The UK government has announced that it is proceeding with plans to introduce compulsory mediation as a mandatory procedural step in all Small Claims in the County Court.  All parties in cases allocated to the Small Claims track (ie most claims valued below £10,000) will be required to attend a free mediation appointment with a … Read more

The FCA has proposed a revolutionary restructuring of the UK listing framework. Its consultation paper (published in May 2023) sets out a blueprint for the UK’s new listing regime. For an overview of the key proposals in the FCA’s consultation paper, please see our Capital Markets team’s briefing paper: UK Listing Regime Reform. While the … Read more

This week saw the government’s long-awaited introduction of a proposed new offence of “failure to prevent fraud” in amendments to the existing Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. The new legislation will be of interest to in-house lawyers at financial institutions. It is intended to protect the public from a wide range of harms, including … Read more

As financial institutions get to grips with the opportunities and challenges presented by the constantly evolving ESG landscape, our FSR colleagues have outlined the top five trends that they are seeing in this space. From a disputes perspective, particularly for mis-selling and securities class action claims, it is important that firms take note of these … Read more

The UK is one of many countries which have introduced extensive sanctions against Russia, its individuals and entities in light of the military action in Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022. The application of the sanctions is generally limited to the territory of the UK and the conduct of UK persons (as defined) inside … Read more

On 28 July 2022, the Law Commission of England and Wales published a consultation paper on the recognition and protection of digital assets. The consultation paper recommends law reform to recognise a third category of personal property – referred to as “data objects” – in addition to things in possession (such as physical objects) and things … Read more

The FCA has published the final rules and guidance and accompanying non-Handbook guidance relating to the new Consumer Duty (the Duty). While the nature and scope of the Duty remains largely unchanged in most areas, the final rules and guidance contain some significant changes and clarifications relating to how the Duty will apply in relation to distribution chains, closed books, wholesale markets and … Read more

In a speech delivered at Mansion House on 19 July 2022, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP, sets out the government’s vision for the future of UK financial service and discusses proposals which aim to keep the UK “the most open, inclusive, welcoming, competitive, safe, and transparent place to do financial services business, in the … Read more