King & Spalding (JD Supra United Kingdom)

Many of our clients are increasingly faced with internal investigations, some with complex compliance or whistleblowing features. Our April client alert looks at some of the key considerations before embarking upon any investigation. We also highlight some of the recent developments in case law and legislation in these areas. Finally, we leave you with a Flowchart for conducting a compliance...

In November 2020, the UK government published a road map (the Roadmap) towards mandatory climate-related disclosures across all sectors of the UK economy aligned with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The UK Government is one of the first to endorse the TCFD’s recommendations in this way and roll out such a wide-ranging plan.

2020 was a year of exceptional change for employers and their staff. As the pandemic unfolded, businesses navigated their way through adjusting to a remote workforce to furloughing to creating COVID-secure workplaces and keeping up to date with government guidance. We saw the introduction of some significant changes in employment law in response to the pandemic. Most notably the establishment...

Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic slowdown, we are being asked by borrower and lender clients alike whether lenders have a duty of care as regards enforcement. Two recent cases before the English courts have brought renewed attention to the duties incumbent on lenders when exercising powers of enforcement. These cases underline the entrenchment of lender and agent...

A new Job Support Scheme has been announced in which the U.K. Government will top up the wages of employees working reduced hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What is it? The U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled plans to continue protecting jobs through the winter in the government’s “Winter Economy Plan”...

The UK financial services regulators speak loudly and often about their forward-looking approach to supervision, which – rather than looking back – seeks to focus on future risks to firms and consumers. Yet, you only have to look back at the last financial crisis to know that this exercise can be a bit hit-and-miss. Fast forward to the present day, and the regulators seem – on this occasion at...

A lot of discussions have taken place over the past seven months or so in light of COVID-19 and the market reaction to it. The purpose of this client briefing is to share some observations with you from our recent experiences across our deals in the United Kingdom: GENERAL APPROACH - Lenders are currently showing a degree of flexibility in their approach to defaulting and/or potentially...

Large construction projects, by their very nature, carry significant commercial and financial risk for the parties involved. Contributing to this overall risk is the reality that an act of nature or other circumstance beyond the reasonable control of the parties can be a real impediment to the timely and successful completion of a project. A topical example is the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak...

HMRC has issued further guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), including key changes to eligibility requirements. The Treasury has also issued a direction, which formally sets out the legal framework for the scheme. Set out below is a summary of the key updates.

A business (“the Defendants” or “X”, “Y” or “Z”) that provides expert and litigation support services cannot, simultaneously, act for a party (“the Claimant”) in one arbitration and against the Claimant in a separate arbitration concerning the same Project, so said the Mrs. Justice O’Farrell in her judgment in the case of A Company v. X, Y and Z in which the High Court of Justice in London...

On 17 March 2020, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released information for regulated firms setting out its expectations of their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In broad terms, the FCA recognises that COVID-19 is likely to have a significant effect on the financial services industry in the UK, in terms of its impact on consumers and firms alike.

The unprecedented spread of the COVID-19, or coronavirus, outbreak around the world has resulted in many organisations in the UK facing continued challenges, raising several key business and legal considerations. One of the most critical aspects is how employers should treat their employees and how the ongoing situation is affecting the workforce...

Non-UK resident investors (Investor) usually acquire UK commercial real estate (UK Property) through non-UK resident companies, for example Jersey limited liability companies. A typical holding structure put in place by an Investor to acquire UK Property involves such Investor establishing a Jersey holding company (Holdco), Holdco establishing a Jersey property company (Propco) and Propco...

I. INTRODUCTION - The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the treaty instruments that establish it and govern trading relations between its Members have – strangely – figured prominently in the run-up to the Brexit negotiations and since. For some, if the rest of the world functions well with the WTO and assorted regional or liberalising trade agreements, there would be no need for the UK to...

The United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020. While the EU and the UK lastly agreed on a withdrawal agreement and thus can avoid an unregulated Brexit, specific rules for trading UK goods on the EU market after the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 do not exist (yet). Upon expiry of the transition period, the UK will be a third country and EU food laws

The UK will be out of the EU - The UK left the EU on 31 January. There will be a transition period during which the UK will be bound by EU law but will not have a vote or be part of EU decision-making. The transition is set to end on 31 December 2020.

The UK Department for International Trade announced on February 6, 2020 that it is preparing the UK’s own WTO tariff schedule, expected to enter into force on January 1, 2021. What does this mean for your business? The new tariff schedule will apply in respect of imports into the UK, subject to specific exceptions.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) aims to guide regulated firms on its expectations of their cyber resiliency. In 2018, the FCA warned regulated firms of the risks of outdated IT systems and the lack of effective cyber controls as a key area of vulnerability in an environment where it said that the threat level for cyber-attacks is “remarkable.”

On November 6, 2019, the dissolution of the United Kingdom’s Parliament became effective and Prime Minister Boris Johnson officially announced, in accordance with a vote of the Parliament on October 29, 2019, the setting of a general election for the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) on December 12, 2019. A central focus of the election is to allow the U.K. political system to break the current deadlock

In a surprising change from his long-held position that the United Kingdom (“UK”) should leave the European Union (“EU”), Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn announced on February 25, 2019, that he would support a second referendum to address whether the UK should remain in the EU.

September 2016 was supposed to herald the dawn of a new era for the nuclear power industry in the United Kingdom. The UK Government had confirmed its support for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project and EDF, the project’s lead developer, had taken its final investment decision. What’s more, Hitachi’s Horizon project at Wylfa, Anglesey and Toshiba’s NuGen project, at Moorside, Cumbria were...

On November 25, 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom (“UK”) and the leaders of the member states of the European Union (“EU”) agreed to a deal that will govern the withdrawal of the UK from the EU (“Withdrawal Agreement”). The deal must still be ratified by the UK and European Parliaments. On December 4, 2018, the UK’s House of Commons will begin five days of debate on the...

Reporting overseas enforcement action against Senior Managers to the Prudential Regulation Authority. On 7 November 2018, the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) issued two final notices against two individuals who had worked for a major Japanese Banking Group. The cases were a follow on to the PRA’s enforcement case in 2017 against the UK arms of two Japanese Banks, in which the PRA...

The UK government has invited firms to apply for funding to carry out studies and research into how the National Healthcare Service (“NHS”) can overcome data privacy challenges, including how to comply with the requirements under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), whilst allowing private companies to use its data for the development of digital technology solutions in the health...

On 13 September 2018, the UK Government published a guidance note setting out the implications that a “no deal” Brexit would have on civil and commercial disputes and cross-border insolvencies in England and Wales. Civil and Commercial Judicial Cooperation - In the event of a no deal Brexit, there would be no agreed framework between England and Wales and the EU regarding ongoing civil...

On July 18, 2018, the British government began issuing guidance to firms and individuals on what to expect if the United Kingdom (“UK”) and the European Union (“EU”) do not reach an agreement on the contours of their trade relationship after the UK leaves the EU on March 29, 2019, an eventuality known as “Hard Brexit.” The British government announced that it plans to issue 84 technical notices...

An application for judicial review was filed in the UK High Court on 28 August 2018, seeking to have the immigration exemption in the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA 2018”) removed on the grounds that it is incompatible with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (“EU Charter”).

In an eagerly awaited judgment, the English Court of Appeal has today overturned an earlier decision narrowing the scope of litigation privilege in criminal investigations in the UK. The Court of Appeal ruled that interview notes produced by lawyers during internal investigations (as well as additional categories of materials) are covered by litigation privilege and that Eurasian Natural...

Critical security flaws have been discovered in two widely-used medical devices, according to a disclosure by the IT consulting firm CyberMDX. Working closely with the device manufacturers, CyberMDX found vulnerabilities in certain versions of the BD Alaris TIVA syringe pump as well as the Datacaptor Terminal Server. The deficiencies were made public pursuant to a new disclosure policy initiated...

On July 20, 2018, Elizabeth Denham, the Information Commissioner (“ICO”) for the United Kingdom (“UK”), released an Annual Report for 2017/18 (the “Report”). In the Report, the ICO commented that new laws and high profile investigations have helped put data protection and privacy at the centre of the UK public’s consciousness: “This is an important time for privacy rights, with a new legal...