REUTERS | Carlos Barria
February 14, 2022

The Construction Briefing podcast, ep.7: building safety and adjudication

Episode 7 of the Construction Briefing podcast is now available.

This month we are joined by Matt Molloy of MCMS Ltd to discuss a number of developments referred to in January’s monthly bulletin.

These include the latest building safety developments, with more government guidance on EWS1 forms, developers being told to pay to replace unsafe cladding and an extension of the limitation period under the Defective Premises Act 1972 to 30 years.

We also look at a number of adjudication enforcement cases, including John Graham Construction Ltd v Technicas Reunidas UK Ltd [2022] EWHC 155 (TCC), BraveJoin Co Ltd v Prosperity Moseley Street Ltd [2021] EWHC 3598 (TCC) and Bilton and Johnson (Building) Co Ltd v Three Rivers Property Investments Ltd [2022] EWHC 53 (TCC).

For details of previous episodes, see The Construction Briefing podcast.

REUTERS | An aerial view of tulip fields near the city of Creil, Netherlands April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman
February 7, 2022

The Hearing: ep.90, Mark van Baal (Follow This)

Episode 90 of the Hearing is now available.

During the last week of May 2021, significant gains were made in the battle against climate change. In this episode, Becky Annison talks to Mark van Baal, the founder of the international pressure group Follow This, about what happened. Was this the beginning of a sea-change that could save the world?

What some commentators bill as the start of the end of fossil fuel was driven in part by activist shareholders, as well as through the courts. The big oil companies are now being asked in very real terms by customers and shareholders to treat the Paris Climate Agreement seriously. Becky and Mark discuss the intricate ways that company law is being leveraged to drive this peaceful rebellion.

We sometimes hear from lawyers that they can feel disheartened that their work isn’t always a force for good. Mark, a relatively unknown journalist before the advent of Follow This, talks to us about how we can all make a difference, and his belief that the legal industry in particular holds the key to a brighter future.

REUTERS | Amr Abdallah Dalsh
February 2, 2022

Life in the law: why we need to come together to improve wellbeing in the legal profession

Last year we released the findings of our research study, Life in the Law. The research, the first of its kind in this country, looked at mental health and wellbeing in the legal profession, and over 1,700 professionals from the UK, Republic of Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man took part. The study questioned legal professionals on a range of areas, including work intensity (workload and working hours). It used three recognised scales for:

  • Burnout (disengagement and exhaustion).
  • Autonomy (the ability to control what, where, how, and with whom, work is done).
  • Psychological safety (the ability to speak up with ideas and questions, and to raise concerns or admit mistakes).

Continue reading →

REUTERS |
January 31, 2022

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

Following the government’s removal of its work from home guidance, many businesses are likely to be organising another return to the office push in February. This month, in-house lawyers should also take note of the forthcoming introduction of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures and consultations on corporate taxation and environmental protection.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Wind turbines produce renewable energy outside Caledon, South Africa, May 20, 2020. Picture taken May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings - RC272H96YWGL
January 27, 2022

13th annual cost of compliance survey

Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence has launched its 13th annual survey on the cost of compliance for regulated firms in the financial services industry. All information will be treated in the strictest of confidence and results will be displayed anonymously. The results will form part of a special report on the cost of compliance, which will be available to download in Q2 2022.

Continue reading →

REUTERS |
January 25, 2022

Join us for a live briefing on Practical Law’s EU and Europe materials

Need to keep on top of EU law developments as they unfold? Need information on the best business vehicle to use in the Netherlands? Want to know how to set up a partnership or acquire a business in a France or Spain? Verify the execution requirements for your counterparty in Ireland or find out where to focus due diligence when acquiring an Italian business?

Join our expert editors and understand how easily you can access EU law materials and up-to-date coverage of key corporate law topics on our enhanced country pages for France, Italy, Spain, Ireland and The Netherlands at our next Practical Law Briefing on Wednesday 9 February at 10.00 am GMT. Heleen van Lil (Director, Practical Law EU), Sarah Hassan (Lead, Practical Law Europe) and Jessica Brown (Director, Customer Training) will share their perspectives on the work behind our Europe coverage.

REUTERS |
December 17, 2021

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

COVID-19 returned to the top of the business agenda this month, with the possibility of further restrictions on commercial activity in January. In-house lawyers should also take note of two significant fines for anti-money laundering failings and a large fine for a data breach.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Sergei Karpukhin
December 13, 2021

Data privacy and cybersecurity: Winter agenda 2021/22

The autumn agenda highlighted two key themes that remain at the top of the agenda for in-house lawyers with a data privacy remit. These are: the potential outcomes of the ICO consultation on international data transfers post-Brexit; and the possible repercussions of the DCMS consultation on potentially far-reaching reforms to the UK’s data protection regime. Both of these topics are dealt with in some depth in our blog post, What’s keeping data privacy professionals busy? Continue reading →

REUTERS | Jorge Adorno
December 7, 2021

Year-in-review discussion with your Practical Law editors

Join me on 14 December 2021 for a live webinar. I’ll be talking to selected experts from across Practical Law’s editorial team as they look back on 2021 and ahead to 2022. We’ll be talking about key developments in ESG, data privacy, employment and compliance and what to look out for on the horizon. Meet the speakers and register for free.