Squire Patton Boggs (LexBlog United Kingdom)

Last year we discussed the impact of funding insolvency litigation following the Supreme Court decision in PACCAR where the court found that litigation funding agreements (LFAs) were damaged based agreements.  This meant that unless LFAs complied with the Damages Based Agreements Regulations 2013 (DBA Regulations), they were unenforceable.  Although concluding that the outcome of the...

Into the second half of April we go with a strong contender for the No Good Deed prize in the 2024 Has it Really Come to This? Awards,. Employers staring aghast at news in the Times on Saturday that “Offering a seat to older staff risks discrimination” should not worry – there is a great...

Back in October 2022 we reported here on the EAT’s decision in Bathgate -v- Technip UK Limited. This was a particularly unnerving ruling to the effect that settlement agreements could not cover claims yet to arise because of the requirement under section 147 Employment Rights Act that such agreements must relate to “particular claims”. The...

On Leap Year Day 2024, Squire Patton Boggs held its inaugural women’s sport symposium, Leap into the Future of Women’s Sport.  Bringing together key figures from across the sports industry, the Symposium focussed on what is next for commercialisation, investment and growth, and maternity and parental policies.  For a flavour of the talking points, please...

Everyone knows that if there is something about a job which causes a disabled employee particular difficulties with it, the employer is under an obligation to make reasonable adjustments to the role to reduce or remove that disadvantage.  But suppose that there are no adjustments to the role which can be made.  Does that duty...

Following our previous alert, in which we highlighted an issue with entries relating to registered security maintained at Companies House being incorrectly updated to indicate that they had in fact been discharged without the awareness of the relevant company or security holder, it appears that some (potentially all) unauthorised filings have been – or are in...

From EAR to ITARnity: Ever-Challenging US Export Controls Compliance When: July 16-18, 2024 Where: Stratford-upon-Avon, UK This hugely successful and highly praised event on US export controls regulations, which is jointly organised by Export Group for Aerospace, Defence & Dual-Use (EGADD) and Squire Patton Boggs, will be celebrating its 17th Anniversary when it takes place in...

The Home Office announced a number of immigration-related changes in December 2023, including a significant increase in minimum salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas. The finer detail, in the form of new Immigration Rules, will be published on 14 March with most of the changes coming into effect on 4 April 2024. In the meantime,...

For those unfamilar with the various insolvency processes it is not always easy to differentiate between them. In our latest insight we have produced a quick guide to administration that explains the procedure, benefits and effect of administration on third parties, including employees, suppliers and landlords. Our quick guide also explains the administrator’s role and...

The relatively recent introduction in the UK of data privacy laws (the Data Protection Act 2018 (the “DPA”) and the UK GDPR (the “GDPR”)) has led to numerous claims concerning a data controller’s requirement to ensure that the personal data it holds is accurate and kept up to date.  Claims are therefore being advanced that...

Over the past week, reports have emerged about filings that have been made at Companies House marking a charge as satisfied, without the company’s or relevant lender’s knowledge. There were rumours last week, which were simply that, because Companies House had not publicly announced any issue, but, as we have seen over the weekend and...

Clear disclosure of an ad is of paramount importance in the advertising world, and we have discussed this previously in our blogs here and here. In the ever-evolving landscape of advertising regulations, the recent decision by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regarding social media posts by former footballers in relation to Supreme CBD’s products...

Rule 37 of the 2013 ET Rules of Procedure contains the Tribunal’s nuclear deterrent, the power to strike out part or all of a claim or defence. That big red button can only be pushed for a small number of specified reasons including (for today’s purposes) Rule 37(b) that the manner in which proceedings have...

The authors thank Zarah Bhatti for her contributions to this post. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two ads for breach of the rule prohibiting the use of gender stereotypes in advertising, which was introduced in 2019. We commented at the time that these restrictions were likely to see a rise in number...

If there was ever any doubt that Trade Unions target their dates for industrial action to cause maximum inconvenience (think train drivers striking on the day of major sporting events, or binmen striking at Christmas), then Deliveroo and other food delivery company drivers striking on Valentines Day surely put that to bed. Scant consolation for...

Two recent cases on how Employment Tribunals should handle the inappropriate conduct of proceedings by claimants have shed some useful light on their more punitive powers.  Both decisions made clear that the ET is far more interested in getting to a fair trial of the issue despite such conduct than in thumping claimants because of...

This week saw the issue of what will probably be the final version of the Government’s statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement.  This follows the consultation on an earlier version which we covered here.  The new Code comes accompanied by some Guidance which is an unusually, in fact disconcertingly, helpful summary of the...

In the wake of the announcement by the English Premier League (EPL) of the “largest sports media rights deal ever concluded in the UK”[1] at the end of last year, this article considers key takeaways, as well as how this latest EPL deal compares to previous deals and those of other major international sports leagues....

2023 saw further impressive growth in interest around women’s sport, with increased viewership in the UK across television, social media and in-person attendance.[1] Almost one million more people tuned in to watch a minute or more of women’s sport in 2023 compared with the previous record set in 2019.[2] Women’s football is still dominating the...

The ancient art of fiddling while Rome burns is obviously still flourishing in government, as witness the release last week of a new consultation paper on fees for Employment Tribunal claimants. My colleague Alexander Bradbury has the official line here. We have been this way before.  The ET started charging claim and hearing fees in...

Changes are afoot to the statutory regime governing special administrations for regulated water companies (the SAR) following the publication of a suite of new legislation. Impact of the changes on pension trustees Further details of the changes are set out in a blog post by restructuring colleagues Helena Clarke and Charlotte Moller. Helena and Charlotte note...

Changes are afoot to the statutory regime governing special administrations for regulated water companies (the SAR) following the publication of a suite of new legislation. Impact of the changes on pension trustees Further details of the changes are set out below, but perhaps the most significant change for creditors generally, and pension trustees in particular,...

On 7th February 2024, Mr Justice Richards heard closing submissions in the English High Court for a contested sanction hearing for Aggregate Group’s Part 26A restructuring plan. This hearing presented one of the first opportunities to analyse how the Adler decision will affect restructuring plans going forward. Aggregate are a German real estate group whose...

In 2013, the Government introduced fees for bringing claims to the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.  Although they were then abolished following a Supreme Court ruling in 2017, the issue is back in the spotlight and the subject of fee-rocious debate once more following the publication of a Government consultation into their re-introduction. ...

What is the PSTI? It is a new UK legislation which aims to regulate cyber security for home networks and IoT devices. It applies together with The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (Security Requirements for Relevant Connectable Products) Regulations 2023 (“The Regulations”). When does the PSTI enter into force? 29 April 2024. What products does...

There are several key immigration developments in the pipeline which are likely to affect UK employers.  Here’s what you need to know: 6 February 2024: Visa Application costs increase The Immigration Health Surcharge is increasing from £624 to £1,035 per year for most adult UK visa applications from today, 6 February 2024.  For under-18s, students...

On 23 January 2024, the Court of Appeal handed down its much anticipated judgment[1] on the appeal of the Adler restructuring plan pursuant to Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (“RP”), which was sanctioned by the High Court on 12 April 2023[2], with judgment setting out the reasoning for that decision handed down on...

The Court of Appeal has, today, overturned the High Court’s decision to sanction the Part 26A restructuring plan put forward by the Adler Group (the “Plan”). Following the Plan’s sanction by Judge Leech in the High Court in April 2023, dissenting creditors lodged an appeal, which was heard before the Court of Appeal in late...

The UK Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (the Bill) received its second reading in the House of Lords on 19 December 2023. Although the Bill cleared that crucial milestone, the debate focused on the government’s last-minute introduction of sweeping powers enabling the Secretary of State to require banks and other financial service providers to...

The judgment handed down in the matter of CB&I UK Ltd suggests that the English Courts will not expedite or truncate sanction hearing timetables to accommodate requests from companies which have applied for a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (“Restructuring Plan”) unless there are good reasons for doing so. Distressed...