What UK businesses need to know to overcome export hurdles August 26, 2015 POLITICIANS’ reputations are made or broken on the back of self-imposed targets. Back in 2012, George Osborne called for a doubling of UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020. It was certainly a bold aim. But then I guess you don’t become the chancellor of the exchequer and the bookies’ favourite to be the next [...]
The world’s best universities for law: Cambridge and Oxford trump UK competition May 21, 2015 More Britons would prefer to be lawyers than Hollywood movie stars, but where's the best place to ensure the dream could become a reality? According to the 2015 World University rankings from QS, Cambridge and Oxford live up to their lofty academic reputation when it comes to law degrees. Cambridge and Oxford are ranked second [...]
Tom Hayes Libor trial timeline key dates: Former trader accused on attempting to manipulate Libor rate August 3, 2015 Well, that's it: former UBS and Citibank trader Tom Hayes has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, after being found guilty on eight counts of conspiring to rig the Libor rate. During a nine-week trial, the prosecution painted Hayes as someone who acted in a "thoroughly dishonest and manipulative manner" to mastermind a web [...]
Who owns ideas in the workplace? May 28, 2015 There are several grey areas, but employers can take steps to stop staff lifting material. The film The Social Network dramatises the story behind the setting up of Facebook. Early in, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is asked by fellow Harvard students the Winklevoss twins to help them set up a [...]
Market economy status for China is a disaster for Europe September 29, 2015 What is a market economy? A system in which free trade and enterprise are encouraged to thrive, or one that is closely controlled by a powerful central government, repeatedly guilty of anti-competitive conduct and hostile towards new entrants. That is the question facing Brussels policy-makers, who are currently deciding whether to recognise China as [...]
July Budget 2015: Are you an entrepreneur, an apprentice or a single parent? What does George Osborne’s statement mean for you? July 8, 2015 THE SINGLE PARENT Catherine Gannon, 51Managing partner at law firm Gannons Gannons Commercial Law continues to do well, with profits and earnings up on last year. Catherine is commercially savvy and has restructured the business from an LLP to a limited company, illustrating that she is a smart operator in a segmented legal [...]
Libor-rigging scandal: Tom Hayes lost his Citi job over his methods, prosecutors tell court May 26, 2015 Former trader Tom Hayes was fired in 2010, four years after he started attempting to manipulate Libor, according to the prosecution’s case in court yesterday. Lawyers presenting the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) case in Southwark Crown Court said the former UBS and Citi banker received complaints just months after he started to work at [...]
It’s time for law firms to go public – and end the archaic partnership model June 4, 2015 On Monday, Gateley will become the first UK law firm to list as a public company. It should serve as a wake-up call for the entire industry and more firms should follow suit. For some lawyers, moving away from the partnership model will be terrifying – but it’s an essential evolution, not just for the success [...]
Woolworths redundancy case: European Court of Justice decision good for business, lawyers say April 30, 2015 British businesses breathed a sigh of relief this morning after the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the UK government in the controversial Woolworths redundancy case. The case dates back to Woolworth's demise in 2008 (and subsequently 2010, when it also affected former Ethel Austin staff), when more than 4,000 employees did [...]
Why politicians should stop using employment law as an electioneering tool April 12, 2015 Faced with stubbornly unchanging polls and less than a month before the General Election, what can a party leader do to prevent the nation drawing the duvet over its collective head on 7 May? Into the arena is pulled employment relations law. All the main parties have something to say here – the coalition points [...]