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On 23 June 2016, the British people voted to leave the EU and in March 2017, the UK government triggered the departure process by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

The process of applying for planning consent increasingly requires ever more detailed statements and assessments before an application is determined. This often involves onerous commitments by developers in order to satisfy pre-commencement conditions.

Many organisations are failing to publish information on their payment practices, which could lead to being barred from government contracts or even the spectre of regulatory enforcement.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

Although many commentators argue that this election is extremely difficult to predict, let’s assume that polls suggesting a Conservative majority turn out to be correct. In that case, the expectation would be that the new government would be able to secure the passage of its Bill implementing the renegotiated draft Withdrawal Agreement.

Liverpool FC has recently emerged victorious from a battle with sportswear maker New Balance over a right for New Balance to match the terms offered by a competing kit supplier – but it was a close-run thing. As we pointed out in our briefing on a similar case involving Rangers FC and Sports Direct, such rights often appear attractive – but both cases also demonstrate how easily they can lead to disputes.

It’s well known that if two competing firms fix prices or share customers/markets, they can be fined for breaching competition law. But a recent case involving the energy sector highlights the potential for liability to be imposed on businesses such as software providers which have helped to facilitate anti-competitive activity.

There is an emerging trend towards post-completion or post-occupation reviews of the efficacy of planning obligations which result in clawbacks or uplifts in financial contributions or mitigation works, sometimes for a number of years post-completion. This leaves frayed edges to completion-driven real estate transactions and can leave tenants potentially exposed to unknown or unquantified additions to service charges.

In the briefing below, we look at the Court of Appeal's recent decision in Lloyd -v- Google [2019] EWCA CIV 1599 to allow a giant class action regarding the alleged unauthorised use of iPhone internet browsing data to proceed against Google, under 19.6 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (the "CPR"). The decision may represent a landmark, where we see the courts of England and Wales smoothing the way for more 'opt-out' models of class action to be brought.

The revised Brexit deal announced by the UK and the EU yesterday contains some important changes to the package agreed during Theresa May's premiership – but before we look at what's different, it's important to keep in mind what hasn't changed:

What were the constitutional implications of the historic judgment given last month by the Supreme Court in relation to the Government’s purported prorogation of Parliament for 5 weeks? A full panel of eleven Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously that the prorogation was unlawful, void and of no effect.

As you know, the new UK Corporate Governance Code (the 'Code') took effect for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. Many companies with a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange will now be in an accounting period to which the new Code applies and will need to ensure they can operate their executive incentive arrangements in compliance with the following provisions:

This summer's announcements by the Information Commissioner's Office (the "ICO") that it has issued notices of intention to fine both British Airways and Marriott International in respect of data breaches, have highlighted how sharp the ICO's new GDPR teeth are.

In an eagerly-awaited judgment, the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the Prime Minister’s decision to advise Her Majesty the Queen to prorogue Parliament for five weeks was unlawful. 

A guide to future employment and immigration law. 

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

The long-running case of Cape v Dring has been used to test out the important question of when documents generated or disclosed in the course of litigation can be accessed by third parties. It finally came to an end via a Supreme Court decision in July 2019.

With Brexit dominating the summer news agenda, this briefing is a summary of tax developments that have arisen over the last couple of months relevant to the asset management industry. Please get in touch if you would like further information (our contact details are at the end of this briefing).