Smith Report meaning

In this issue: International Arbitration Investment treaty arbitration Institutional and ad hoc arbitration Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information International Arbitration Hong Kong—court orders stay of court proceedings in dispute involving non-signatory to arbitration agreement The Hong Kong Court of First Instance, in Techteryx Ltd v Legacy Trust Company Ltd, ordered a stay of Hong Kong proceedings in favour of arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). Her Ladyship, Madam Justice Mimmie Chan, found that the criteria for a stay under section 20 of the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) were fulfilled. On a prima facie assessment, there was a sufficient basis for the non-signatory defendant to invoke the arbitration agreements, relying on the doctrines of agency and equitable estoppel under Delaware law, which governed those agreements. For detailed commentary, refer to News Analysis: Hong Kong—court orders stay of court proceedings in dispute involving non-signatory to arbitration agreement (Techteryx Ltd v Legacy...

In this issue: Key developments and materials Air emissions and climate change Energy efficiency and buildings Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental information Environmental permits and consents Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Water, flooding and drainage Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments and materials Major reforms to environmental regulation to boost growth and protect nature A fresh review, commissioned by Steve Reed and chaired by Dan Corry, reports that today’s environmental regulatory framework is out of date, patchy and overly complicated—failing both nature and economic expansion. It rejects a wholesale ‘bonfire’ of rules. Instead, it sets out 29 proposals to simplify the regime, which the government is actively examining. Under the Plan for Change, it advocates a more agile, streamlined system to spur growth while protecting the natural world. See News Analysis:...

In this issue: Spring Statement 2025 Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post-Brexit transition guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19) highlights Constitutional and administrative law Judicial review Equality and human rights State security and intelligence Information law Subsidy control and State aid Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New and updated content Useful information Spring Statement 2025 Spring Statement 2025—key public law announcements At the Spring Statement on 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, outlined a number of measures pertinent to Public Law professionals, spanning public sector reform, oversight of spending, defence procurement, government efficiency, and investment in infrastructure. Commentary on the package has been provided by Crowley Woodford, partner, Ashurst; Gemma Duncan, partner, and James Goldthorpe, trainee solicitor, Sharpe Pritchard; and Helen Bunker, chair and partner, Blake Morgan. See: LNB News 26/03/2025 55. Brexit highlights Independent reviewer...

Cineworld Cinemas Limited, together with three other group entities, pursued four Part 26A restructuring plans, with a convening hearing in August 2024 and a sanction hearing in September 2024. Headline points are set out below (capitalised expressions not explained here bear the meanings in the sanction judgment). This Deal Debrief sits within our Restructuring plans collection. For deeper analysis of 2023 RP metrics and commentary from recognised experts, consult Practice Note: Market Insights Trend Report—trends in Part 26A restructuring plans in 2023 [Archived]. Name of plan companies Cine-UK Limited (CUKL), Cineworld Cinemas Limited (CWCL), Cineworld Cinema Properties Limited (CCPL) and Cineworld Estates Limited (CWEL) (collectively, the Plan Companies). Industry sector Entertainment/Cinemas. Place of debtor’s incorporation and jurisdictional factors All Companies were incorporated in England and Wales. The Plan Companies acted as guarantors of the Group’s principal financing arrangements. Legal counsel involved The Companies: Tom Smith KC, Henry Phillips and Annabelle Wang (instructed by Kirkland and Ellis LLP). Dissenting landlords,...

What does the Market Standards Trend Report cover? Click here to download the full report in Shorthand format. The Market Standards Trend Report offers a detailed examination of 55 firm offers, 51 possible offers and 15 announcements of formal sale processes, private sale processes and/or strategic reviews, announced in 2024 by Main Market and AIM companies subject to the Takeover Code (the Code). It shares insight into UK public M&A trends and what we, together with leading experts from Addleshaw Goddard, Ashurst, Bird & Bird, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Paul Weiss and White & Case, expect for 2025 and beyond. outlook for 2025 deal value and deal volume deal structure unrecommended and competing offers public to private (P2P) transactions bidder jurisdiction industry nature of consideration and bid financing irrevocable undertakings and shareholder activism possible offers, formal sale processes, private sale processes and strategic reviews legal and regulatory developments The report...

This Practice Note considers the availability of anti-suit injunctions in support of arbitration from New York courts. LexisNexis® UK does not report citations to US judgments. Parties that have committed to arbitration may, once a dispute surfaces, reconsider that choice—particularly if one believes a court might deliver a more advantageous result. However, Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) obliges courts to stay proceedings ‘brought in any of the courts of the United States upon any issue referable to arbitration under an agreement in writing for such arbitration...until such arbitration has been had in accordance with the terms of the agreement’, so long as the party seeking the stay has not ‘default in proceeding with such arbitration’ or otherwise relinquished its right to arbitrate (9 U.S.C. § 3; Katz v Cellco P’ship, 794 F.3d 341, 345 (2d Cir. 2015)). For years, US federal courts disagreed on whether, in the face of a valid arbitration agreement, a court should dismiss the case or simply stay it. The US...

Executive summary This report examines why 25% of incoming calls originate from the procurement team, either posing questions or passing on updates and information to the team. Conducted across August and September 2024, the study incorporates statistical data gathered and assembled from a range of various sources. A cross-party cohort of lawyers and support staff, headed up by Fred Smith, undertook the work. Its objective was to locate present bottlenecks within the process, determine their root causes, and outline how they might be resolved. The aim was to identify current bottlenecks, their causes, and remedies. The principal recommendations are: enhance communication throughout the contract drafting process define what constitutes a conflict of interest and explain why it matters publish an online infographic of the contract drafting process as a clear and consistent point of reference tighten compliance protocols for how information is stored on collaborative systems Comprehensive details of these recommendations are set out below. If the proposals are accepted,...