Business Law

The number of insolvencies has fallen slightly but there are fears that the figures could soon rise and that ‘a wave of business closures could be on the horizon’. Sam Lyon Associate Solicitor and Head of Corporate & Commercial reports. Corporate insolvencies decreased to 856 in October 2020 compared to September’s figure of 925 and remained well below October 2019’s figure of 1,485. Colin Haig, president of insolvency at trade…

A cryptocurrency firm has successfully taken legal action to prevent its former managing director competing against it and from revealing confidential information. Mark Aspin Director and Head of Dispute Resolution reports. The case involved Gemini Europe Ltd and Sawyer (2020). Gemini was part of a group of companies dealing in cryptocurrencies. In November 2019, it had engaged Mr Sawyer as its managing director. The contract included a non-compete clause preventing…

With the pandemic still causing huge problems for many businesses, it’s perhaps not surprising that many remain focussed on survival without too much thought for the future. If possible, however, it’s still important to consider what will happen once the pandemic is over, especially if you are planning to retire from your business and hand it over to the next generation. It could even be that a reduction in business…

A company has been granted a court order preventing a former employee from disclosing or using its confidential information after they copied files, Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution reports. The company, Rentrack Ltd, collected ticket sales data for cinemas. One of its employees, Mr Green, was approached by a competitor and offered a job in June 2020. You’re leaving your job, can you copy files? Before resigning,…

A 24 hour, online global learning symposium event for family businesses was used to engage in peer to peer learning and knowledge transfer. Through the symposium a community of family businesses from across the world, engaged in peer to peer learning and the opportunity for sector specialists to transfer their own knowledge to new groups. This unique event was aimed to share informative and educational content, encourage connectivity and positively…

Over the course of the year the government has responded to the devastating financial impact of Covid-19 on businesses with a number of packages of support to help businesses of all sizes. Ranging from support to help pay employees and business owners, to grants and loans and also tax deferral schemes, the packages of support are wide reaching. With the latest national lockdown, some of the support packages and measures…

The government is considering new powers to give businesses more protection against late payments of invoices. Carly Davies Debt Recovery Manager provides an update. Figures provided by Pay UK show that £23.4 billion worth of late invoices are owed to small firms across Britain, impacting on their cash flow and ultimate survival. Small Business Minister Paul Scully has announced a new set of proposals to ensure these firms are paid…

“Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter. It’s been an odd year! Despite it all, our property and agricultural teams are busier than ever and we welcome our newly-qualified Emma Blamire to the team of solicitors. Tim Cartmell gave me some advice at that stage of my career – “keep learning until you die,” which was both characteristic and spot on. The icing to the cake is that both…

Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR shares some useful information in a post Brexit world. Brexit will impact on your workforce in a number of ways, including: From January 2021 there will be a new immigration regime EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who wish to live and work in the UK Recognition of qualifications Travel (visa requirements, passport rules) Existing employees of UK companies who are EU nationals will need…

For newly qualified solicitor Emma Blamire, living and working in Cumbria is the best of all worlds. Having grown up on a farm just outside Carlisle, she loves the outdoor life and is now combining that with her chosen career in law. Emma, 24, qualified as a solicitor in September and is now part of Cartmell Shepherd’s Agriculture and Estates team, one of the leading agricultural law departments in the…