Legal Briefing

Courts will not rescue parties to a disastrous bargain | Cooley

Cases involving the proper approach to contractual interpretation only infrequently warrant determination by the Supreme Court as the ‘rules’ have been comparatively settled for some time. There have, however, been indications of a growing tendency 
of the courts to resolve unattractive interpretations based on the strict wording of contracts by reference to ‘commercial common sense’ …

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This time it’s personal | Brodies

In certain organisations, ‘private client’ legal matters will raise important issues for lawyers and others who make decisions within their organisations, and are tasked with maintaining good governance of the organisation. The former generally arises in organisations that deal with financial matters for their clients; the latter where the business is family or owner-managed, as …

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Licence to assign: some practical tips | Falcon Chambers

Almost all commercial leases prevent the tenant from assigning the lease without obtaining consent from the landlord. Disputes often arise and landlords, in particular, have to act quickly. The consequences of making a late decision are often no better than making the wrong decision: in either case, the landlord may end up with an undesirable …

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Unlocking the hidden value in business processes | Thomson Reuters

Nearly every business uses Excel for straightforward accounting tasks, but for corporate legal departments dealing with multiple matters involving external legal service providers, specialised budgeting software brings significant business benefits. Although Excel is a useful repository for financial information and facilitates financial analysis, this requires manual collecting, inputting and updating data. Accurate financial planning, reporting …

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Insolvency within the supply chain | Druces LLP

All businesses are susceptible to risks in the supply chain and most businesses will come across insolvency issues as a result of supplier insolvency or customer insolvency at some point in their life. The insolvency of a key supplier or customer can have a significant impact on a business and in some cases it can …

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Can the Human Rights Act really be ‘scrapped’ and would it make any difference? | Magrath Sheldrick LLP

The Human Rights Act 1998, introduced by the Labour government and in force since October 2000, has been the subject of much controversy. In particular it has been blamed for preventing the government from being able to remove illegal immigrants from the United Kingdom. The Conservative government’s desire to ‘scrap’ the Human Rights Act is …

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Know your supply chain: current issues for chemicals and product stewardship | Burges Salmon

This article presents an update on some key areas in chemicals regulation and product stewardship. A central theme is the importance of businesses having reliable control of the information available through their supply chains, without which compliance is much harder to achieve and reputational risks much greater.

No winners in a battle of forms | Cooley

A classic battle of forms has ended in the faintly ignominious conclusion that neither party had done enough to have their standard terms and conditions (Ts&Cs) incorporated into the contracts in dispute. The High Court’s decision in Transformers 
& Rectifiers Ltd v Needs Ltd [2015] provides an instructive summary of key authorities and serves as a warning …

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PI Court and broader court reforms | Brodies

Readers may be aware that changes to court practice proposed under the terms of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 are beginning to take shape. Although it will take some considerable time for the effects of the changes to be fully realised, a modest degree of interpretation suggests that the changes have the potential to …

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Rent free fitting out periods and s34 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 | Falcon Chambers

On initial lettings of commercial property it is standard market practice to allow the tenant an initial fitting out allowance, generally by way of a rent 
free period. This rent free period is intended, in theory, to reflect the tenant’s time and expense incurred in fitting out the premises but is rarely calculated by reference …

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