In-house counsel can be exceptionally valuable internal business partners, providing organisations, individuals and leadership teams with real competitive advantage. For many years, in-house counsel has been seen by some like many other admin and back office functions, however businesses that are switched on are finally giving the legal function the seat at the table they deserve.
Clyde & Co recently hosted a NEDonBoard panel discussion on the legal duties and liabilities that apply to non-executive directors (NEDs). Laura Cooke, a partner at Clyde & Co, kicked off the discussion by reminding the audience that the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) does not differentiate between executive and non-executive directors: they must all abide by the same duties (sections 171 to 177).
On 29 March 2019, the House of Commons voted against a government motion for the approval of the withdrawal agreement (but not the political declaration). This means that the UK is now due to leave the EU on 12 April 2019 without a deal. No-deal Brexit planning guidance continued to be published throughout March.
On 11 March 2019, DWF Group became the first law firm to IPO on the main market of the London Stock Exchange with a market cap of £366 million. The 300-page prospectus includes some interesting information on the intersection of technology and the UK legal services market, and the size and shape of the global legal market. According to the prospectus the global legal services market is growing at 4% per year, and was worth £653 billion in 2017, with the United States (£218 billion or 33% of the market) and the UK (£33.3 billion or 5%) holding the top two spots.
Continued uncertainty surrounding the date of Brexit ensures it remains at the top of the agenda for in-house lawyers this month. Other areas of focus include corporate governance reform and a consultation on the use of confidentiality clauses in situations of workplace harassment or discrimination.
Third parties (3Ps) can be valuable partners, providing competitive advantage through the supply chain and access to opportunities and markets. However, it is well known that 3Ps can expose businesses to bribery and other regulatory risks, with the OECD’s 2014 Foreign Bribery Report stating that 75% of the bribery cases it examined were carried out by third party intermediaries. Whilst most legal and compliance professionals, and to varying extents our business colleagues, understand this risk, managing 3Ps is a daunting task for those implementing a new 3P risk management process, and an on-going and challenging one for those further along the journey.
At LawCare we often receive calls to our helpline from lawyers who are being bullied at work. Calls about bullying and harassment nearly doubled last year. This is not to say that more bullying is taking place, it’s more likely that there is greater awareness about unacceptable workplace behaviour.
Services of all types are increasingly moving to digital focused offerings. It is a trend that has reached the world of whistleblowing across many companies, with employees now being offered the opportunity to speak-up via digital platforms such as email, a website or using apps on their mobile phones.
Having a variety of whistleblowing routes available is a good thing; however, with the offering of these digital platforms it is important to remember that there is still ‘value in the voice’. Telephone reporting still has its place and a shift to digital-only reporting could have a negative impact not only on the quality of reports but also on the willingness of employees to speak-up.
On 26 February 2019, the Prime Minister gave a statement to the House of Commons (HoC) in which she confirmed that a second meaningful vote on her Brexit deal would take place no later than 12 March 2019. Guidance on no-deal Brexit planning continued to be published throughout February.
We have had a blockbuster twelve months in privacy and cybersecurity which saw the arrivals of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS Directive).
As we approach the first anniversaries of those transformative pieces of regulation, the horizon is now dominated by the confusion and complexity of Brexit. Continue reading