REUTERS | Grigory Dukor
November 30, 2022

Annual reporting and AGMs 2022: What’s Market practice?

Practical Law has published a report on the key trends from the 2022 reporting and AGM season. The report considers, among other things, the format of AGMs over the past year, workforce engagement methods, diversity on boards and shareholder and board-proposed climate resolutions. It also contains a section on trends within the AIM UK 50, as well as contributions by Marks and Spencer Group PLC on the benefits of a fully digitally-enabled AGM and the FRC on its review of corporate governance reporting.

The report is based on a review of the notices of AGM and annual reports of 268 FTSE 350 premium listed commercial companies and 51 AIM companies, summaries of which can be accessed from What’s Market: AGMs: FTSE 350: 2022 and What’s Market: AGMs: AIM 50: 2022.

Key highlights from the report include:

  • Nearly 75% of companies held a physical meeting this year. Only five companies conducted fully virtual AGMs.
  • As at 14 October 2022, 84 FTSE 100 companies had achieved at least 33% female representation on their boards and, of these, 57 companies had 40% or more female representation at board level.
  • 176 companies (80 FTSE 100 and 96 FTSE 250) disclosed in their annual report that their board comprises at least one director from a non-white ethnically diverse background.
  • 17 FTSE 350 companies tabled climate-related resolutions at their 2022 AGM. Of the 20 resolutions tabled, 17 were board-proposed and three were requisitioned by shareholders.
  • The boards of the AIM UK 50 companies comprise 20% women.

Source: Annual reporting and AGMs 2022: What’s Market practice?

REUTERS | Global Creative Services (no copyright)
November 29, 2022

Why employers in law should offer flexible jobs up front (and the barriers they face)

Today, the Timewise Innovation Unit publishes its annual look at what proportion of UK jobs are advertised with flexible and part-time working options.

The report looks to capture any options that deviate from the nine to five, five-days-a-week pre-pandemic “norm”. To produce it, Timewise scrutinised six million UK job ads for one of 19 terms, including “part-time”, “three-day week”, “four-day week”, “open to job share”, “term-time only roles”, “some or all remote working” and “flexible shifts”.

This year’s figures show that there are four people chasing every part-time job, which contrasts with a record high of 1.3 million full-time roles open earlier this year. Legal jobs offer among the fewest part-time working opportunities in the UK; just 31% of jobs in the legal profession are advertised as flexible, and 6% as part time, despite flexible roles being in high demand.

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REUTERS | Bees are seen on the frame of a hive in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica - RC1799744470
November 25, 2022

Networking for early-career in-house lawyers: an invitation to the Practical Law In-house Future Forum

On behalf of the Practical Law Future Forum Steering Committee, we would like to invite you to participate in a meeting on the topic of networking for early-career in-house lawyers, at 1300-1400 on Tuesday 6 December via Teams webinar.

The meeting will feature presentations from Alisa Grafton (partner at De Pinna Notaries and author of Great Networking: The Art and Practice of Building Authentic Professional Relationships) and Andre Brown, Senior Commissioning Editor at Practical Law.

Topics covered will include:

  • Developing your networking goals and mindset.
  • Strategic, but authentic, networking.
  • Practical aspects of face-to-face and virtual networking.

There will be an opportunity to put questions to our speakers at the end of the session.

Follow this link for more details, and to register.

We hope to see you there!

REUTERS | Luke MacGregor
November 9, 2022

Reviewing and negotiating climate change and other ESG clauses in commercial contracts

Businesses are increasingly seeking to impose specific contractual requirements on their suppliers in relation to climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.

Practical Law has published an article outlining possible steps to help suppliers review, assess and respond to customer requests for bespoke climate change and other ESG clauses in contract negotiations.

Steps are considered by reference to a mock scenario and example clauses, to illustrate how they might apply in practice.

REUTERS | Henry Romero
November 8, 2022

The Hearing podcast: ep.105, Ranjit Sond (Society of Asian Lawyers)

Episode 105 of the Hearing is now available.

In this episode, Yasmin chats to Ranjit Sond, President of the UK’s Society of Asian Lawyers. Ranjit is a former personal injury lawyer and now works for the Government Legal Department. In this conversation, he talks candidly about his career and the motivations behind the decisions he’s made to shape it.

In his role as President for the Society of Asian Lawyers, Ranjit’s focus includes helping to foster more diverse talent in the profession. He’s also working hard to address the problem of sexual abuse and harassment within the industry.

REUTERS | Andrew Winning
November 2, 2022

Legal Leaders Programme: the role of the in-house lawyer in handling a crisis

Please join us on 23 November 2022 (2.00pm – 3.15pm) for a webinar hosted by The Centre for Legal Leadership on the role of the in-house lawyer in handling a crisis.

Unexpected and sometimes catastrophic events can arise in many different contexts. The impact will vary but may include significant harm to people or the environment, an interruption to business operations, a major financial reversal or long-term reputational damage.

This webinar will look at the role of in-house lawyers in handling crises in their organisations, particularly in relation to assessing risk and impact, as well as planning and implementation. It will also consider whether the lawyer’s role has changed, or will change, in the light of lessons learned from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The discussion will be led by our speakers, Sharon Blackman OBE, Managing Director and General Counsel at Citi, and Peter King, Legal Advisor to the Treasury.

REUTERS | Maxim Shemetov
October 31, 2022

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

The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has confirmed that an Autumn Statement, rather than a “Medium-term Fiscal Plan”, will be delivered in November. This month, in-house lawyers should also keep track of the progress of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, and climate change and data protection developments.

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REUTERS | Global Creative Services (no copyright)
October 27, 2022

Ask Data protection trends

Navigating data protection can be unremittingly complex and challenging for subscribers. Data protection compliance frequently relies on interpreting non-explicit rules with limited detailed guidance available. The ambiguity on how to interpret the law can be the cause of much frustration for practitioners and lawyers alike.

Certain themes regularly feature across subscriber questions; applying exemptions, the age-old question of “When is an organisation a controller or a processor?” and recently, the implications of using biometric data has been a hot topic.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) new data transfer clauses (released February 2022) have made transfers, predictably, the most prevalent subscriber issue. Typically, new requirements such as these can entail significant investment by organisations for whom data transfers form an integral business practice. Implementation of the requirements is further compounded by the need for transfer risk assessments.

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