Clifford Chance, Ashurst, DLA Piper and Dentons are among the firms that have secured a place on The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s latest £8.6m legal panel. The new, expanded panel is made up of 15 firms, with new appointments including Clyde & Co, Pinsent Masons and Mills & Reeve. Whereas previously the FCA had separate […]
Vivo Energy has filled its general counsel role with the hire of Barclays Bank’s former company secretary. Adrian de Souza joins the FTSE 250 company as GC from an interim role as company secretary and managing director at Barclays, a position he held between November 2018 to September 2019. Upon joining Vivo, on 27 July […]
Clifford Chance will provide legal advice to the UK Government as it seeks to agree a trade deal with the European Union. The magic circle firm’s contract is worth £500,000, with a trade agreement due to be completed over the next couple of months. Linklaters, meanwhile, previously won a role advising the UK Government on […]
BT’s digital network business Openreach has appointed a new general counsel (GC). Sophie Bouckaert has taken on the role of GC from Nigel Cheek. Bouckaert joined Openreach in 2010 and was part of the team that negotiated its telecommunications strategic review with Ofcom. She previously worked for Hogan Lovells in London and Brussels before heading […]
The UK Financial Reporting Counsel (FRC) has recruited Financial Services Compensation Scheme veteran Alex Kuczynski as its new general counsel. Kuczynski previously served as chief corporate affairs officer at The Financial Services Compensation Scheme’s (FSCS), where he was also director of corporate affairs and a board director, before leaving the company earlier this year. At […]
Barclays has named its new general counsel as current legal chief Bob Hoyt prepares to step down after seven years in the role. Stephen Shapiro will succeed Bob Hoyt as Barclays’ GC on 1 August. He will will hold the top legal role at the bank in addition to his current role as group company […]
The Central Housing Investment Consortium (CHIC) of social housing providers and local authorities has appointed 22 firms to its new £15m panel. The contract is divided into three lots; corporate, governance and finance, housing and asset management, property and development across England and Wales. Firms that have been added to all three lots include Bevan […]
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has appointed its first-ever formal panel of external legal advisers, The Lawyer understands. The state-owned oil company has finalised a core roster of law firms that will provide the bulk of the advice needed to conduct its operations. The roster is understood to include Allen & Overy, which has […]
The UK Government has injected an additional £45m into its post-Brexit trade law panel (TLP) as it still tries to wrangle a deal. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) originally offered firms £70m for advice when the panel was announced last October. It has now been increased to £115m. Most of the CCS’s other panel reviews were […]
DWF and DAC Beachcroft are among a quintet of firms that have successfully landed roles on Zurich Insurance Group’s newly-launched panel. The roster, which will cover a geographic area spanning Europe, Middle East and Africa, will be tasked with handling large claims across its operations in the EMEA region. The full line-up includes longtime advisers […]
Ten firms have secured a place on High Speed 1 (HS1)’s £15m legal panel. Linklaters, DLA Piper, Addleshaw Goddard and Herbert Smith Freehills are among the firms that have been appointed to the rail operator’s new panel, worth between £10m and £15m. The framework is divided into eight lots with Linklaters appointed to two lots, […]
Housing developer A2Dominion is looking to assemble its first panel of external legal advisers and is looking for alternative legal services providers to join the mix. The company is due to send out tenders this month, with the developer aiming for a roster that will include three to five firms across a number of themed […]
Optimum Asset Management’s Andrea Suriano
Matthew Gingell is a great believer that lawyers themselves can help change the world, rather than simply carrying out clients’ instructions to improve matters
Bison Bank head of legal Afonso Cardoso de Menezes has spent his career uniting Iberian and Asian markets – now he is building a team around him to satisfy his employer’s global ambitions
Thomas Loest is part of a legal team helping to oil the wheels at one of the UK’s biggest food processors as it battles to maintain production through these extraordinary times
William Grant & Sons GC Greg Bargeton is now a part of the executive and has assembled a strong legal team capable of dealing with almost anything that is thrown at it
A2Dominion head of legal Ausilia Matraxia sees social justice as an essential element in her job
Directors are having to take decisions at speed across an ever-increasing range of issues, whether related to health and safety or HR matters, on-going trading or company finances. Aside from the ever-present implications of COVID-19, one theme that links all of these decisions is the framework within which they are taken. Directors of all UK companies must comply with their statutory duties under the Companies Act 2006.
The business supplies sector has had to move swiftly and decisively during the Coronavirus pandemic to meet the changing demands of customers.
In the same week as the EU stimulus package was agreed, the Irish Government has announced a series of measures to support the Irish economy, assist business and promote employment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To support our clients and contacts in the retail and hospitality sectors, Shoosmiths hosted a webinar on 30 July 2020 focusing on the role of technology in making retail and hospitality safe and savvy in a post-Covid world.
Second volume of the Digest prepared by PLMJ and Inventa International on the crossover between the area of intellectual property and the challenges of COVID-19, especially regarding patents and utility models, as well as all the information on the path to obtaining a vaccine.
This note discusses recent developments in Kazakhstan on the suspension of the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings. The proposed suspension was introduced to help businesses overcome the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and measures taken to slow it down. Our note is intended to be a helpful guide – it is not comprehensive and does not constitute legal advice.
For the last 130 days, Government guidance has been to work from home wherever possible, but this will become optional from 1 August 2020. Here are our ‘Top 10 Tips’ for employers on how an office environment can be made Covid compliant for this transition.
There will be law firms who unfortunately will not survive the economic and other challenges posed by the Covid-19 situation. However, for those that do, the world has shifted and the business as usual model before the pandemic has probably changed forever.
Auditel’s top 7 cost considerations to maximise success during the lifting period of lockdown
The government has announced that it is introducing a new law which will require that redundancy pay for employees on furlough leave is based on their normal rate of pay.
Back in March 2020 the world became a very unusual place. The government rushed to help us to navigate that world with guidance (and more guidance) which we all tried to keep abreast of as it appeared on an almost daily basis with regard to all manner of things. In the world of possession proceedings, the first key development for practitioners was MHCLG’s press release of 18th March 2020 which suggested a “complete ban on evictions” and that “no renter in either social or private accommodation will be forced out of their home during this difficult time”.
Shoosmiths’ Head of Real Estate North, Andrew Pattinson, discusses what a post-Covid Manchester might look like at Estates Gazette’s ‘Future of Manchester – A City Reborn’ virtual conference on 25th June 2020, alongside fellow panellists James Evans, Director at Savills and D’mitri Zaprzala, Head of Residential at Octopus Real Estate.
REVEL captures years of knowledge and masses of information to simplify everyday tasks for lawyers
Two of the key players describe how, by using the right consultants and clever software, the firm beat its own deadline on reducing its impact on the environment.
The North West chambers linked up with insurance firm Keoghs to dramatically speed up the process of putting together briefings for barristers
The old saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention, and this has been starkly demonstrated within the legal industry over the past few weeks. ‘Necessity’ here is represented by the Covid-19 pandemic, and ‘invention’ by the rapid pace with which professionals have had to rethink the way that they operate while coping with […]
Connected, flexible and with an encouraging collaborative working feel, Osborne Clarke’s refurbished offices are already improving productivity.
Royal London general counsel Fergus Speight tasked his team with hanging the legal function operating model. Solicitor Peter McCusker led the way, and collaborated with procurement to reboot relationships with external firms
What challenges are those in the in-house banking sector facing in the current lockdown? On a late May afternoon, and from the comfort of their homes, a number of senior in-house counsel from the banking world got together with The Lawyer and BCLP for an online discussion about the anxieties and issues to be faced […]
Eleven GCs and legal counsel take part in a roundtable to discuss the future of the retail industry and how best to support businesses as they deal with the changing landscape
Ten GCs and legal counsel at a roundtable hosted by The Lawyer and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner discuss technology, alternative providers and what the future holds for in-house teams
Fourteen GCs and senior counsel at a roundtable hosted by The Lawyer and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner discuss how the latest trends create challenges and opportunities for firms
How can you reshape an in-house team in the image you want it to be? This was just one of the issues up for debate at The Lawyer’s latest roundtable with BCLP.
There is a concern among employers that once the furlough scheme comes to an end, and unless trade returns back to previous levels, businesses may encounter a problem in making employees redundant because payouts would be unaffordable. However, there may be help at hand.
The legal world of company restructurings and insolvencies is rapidly evolving and in a world of COVID-19 and the associated uncertainty it brings, it has never been more difficult for directors to ensure that they are properly discharging their duties. Gawain Moore, Partner in the Walker Morris Banking, Restructuring & Insolvency team, shares his ten top tips for directors whose companies are facing financial challenges in the current economic climate.
Many would be forgiven for comparing the current economic impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to that of the credit crunch over a decade ago. At the time it was suggested that the permanent damage done to the productive potential of nations across the world was a staggering $200 trillion of which £7.4 trillion was estimated in the UK. The longer the lockdown continues, intuitively, it feels like the financial implications may not be wildly different this time round. However, the challenges faced by the UK Government today are surely greater than those of 2008.
The government have announced that from 1 January 2021 the UK will adopt a points-based immigration system that will see EU and non-EU citizens treated equally when applying for visas. We summarise the changes in this briefing.
Let’s say you found a new café that served the best coffee you’d ever had. You’d tell your friends about it, go there on dates, or use it for schmoozing clients right? This is an example of consumer/brand advocacy, which is the practice of supporting and expressing confidence in specific products and services. At its […]
Following the declaration of the Situation of Public Calamity in Presidential Decree 142/20 of 25 May, Joint Executive Decree 180/20 of 12 June was approved to establish the following rules applicable to domestic and international air travel undertaken during the Situation of Public Calamity. • Domestic air travel by passengers from Luanda begins on the […]
Introduction The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the “Act”) was given royal assent on 25 June 2020 and has introduced a number of measures which will need to be considered by Landlords in situations where tenants are in arrears regarding sums due under a lease. The relevant provisions of the Act for Landlords are […]
The new guidance released by the Government for licensed premises seeking to re-open from 4 July deals with entertainment provided in premises, including showing broadcasts. Given that the football seasons across the leagues have been extended into the summer, with all Premier League matches on TV (as well as some matches being shown on terrestrial TV for the first time ever), showing football will no doubt be something many premises would like to do. We have considered the guidance in order to give an overview on the Government’s advice.
Should my company have a contingency plan? What measures should the plan include? Can I/should I isolate my employees, conduct health checks or questionnaires on their private life? Given the current situation, companies have to set up a contingency plan appropriate to the workplace and in accordance with the guidelines of the Health (“DGS”) and […]
As pubs and restaurants open this weekend we consider how regulatory enforcement for complying with Covid-19 social distancing might work.
When considering how to use the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS), employers may be wondering what this means for pension contributions and auto-enrolment obligations. This update considers some of the issues. How the CJRS works To access the CJRS an employer will need to designate affected employees as furloughed workers, notify the employees of this […]
The dynamics of a previously high performing team will shift in response to the recent working from home directive. As leaders we need to understand the factors that will impact even the most resilient and high performing colleagues. It’s likely that high-performing employees may experience varying levels of performance and engagement when they begin working […]
Total Developments has agreed a £12 million forward funding agreement for a major industrial unit at Total Park in Leeds. The Shoosmiths’ UK real estate team advised Total Developments on the agreement, which covers the forward sale of a brand new development of a 57,000 sq ft unit in Total Park. It is expected the […]
What to do if you are running out of time to implement your planning permission and use of Section 96a applications
Company boards have ultimate legal responsibility for their organisations, so their ability to make decisions at the current time is of critical importance. The coronavirus pandemic is having an impact on how boards can discharge these responsibilities. Clearly remote board meetings are not a new concept but in the near term they will have to […]
Planning Committees and getting decisions made in the lockdown period
