Legal Practice Notes

This Practice Note looks at how to oversee relationships with law firms your organisation engages either routinely or from time to time. Relationship management with a law firm used regularly This Practice Note proceeds on the basis that a robust selection exercise has been completed, resulting in the firms your team commonly instructs. For more on panel selection, see subtopic: Setting up a panel—overview. Key elements in relationship management The image referenced identifies five recurring ingredients for building effective partnerships with your law firms: 1. Scoping and fee parameters — When a firm is used frequently there is greater opportunity for fixed pricing or tariffs. Consider whether a comprehensive arrangement that smooths any undue pain or gain in billing suits you best, or a narrower payment structure that is widened over time. It must function for you, the firm, and your CFO. Related Practice Notes: Legal...

When you hold functional or dotted line oversight of in-house counsel who answer to leaders, building rapport with those leaders so you can discharge that remit is often tricky. Matrix reporting can be problematic and, at worst, you may end up burdened with responsibility for far-flung teams’ output, yet lack sight of their activities and have little say in their methods. In such arrangements, you might be expected to own outcomes whilst lacking oversight of tasks and limited input into processes. See Practice Note: Fostering relationships with remote ‘functional’ reports. When taking on functional or dotted line responsibility, you should consider the following: how far your influence will extend to: the recruitment and dismissal of in-house lawyers by the business boss? the terms and...

Defined benefit ( DB) pension scheme deficit A defined benefit ( DB) pension scheme is in deficit when the value of its assets falls short of its liabilities. There are several ways to assess the shortfall, for example: on the scheme funding basis — required by the Occupational Pension Schemes ( Scheme Funding) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/3377, and used to determine future contributions. If a shortfall is identified on this basis, the trustees and sponsoring employer must agree a recovery plan to clear it. For further information, see Practice Note: The scheme-specific funding regime — Recovery plan on a solvency basis — liabilities measured as the premium an insurer would need to secure the scheme benefits in full (the ‘buy-out basis’) on the Pension Protection Fund ( PPF) basis — assets and liabilities valued using standard assumptions and the benefit...

This Practice Note on global collaboration highlights five core areas that in-house lawyers should weigh up when planning cross-border projects or deals: logistics, language, trust, negotiation and teamwork. For more detail on doing business in other jurisdictions, refer to our Doing business in key global jurisdictions—overview, the Lexology Panoramic—overview series, and the International comparator tool. Building productive relationships Operating across borders is now an essential capability for modern in-house counsel. Whether you manage overseas operations, negotiate with international suppliers, or instruct legal providers based abroad, you must recognise cultural differences and adapt your approach so you can secure outcomes from people accustomed to working in ways that may differ from your own. To cultivate effective relationships worldwide, concentrate on five...

Environmental, social and governance ( ESG) factors are now central to managing environmental risk, with mounting expectations on companies to evaluate their environmental and social performance. Sustainability underpins the Environment Agency’s ( EA) land contamination risk management ( LCRM) guidance, which requires climate change to be addressed within risk assessments. In recent years, organisations such as The Society of Brownfield Risk Assessment ( So BRA) and CL: AIRE have issued supporting guidance and schemes that reinforce the EA’s sustainability objective. For more on ESG, see Practice Note: ESG—new starter guide. What is environmental risk? The EA’s LCRM guidance, published in October 2020 and replacing the 2019/2020 versions, sets out how to assess and manage risks arising from land contamination. Environmental risk is one of several ESG matters relevant to organisations and stakeholders, alongside risk areas such as health and safety and data security...

This Practice Note examines the status and deployment of confidential information in civil proceedings, covering what amounts to confidential information, how it can be safeguarded, and the circumstances in which confidentiality may be lost. It also considers disclosure duties concerning confidential material, methods to protect such material from disclosure, inspection and citation in open court, disclosure for restricted purposes, confidentiality rings, reliance on confidential and covertly obtained information, receipt of confidential material by mistake, and the friction with other jurisdictions’ disclosure rules. What is confidential information? Information regarded as confidential includes: personal (or private) information trade secrets journalistic, artistic or literary confidences government secrets court-ordered settlement agreements requiring non-disclosure information specifically identified by contract as restricted password-protected email accounts documents generated within the solicitor–client relationship ( Anderson v Bank of British Columbia) documents that may be...

Why you need to manage this risk Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU) concerning EU competition law, and Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 for UK competition law, each outlaw agreements between undertakings, decisions of associations of undertakings, and concerted practices that may influence trade—between Member States under Article 101 TFEU, or within the UK under the Chapter I prohibition—and whose object or effect is to prevent, restrict, or distort competition. Failure to meet competition law obligations can lead to a range of outcomes: Fines: The European Commission ( Commission) and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA) primarily penalise anti‑competitive conduct by imposing fines on infringing businesses. Every separate breach can attract a fine of up to 10% of your annual worldwide turnover. Void and unenforceable agreements: Agreements infringing Article 101(1) TFEU or Chapter I are void and...

This Practice Note outlines pragmatic points for handling such claims, then summarises frequent categories of neonatal harm arising during delivery. The emphasis is on liability, not quantum. The standard elements of breach of duty, causation, and damages remain engaged. See: Clinical negligence liability—overview Clinical negligence damages—overview Catastrophic claims—overview Informed consent— Montgomery When handling birth injury matters, you should understand Montgomery, a case concerning a baby who developed cerebral palsy after hypoxia during a protracted labour. The liability questions centred on the information provided to the mother about delivery options and their hazards. Its scope is broad and it reset the standard for disclosure during consent. In practice, this reshapes how clinicians discuss risks and alternatives with expectant mothers. For more detailed guidance on this authority and later developments, see Practice Note: Consent in clinical negligence claims—treatment and causation. In CNZ v Royal United Bath Hospitals NHS...

A growing focus on climate change and cutting carbon emissions, within a company’s environmental, social and governance ( ESG) strategy, is increasingly shaping corporate transactions......

This Practice Note outlines the SRA rules that govern law firms as they advance or handle a client matter. Further obligations feature in the Law Society’s practice management standards, for example Lexcel, and should be treated as mandatory by firms that hold or seek accreditation. Regulatory duties of wider application that are not specific to law firms—such as data protection and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 ( MLR 2017), SI 2017/692, as amended—sit beyond the scope of this Practice Note. For further detail, consult the following subtopics: Lawful processing and transfer of personal data and Client due diligence—law firms. In particular, Practice Note: Money Laundering Regulations 2017—client due diligence—law firms— Risk assessing clients and matters—simplified, enhanced and regular CDD sets out the regulatory obligation to risk assess client matters falling within the scope of the MLR...

This Practice Note identifies the matters that must be borne in mind when dealing with litigants in person ( LIP) within case management, such as relief from sanctions, defects in service, insufficient pleadings, and amendments to statements of case. It should be read alongside: Court's case management powers—overview, Compliance and relief from sanctions—overview, and Practice Note: Drafting statements of case. It explains how the relevant provisions of the CPR ought to be interpreted and applied. Depending on the court in which the proceedings are taking place, additional requirements may apply—see: Court specific guidance. For more on litigants in person, see: Parties and their representatives—overview. Case management generally In broad terms, the CPR and other judicial guidance apply to litigants in person just as they do to parties with legal representation. The fact that a party is unrepresented will not, in the ordinary course, justify...

Stop press: A revised RIBA Plan of Work (2020 edition) has been released—see LNB News 14/04/2020 99. We are reviewing this Practice Note accordingly. Parties involved in BIM and their roles In addition to the standard parties to a construction contract, BIM can introduce further roles. At present there is no uniformity over job titles or scope of work for such roles, although this is expected to evolve with time. The roles currently being considered include: Information Manager — The role cited in the CIC BIM Protocol. It is the person appointed initially by the Employer (or the owner of the built asset) to carry out the Information Management Role. That role is defined as establishing and managing the processes, protocols and procedures described in the Information Particulars. The Information Particulars, appended to the Protocol, set out the employer’s information...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES IN RELATION TO OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES This Practice Note covers business disposals that fall within the Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 ( TUPE). For more detail on TUPE, refer to Practice Note: TUPE—an overview for pensions lawyers. Addressing Beckmann liabilities during a business sale is often intricate. Corporate lawyers considering these issues should engage a pensions specialist at the earliest opportunity. What are Beckmann liabilities? Before the Beckmann and Martin rulings, the commonly held view was that, on a business sale, none of the transferring employees’ contractual rights to pension benefits provided under an occupational pension scheme passed from the seller to the buyer......

This Practice Note employs a hypothetical case study to illustrate both the substantive law and the procedural issues that may arise when bringing and overseeing an artificial intelligence ( AI) related claim in the courts of England and Wales. For related guidance, consult the following: Practice Note: AI related civil liability—risks and mitigation (on types of civil litigation claim that may arise in AI scenarios) Practice Note: Issues in managing artificial intelligence related civil claims (on procedural issues that may arise in conducting an AI-related dispute) Artificial intelligence for dispute resolution lawyers—overview (general guidance on AI for dispute resolution lawyers) Practice Note: Artificial intelligence ( AI) resource kit (general guidance on AI across all legal practice areas) Note On 15 January 2026, the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce ( UKJT) launched a consultation on its draft ‘ Legal Statement on Liability for AI Harms under the private law of England Wales’. The...

Appointment of a management receiver in restraint proceedings When a restraint order is in force, the court may appoint a management receiver to administer any restrained, realisable assets belonging to the defendant. For guidance on restraint orders, the applicable regime and the conduct of restraint proceedings, see Practice Note: Restraint orders. Fees and terms of engagement The appointment is made by the court, and the receiver is required to report back to that court. Where the receiver is not an employee of the prosecuting body, fees are payable only if the court so directs and sets the basis on which the receiver is to be remunerated. Remuneration must be reasonable and proportionate to the work undertaken, with regard to: time committed by the receiver and their staff to the receivership the complexity of the matter the level of...

This Practice Note outlines Management Contracting and the reasons this procurement route is adopted. Within the UK construction sector, the prevailing choices remain the traditional approach or design and build (see Practice Notes: Traditional procurement of construction contracts and Design and build procurement). Management procurement currently sits in the minority, though that has not always been true. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it was the preferred option for numerous major commercial projects. The market may well pivot back towards it in time. The two principal strands of management procurement are management contracting and construction management. See Practice Note: Construction management. What is management contracting? Management contracting is a variant of the traditional procurement model. It was brought into the UK from the US construction market to mitigate some of the perceived adversarial behaviours that were prevalent at the time…...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the rates of business asset disposal relief ( BADR): Further to announcements made at the Autumn Budget 2024, the rate of capital gains tax applying to disposals qualifying for business asset disposal relief ( BADR) will rise to 18% for disposals on or after 6 April 2026 (matching the lower main capital gains tax rate), having increased to 14% (up from 10%) in relation to disposals made on or after 6 April 2025. Legislation for these changes was included in the Finance Act 2025. The success of a management buyout (commonly referred to as an ‘ MBO’) will usually be heavily dependent on the performance of the management team running the company. The private equity investor backing the MBO will therefore seek to incentivise the management team and ensure that management interests are aligned with those of the investor. This can be...

Where the managed service company ( MSC) legislation applies Where the MSC rules bite, the MSC is regarded as making to the worker, and the worker as receiving, a payment or benefit that counts as earnings from employment for tax purposes. This Practice Note outlines how that deemed employment sum is worked out for income tax, and, in particular, how the worker’s attributable earnings are determined for National Insurance contributions ( NICs). For what amounts to an MSC and when the anti-avoidance provisions take effect for income tax and NICs, see Practice Note: Managed service companies and the anti-avoidance legislation. The attributable earnings figure for NICs is derived by applying the same income tax framework that is used to compute the deemed employment payment. Accordingly, references in this Practice Note to the deemed employment payment should be read as also covering...

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Malta and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Maltese merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Malta? Malta introduced the Control of Concentrations Regulations ( Subsidiary Legislation 379.08) (the Regulations) in 2003. Other than institutional reforms made in 2019 to remedy unconstitutional shortcomings in the previous public enforcement set-up of competition law, there have been no significant amendments to the Regulations. In 2023, the Director General ( Competition) of the Office for Competition (the NCA) announced plans to adjust the jurisdictional turnover test for inflation; however, no formal proposals have been tabled or adopted to date. In 2024, the NCA blocked an international discount retail chain in Malta from buying property...

This table sets out all finalised investigations by Malta’s competition authority (the Maltese Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority— MCCAA) into suspected cartels, anti-competitive agreements, and abuses of dominant positions ( Articles 101/102 TFEU and equivalent national provisions) since 2016. Note—only investigations that have been publicly disclosed are listed here......