As we approach the 2021 Scottish Parliament election on 6 May, the debate around a second referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country is firmly back on the political agenda. We have published a series of articles on the impacts of Scottish independence for businesses. Topics covered so far include: the effect on … Read more

Establishing that a counterparty is in breach of contract is only the first hurdle to obtaining proper redress. It is just as important for the innocent party to show that it has suffered a loss as a result of the breach, and to prove what that loss is, or to establish that it should be … Read more

In our annual contract law update we consider a number of interesting contract law cases from 2020 which highlighted key points for those involved in drafting or managing contracts. The cases we have chosen deal with formation, variation, interpretation, good faith, force majeure and notice provisions. In each case we give a brief summary of the … Read more

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced various reforms to the voluntary Prompt Payment Code to tackle the ongoing issue of late payments. The Government announced its plans to reform the Code following its call for evidence on how to create a responsible payment culture for small businesses. The key changes to the Code are: … Read more

The Law Society’s Company Law Committee has published a Q&A on how to use electronic signatures and complete virtual executions. Whilst the Q&A is not a comprehensive statement of law, it is intended to assist with some of the practicalities of using an electronic signature in England and Wales. The Q&A focuses on the use of electronic … Read more

The end of 2021 has been the date set in stone for the discontinuation of LIBOR for some time. Legacy transactions using sterling and other non-USD LIBOR rates will need to be amended this year as part of the active transition away from the use of LIBOR. Our finance team has published a briefing which looks at the … Read more

The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in the Covid-19 Business Interruption insurance test case of The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and Others. It unanimously dismissed the appeals by the insurers and allowed all four of the appeals by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in two cases on a qualified basis. The proceedings were brought … Read more

This Covid-19 update briefing contains a summary of changes in corporate law and regulation made in the course of last year in connection with Covid-19. Please click here to see the briefing. Read more