With environmental considerations playing an increasingly important role in our everyday lives, it is perhaps surprising that, aside from the Green Party agenda, the sphere of environmental and energy policy took a relative back seat in the lead up to the 7 May 2015 general election. As the dust from the election settles, however, it seems certain that environmental and energy issues will return to the fore. With the eagerly awaited preliminary findings of the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into the UK energy market expected to be published in the coming months and with the fast approaching UN Climate Change Conference in Paris at the end of the year – to name but two significant upcoming events in the sector – the new government will have no shortage of difficult energy and environmental policy decisions on its hands. Continue reading “The 2015 election and its environmental and energy implications: change or continuity?”
Contractual discretion: how should it be exercised?
Contractual terms granting discretion for a party to determine unilaterally the outcome of a matter in prescribed circumstances are not an uncommon feature in commercial contracts. In fact, such clauses can be immeasurably helpful in enabling the contracting parties to operate on a day-to-day basis without the need to refer continually to the other for agreement. Continue reading “Contractual discretion: how should it be exercised?”
The (other) benefits of third-party funding for in-house counsel
The involvement of Third-Party funders (Funders) has – in recent times – become reasonably common in large commercial litigation in England and arbitration claims, both bilateral investment treaty and commercial, in the main arbitration centres of London and Paris. Typically, it remains the case that the involvement of Funders is limited to the extent that the funded claimant in the dispute is of limited financial means, at least in comparison to its better-heeled adversary. This is to be expected, and this imbalance is what third-party funding was envisaged as addressing when somewhat recent reviews of the English civil litigation system advocated the utility of litigation funding.
Continue reading “The (other) benefits of third-party funding for in-house counsel”
Delivery of housing land: the Scottish perspective
‘Housing crisis’ is a frequent headline. That may be hyperbole, but the need for housing is an important issue for business: many work in the housing market; all have employees with housing needs. Continue reading “Delivery of housing land: the Scottish perspective”
Smarter legal budgeting
Budgeting is a critical concern for in-house lawyers, in terms of litigation and day-to-day legal work. While the Jackson reforms have forced parties to litigation to consider the costs element of dispute resolution, the fact that legal spend routinely represents a significant balance sheet item has led corporate legal departments to focus sharply on validating their budgetary requirements and getting the best possible value from those budgets. The answer is to adopt a strategic approach, supported by the right technology, to procuring and managing external legal services. Continue reading “Smarter legal budgeting”
Reducing net migration…the impossible dream
The United Kingdom has become one of the best places to live and work on the planet. This leads to a major source of population growth in the UK, but also plays a significant role in the recovery of the economy.
The economic, social and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy for many years with no end to the debate in sight.
The rise in overall net migration to the UK in 2014 has shown that, regardless of the government’s endless efforts to curb migration, it remains an impossible task to reduce the numbers of foreigners coming to the UK in a free-market society. Continue reading “Reducing net migration…the impossible dream”
All change in green energy: results of the first Contracts for Difference auction
The government has recently announced the winners of the first auction for its non-fossil fuel Contracts for Difference (CfDs). These CfDs will ultimately replace the main existing subsidy support for renewable energy, the Renewables Obligation (RO), and are a key part of the government’s Electricity Market Reform (EMR) package. The award follows many years of consultation and development and the much talked about move to an auction system pitting technologies against each other in a bid for 15-year revenue support for projects once they have been commissioned. Continue reading “All change in green energy: results of the first Contracts for Difference auction”
Conduct or contract?
In our March article, we looked at the decision in Raymond Bieber & ors v Teathers Ltd [2014], where an e-mail in response to an offer simply saying ‘noted’ was interpreted as indicating acceptance of the offer. The legal principles relating to offer and acceptance have again been put under the spotlight in the Commercial Court’s decision in Reveille Independent LLC v Anotech International (UK) Ltd [2015]. In this case, the crux of the issue was not the written communication between the parties but the opposite: the lack of written communication set against the parties’ conduct.
Employment law in Scotland: a different path?
The Scottish independence referendum and the general election campaign have both thrown a spotlight on employment law, with change looking inevitable. Following the Smith Commission which published its report in November 2014 there is a real possibility that the administration of the Employment Tribunal system will be different in England and Scotland. A new government in May and the potential for more radical reform of the system could result in further divergence over time. Continue reading “Employment law in Scotland: a different path?”
Should GCs be appointing more off-panel specialists?
The panel appointment process is a necessary method of locking in expertise, rates and service level agreements to provide for the predicted needs of a business over the life of the appointment, creating a more or less predictable level of budgeted legal spend over any given financial year. Litigation, of course, is very difficult to predict and budget for with any degree of precision. Continue reading “Should GCs be appointing more off-panel specialists?”
The changing role of the GC
Economic and regulatory changes, developments in the legal market, the increasing volume and complexity of workload for legal teams and the advent of technology are changing how general counsel work, how they see themselves and their position in the organisation. How has being a GC changed and how are GCs managing the evolving requirements of their job? Continue reading “The changing role of the GC”
When is a notice of breach of warranty good enough?
The increase in M&A transactions which many firms have seen in recent times will inevitably spawn a rise in the disputes which follow when a buyer has not bought quite what it had bargained for. The extent of the warranty given by a seller is an important element of the transaction and the value to the buyer of a business. And if the warranty is breached, the buyer will need to be confident that it can enforce its warranties. Continue reading “When is a notice of breach of warranty good enough?”