REUTERS | Gloabl Creative Services (no copyright)
June 29, 2022

UK data protection reform: winners, losers and what to watch

On 17 June 2022 the UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published the outcome of its consultation on reform of the UK’s data protection laws (see Legal update, DCMS publishes outcome of consultation “Data: a new direction”). DCMS has presented the response as a step forward for both businesses and individuals in terms of, for example, cost savings, innovation, and clarity around privacy rights. In practice, the proposals are no great overhaul of UK laws, nor was one wanted by those who responded to the consultation. Organisations will undoubtedly be keen to know how the proposals will affect their business, and whether any of the proposals risks the UK’s adequacy status under the EU GDPR.

So who is set to benefit?

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REUTERS | Boxes of fresh strawberries for sale sit in the summer sun at a farmers' market in Hoboken, New Jersey, June 24, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar
June 27, 2022

What’s on the agenda for in-house lawyers in July 2022?

Publication of the government’s response to the BEIS consultation on restoring trust in audit and corporate governance is likely to be of interest to many businesses. In addition, the FRC has published a consultation on public reporting of audit firms’ firm-level audit quality indicators and updated its guidance on the strategic report.

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REUTERS | Corbis
June 24, 2022

Future now! Please share your views

The “Future of the Legal Profession” is a topic that has come up repeatedly in the past few years and has been looked at through different lenses, from how to train the next generation of lawyers during a pandemic that makes traditional in-person training impossible, through how to recruit diverse candidates into a historically homogenous profession, to whether law represents a solid career choice if much of the job could soon be done by Legal Technology (let alone AI).

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REUTERS | A whirlwind is seen as elephant and zebras walk through the Amboseli National Park, Kenya August 19, 2018. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
June 23, 2022

Reuters Podcast: General Counsel Leadership and Strategy

Download the Reuters podcast, General Counsel Leadership and Strategy – focus on Europe, which gathered three European GCs from different industries to give their insights on operating as a successful and trusted strategic business adviser in disrupted times.

Key discussion points
  • Adding value through proper collaboration with other business stakeholders.
  • Getting your crisis and risk management strategies right to do more with less.
  • Fine tuning and asserting your critical role in your businesses’ post-pandemic strategy.
Speakers
  • Richard J. B. Price, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Anglo American.
  • Céline Haye-Kiousis, Group General Counsel, Groupe BPCE.
  • Roel Staes, Senior Vice President Legal, General Counsel Europe, FedEx Express.
REUTERS | A field of sunflowers is seen during a hot, sunny day near the lake Steinsee in Niederseeon, Germany, July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Michael Dalder
June 20, 2022

Data privacy and cybersecurity: Summer agenda 2022

Last week’s publication by DCMS of the outcome of its consultation “Data: a new direction” has the potential to put data protection very much back into the limelight. The document sets out the government’s plans to reform the UK’s data protection regime as part of its National Data Strategy  (see Article, DCMS data protection reforms: summary of consultation proposals). Continue reading →

REUTERS | Residents and tourists enjoy the sun at Barra da Tijuca beach during a summer day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 15, 2017. REUTERS/Nacho Doce - RTSVNJY
June 17, 2022

Episode 11 of The Construction Briefing podcast

Episode 11 of The Construction Briefing podcast is now available.

This month, the Practical Law Construction team discuss further building safety developments, the draft Construction Contracts (England) Exclusion Order 2022, and the judgments in Nicholas James Care Homes Ltd v Liberty Homes (Kent) Ltd [2022] EWHC 1203 (TCC) and Rugby Football Union v Clark Smith Partnership Ltd and FM Conway Ltd [2022] EWHC 956 (TCC).

REUTERS | A bee searches for pollen among cherry blossoms on a sunny spring day in Lausanne, Switzerland March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
June 13, 2022

Flex Trainee: helping to create a more diverse, representative and socially mobile legal profession

Flex Trainee is our scheme for trainee lawyers, designed to help them and the legal industry at large take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the SQE. The scheme was launched in 2021 and is currently well into its second cohort of Flex Trainees. We designed the entire scheme from the ground-up to help create a more diverse, representative and socially mobile legal profession.

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REUTERS | Tulips are pictured in a public park in Vienna, Austria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
June 7, 2022

The Hearing podcast: ep.96, The Model Contract Clauses for Human Rights Project

Episode 96 of the Hearing is now available.

Devoted listeners to The Hearing will be familiar with the work of The Chancery Lane Project, which helps lawyers use contracts to fight climate change. This episode is about using a similar concept to tackle modern slavery and other human rights abuses.

Becky speaks to Olivia Windham Stewart and Sarah Dadush about their work with the American Bar Association to help improve the human rights performance of contracts and supply chains. They talk about how supply contracts often inadvertently increase human rights and environmental risk, by being too onerous.

This episode shows how you can be an ally to this cause, and make a meaningful difference, simply by reviewing the supply contracts used by your firm.

REUTERS | Ognen Teofilovski
June 6, 2022

Notes from The Alternative In-house Technology Summit 2022

Last month I attended my first Alternative In-house Technology Summit. One of the aims of the event is to help GCs and heads of legal operations build the internal business case for technology investment by gathering success stories from their industry peers. Here are some themes that resonated with me.

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