Damages Based Agreements
As previously discussed (see “Damages Based Agreements: A Capital Idea!”), Damages Based Agreements (“DBAs”) will become available to a whole new array of clients from 1 April 2013 and Conditional Fee Agreement (“CFA”) success fees and after-the-event insurance premiums will no longer be recoverable from the other side in the event of a win. It […]
Children and Families Bill Update
The Children and Families Bill was debated in the House of Commons on 25 February 2013. A transcript of the children and families bill and the Parliamentary debate can be found here: Tim Loughton spoke passionately and with much insight about the very real problems many non-resident parents (usually fathers) face in trying to maintain […]
Top 5 Silly Laws That You Might Be Breaking
So, you take care not to break the law? You stick to the rules, you watch your back, you do what you’re told. Well, you may not be aware that you could be a law breaker, but there are some wonderfully weird laws that people barely remember. Unless they have been repealed, they’re still in […]
Problem Partners Spell One Thing – D.I.S.S.O.L.U.T.I.O.N
Business partnerships are just like marriages in many different ways. Partners enter into a partnership bright eyed and bushy tailed, full of hope and optimism for the future. Unfortunately, just like a marriage, partnerships can sometimes end in a bitter and acrimonious mess. It is imperative that before entering into a partnership, prospective partners sit […]
Winding Back the Clock?
Many businesses are structured as incorporated bodies otherwise known as limited companies. Sometimes companies move locations, with a few outstanding bills. Those bills are never seen by staff or directors and remain unpaid. More often than not companies move around without properly notifying all creditors (businesses or individual to whom money is owed) of their […]
Buying a Business in the US
Buying a Business in the US Why is legal due diligence essential when buying a business in the US? An individual looking to buy a business in the US needs to know that he/she is getting value for the money being paid. There are several key areas of concern that need to be reviewed by […]
The Compensation Culture Debate
Personal injury solicitor firms do not provide compensation to their clients; they simply provide legal advice to their clients.
The Two Year Itch? Increased Qualifying Period for Unfair Dismissal
Like all relationships, the relationship between an employer and employee won’t always work out. But how much time do you need to know if there’s been a failed match? At the moment, as long as the employee in question has less than one year’s service, employers are able to terminate the employment relationship without risking […]
The New Family Justice Review
The long awaited Family Justice Review (FJR) has been published. The FJR panel recommends legal reforms to the family justice system. The report has not gone as far as some commentators thought it would, in terms of changing the law (the Children Act 1989) so that there was a presumption or principle that there was […]
Know your Employment Contract Rights.
Would you know your rights at work if you suddenly found yourself in the throws of redundancy proceedings, discovered you were pregnant or quite simply thought you were working too many hours or traveling more than you thought you should be? There have been some big changes to Employment Law this April, which every employee […]
Doctor’s Dismissal and Right to a Fair Trial
The High Court has rejected a doctor’s claim that his dismissal was a determination of his civil rights thus entitling him to an independent and impartial tribunal under Article 6? Mattu v University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. By an agreement made in writing on 3 February 1998[1] Dr Raj Mattu, the Claimant, was […]
Automatic Suspension Lifted
In April, the court lifted an automatic suspension imposed under Regulation 47G of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (the “Regulations”), finding that, if the suspension remained in place, the resultant “prejudice” that the contracting authority would suffer would outweigh the potential difficulties in quantifying the aggrieved economic operator’s damages (Metropolitan Resources North West Ltd v […]
Employers erupt as ash cloud extends employees’ holidays. What can you do?
With thousands of people already stranded, the ash cloud is set to return to cause even more disruption to holidaymakers. Many questions are being raised as to where employers and employees stand in relation to absences from their workplace due to this ‘act of god’. So, just where do you stand? Our employment team has […]
Discrimination Laws in the Spotlight after Andy Gray ‘Sexism Scandal’
The sacking of Andy Gray is unlikely to mean the end of this increasingly heated debate, especially so for Mr Gray who has now appointed Lawyers over the termination of his contract. Unacceptable sexism or just ‘blokey banter’? Could Sky have really been seen to condone such behaviour by keeping him on the payroll? Peter […]