In-house lawyers should defend themselves June 23, 2010 A RECENT opinion handed down by the advocate general in Brussels rejecting privilege for communications with in-house counsel threatens the status and future of in-house solicitors, and has caused significant concern to major companies and City lawyers. The background to the case was a dawn raid carried out by the Office of Fair Trading and [...]
Denton votes for US tie-up June 9, 2010 Partners at City law firm Denton Wilde Sapte and its US rival Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal voted in favour of a merger yesterday that will create a business with sales of £500m employing 1,400 lawyers worldwide. The management at both firms asked their partners to vote on the tie-up that was negotiated in secret and [...]
Fall in number of employment disputes as economy stabilises December 6, 2009 A SUDDEN drop in demand for employment dispute lawyers has boosted hopes of a return to better economic times in the UK. According to Contact Law, the first nine months of the year saw demand for employment lawyers rise 77 per cent as the recession fuelled demand. But in November a 7.4 per cent decrease [...]
Our national neuroses require a subtle cure July 13, 2010 LAST week, David Cameron condemned what he calls a “national neurosis” driving health and safety regulation. He was quoted in the Daily Mail saying: “The rulebooks keep getting thicker. The restrictions keep getting sillier.” Presumably, he is paving the way for the summer release of Lord Young’s inquiry into “the rise of compensation culture (and) [...]
Know the perils of poaching January 14, 2010 ANYBODY working in a client-facing business and thinking of starting their own firm has to be aware of the legal tangle surrounding “poaching” your former clients. What is allowed all hinges on the contract you signed with your former employer. If you have a contract with “restrictive covenants” then you need to tread carefully. A [...]
H&S LAW July 22, 2010 Q. Does my company need to worry about health and safety law? A.The main requirement for small companies is to draw up a written risk assessment if you employ five or more people. There is no legally required form that a risk assessment must take, but it must involve assessing potential risks to one’s employees, [...]
Q&A: PAYE May 20, 2010 Q. I have recently started my business and I am in the process of hiring staff, what should I know about PAYE? A. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is the way that HMRC collects income tax and national insurance. As an employer once you start hiring people you have a legal obligation to collect PAYE [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
New FSA vetting regime changing life in the City May 25, 2010 LAST week, the FSA secured an undertaking from former senior RBS executive Johnny Cameron that he would not work full-time in the financial services industry again. This weekend it emerged that ex-Morgan Stanley executive John Hyman would not be going through with his planned move to Nomura because the regulator had asked that his FSA [...]