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Fee Earner Focus: Q&A with Tom Simpson (Property)
Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson (pictured), joined Bermans in 2023 and is a Partner in our Property team. We spoke to him to learn more about him and his interests and work.
Continue ReadingThe Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
Faizan Nayyar
The government has recently introduced new laws aimed at tackling corruption, money laundering and fraud involving corporate entities. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the Act) received royal assent on 26 October 2023, and aims to reform the way in which economic crime is tackled and to improve the transparency over corporate organisations.
Continue ReadingProposals for Employment Law Reform
Adrian Fryer
Many of you will have heard Angela Rayner’s recent remarks in which she explained the changes that the Labour Party propose to make to employment law in the event that they win the general election next year.
The proposals are radical to say the least, and, if enacted, would completely change the employment law landscape for years to come.
Continue ReadingInsolvency Reform
Joe Thompson
In September, the government published its response to its consultation taken in 2021 on the future of insolvency regulation, setting out a package of proposed reforms that, in their own words “represent the biggest change to the way the insolvency profession is regulated in nearly 40 years and future-proof the regulatory framework as the insolvency market continues to evolve”.
Continue ReadingExtension of litigation fixed costs regime
In recent years the Government has applied a great deal of focus to the whole question of the funding of the civil litigation system and the ability of litigating parties to recover costs against opponents.
Continue ReadingWill I still get my costs back if I win: The Final Countdown to 1 October
Andrew Koffman
This is our latest update as the introduction of a “fixed costs” regime for most civil court disputes, where the disputed amount is over £10,000 up to £100,000, draws ever nearer.
The implementation date is Sunday 1 October.
Continue ReadingFlexible working bill achieves Royal Assent
Sophie Robertson
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill received its Royal Assent on 20 July 2023.
Under this legislation, employees will gain the right to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period. This is a change from the current position, which limits flexible working requests to one in a 12-month period.
Continue ReadingFee Earner Focus: Q&A – Laura McMorland (Corporate)
Laura McMorland (pictured below), joined Bermans in March 2023 and is a Senior Associate in our Corporate team. We spoke to her to learn more about her and her work.
Continue ReadingBermans is proud to be supporting Bruntwood SciTech’s ‘Manchester’s Female Founders Incubator programme
Bermans is proud to be supporting Bruntwood SciTech’s ‘Manchester’s Female Founders Incubator programme’.
Who are Bruntwood SciTech?
Bruntwood SciTech is the UK’s leading developer of innovation districts, creating the specialist environments and innovation ecosystems for science and technology businesses to form, scale and grow.
Continue ReadingShare buy-backs – what you need to know
The last month has seen two prominent North West brands, Pets at Home and Franchise Brands, announcing share buy-back programmes (see references below).
There are many benefits in undertaking this activity, including returning value to shareholders or providing an exit route. We do urge caution as, whilst the law and procedure for carrying out a share buyback is quite clear and straightforward, we have dealt with a number of instances where the validity of a share buyback has been questioned and further action required to be taken in order to rectify or ratify the validity of a buyback transaction.
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