it will taking forward only a small number of its proposals.

The Government has announced plans to limit the length of non-compete clauses in employment contracts in Great Britain to three months. This would represent a significant change to the current position.

In this week's issue of Alternative Insights, we are looking at Retailisation and the evolving European regulatory environment.

On 15 June 2023, the scope of the UK criminal insider dealing rules will be extended. Additional markets and financial instruments will fall within the scope of the criminal offence of insider dealing.

Share plan annual returns for the 2022/23 tax year need to be filed online by 6 July 2023 in respect of all your share incentive arrangements to avoid penalties (an initial penalty of £100 will be due if a return is just one day late).

In our new Talking. Secondaries. series, we will seek to demystify the secondaries and synthetic secondaries markets and provide insights into the variety of tools available to GPs when looking to provide liquidity to their limited partners and their portfolios.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have come to the fore of real estate investment strategy during recent years. In the first of our briefings on this topic, we consider three developments in legislation in the "E" space and how those developments present challenges but also opportunities for the care home and senior living sectors to contribute to the overall debate on how to implement "E" objectives within the built environment. 

In an environment where costs are increasingly unpredictable and escalating, pricing mechanisms based on  cost plus a margin may seem an attractive option, at least for suppliers. But as we explain below, there are a number of pitfalls for the unwary – and it's vital to build in appropriate contractual protections.

In the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, the UK Government made a broad commitment not to reduce workers' rights – even though many supporters of Brexit often cited aspects of EU-derived employment law as prime examples of "unnecessary EU red tape".

In their recent "In Practice" article, What can a borrower do when a lender fails to fund?, Donald Lowe and James Bell examine market standard provisions designed to mitigate the risk posed by so called "Defaulting Lenders" and explore the options for a Borrower faced with a Lender that is unable to honour its lending commitments. This article was first published in the May 2023 issue of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have come to the fore of real estate investment strategy during recent years. In the first of our briefings on this topic, we consider three developments in legislation in the "E" space and how those developments present challenges but also opportunities for the care home and senior living sectors to contribute to the overall debate on how to implement "E" objectives within the built environment. 

HMRC have announced that the mechanism for calculating bonus rates for SAYE participants will change from August which is expected to result in a bonus being provided to new participants for the first time in nearly 10 years. If you are thinking of adopting a new SAYE plan or planning to issue invitations under your existing plan over the summer, this announcement could have an impact on your timetable and is something you should discuss with your legal advisers and savings provider.  

On 24 May 2023, the European Commission unveiled its long-awaited Retail Investment Strategy, comprising a proposal for a Retail Investment Directive amending the UCITS Directive, AIFMD, MiFID and the Insurance Distribution Directive, and a proposal for a new Retail Investment Regulation amending the PRIIPS Regulation.  

We are pleased to present the first edition of "Pensions De-risking", our periodical update on developments in the pensions de-risking marketplace. This first edition includes topical content on illiquid investments in the context of de-risking activity and links to other Travers Smith content on the increasingly recurring theme of pension scheme surpluses.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) has published its decision following its inquiry into Meta Platforms Ireland's transfer of personal data from the EU/EEA to the US for Meta's Facebook service. The corrective steps it has ordered and €1.2 billion fine, the largest ever issued under GDPR, are a substantial, albeit expected, blow for Meta.

On 24 April 2023, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) each issued guidance for UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes and their managers on Liability Driven Investment (LDI) strategies: TPR's guidance is here, and the FCA's guidance is here.