Edwin Coe LLP's Podcast

In the first of a new series from the Arbitration team, Head of Commercial Disputes and Arbitration David Greene discusses the essential principles of domestic and international arbitration, why people choose to use arbitration in disputes, and the process involved. David also covers issues around choosing the seat of arbitration and how enforcement works in international arbitration cases. For further information regarding this topic, please visit our dedicated page on Arbitration & International Disputes.

Tax Partner Morag Ofili discusses how the uncertainty of the future of the non-dom tax regime is prompting many wealthy taxpayers to change their structures or leave the UK in a rush. Morag explains the dangers of rushing, and sets out the CARE approach adopted by the Tax team to mitigate risk during times of change. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Morag Ofili on +44 (0)20 3974 8213 or email morag.ofili@edwincoe.com

Head of Litigation and Insolvency Ali Zaidi discusses the case of Sequana (BTI 2014 LLC v. Sequana S.A. [2022] UKSC 25) and the duties of directors when a company becomes insolvent. Ali also discusses issues of the creditor interest test, which a director will be subject to not only when a company becomes insolvent, but also when the company is likely to becoming insolvent. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Ali Zaidi on +44 (0)20 7691 4000 or email ali.zaidi@edwincoe.com

Head of Insurance Litigation Roger Franklin explores the Covid-19 Business Interruption landscape and issues of Non-Damage Denial of Access (NDDA) clauses. Roger discusses the implications of recent cases that suggest that many policyholders who initially had their claims turned down may now have perfectly valid claims, depending on the specific form of policy wording, and advises policy holders to revisit their historic Covid-19 claims. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Roger Franklin on +44 (0)20 7691 4000 or email roger.franklin@edwincoe.com

Partner Claire Lehr gives an overview of what brand owners can do to keep their trade mark portfolios in tip top condition. Claire considers typical times in a company’s life when a trade mark audit might be appropriate, ranging from straightforward events, e.g. when a company moves offices or changes its name, to more challenging events, such as rebrands and product launches when a more complex trade mark audit and potentially new trade marks will be involved. Claire also examines how and why trade mark owners should maintain an “evidence bank” of their use of a mark and looks at the type of evidence which are acceptable in proceedings. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Claire Lehr on +44 (0)20 7691 4007 or email claire.lehr@edwincoe.com

David Greene, Head of Commercial Disputes & Class Actions, explores the What, Why and How of litigation funding and the opportunity within this growing area of litigation practice. For further information regarding this topic, please contact David Greene on +44 (0)20 7691 4000 or email david.greene@edwincoe.com

The Labour Party confirmed in its manifesto last week that it would ‘abolish non-dom status once and for all’. This follows the announcement in the Budget of drastic changes to the taxation of recent arrivals to the UK, and confirmation by Labour that it broadly supported these. In the midst of uncertainty about what the new regime will look like, many individuals likely to be affected may be tempted to ‘wait and see’. In this video, Lara Mardell, Of Counsel in the Private Client team, however, recommends seeking advice now. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Lara Mardell.

The Building Safety Act is the most transformative piece of legislation for the construction industry in over 20 years. While the Act imposes changes for the industry as a whole, the building control regime for higher-risk buildings are extensive. In this video Edwin Coe’s Head of the Construction, Brenna Baye, discusses the new ‘gateway’ regime – in particular Gateways 2 and 3 – and the impact they have on procurement and construction contracts. Brenna outlines how Gateway 2 is a stop/go point where building control approval from the Building Safety Regulator must be received before work starts, and how this change is leading to increased use of Pre-Construction Services Agreements. Consideration is given to changes to a development made during the course of building works, with discussion regarding the impact on a construction contract of different types of variations to the development. Finally, Brenna discuses Gateway 3 and the challenges developers and contractors face in determine what constitutes practical completion and who bares the risk if a completion certificate from the Building Safety Regulator is delayed or not received.

Property partner, Katherine Simpson, explores the tax issues that can lurk where a leaseholder owns a share in the freehold company but the lease of their flat has not been extended. Katherine identifies the tax liabilities that might be triggered both for the freehold company and the shareholder/leaseholders on the grant of 999 year leases of the flats in the building, and puts forward a possible solution.

In the third instalment in our Administration Explained series, Restructuring & Insolvency partner Simeon Gilchrist looks at developments in the administration of the Matches Fashion group. Looking at the sale of assets by administrators, Simeon sets out the effects on the different vested interests in the administration, and sets the scene for the next two episodes in which we will look at employee and trade creditor rights in administrations. For further information on the topic of administration practice and procedure, please contact Simeon Gilchrist on +44 (0)20 7691 4166 or email simeon.gilchrist@edwincoe.com

Restructuring and insolvency litigation partner Simeon Gilchrist provides an insight into the Matches Fashion administration. Coming hard on the heels of the Body Shop administration, Simeon discusses the administrators’ proposals for achieving the purpose of the administration. This is a plain English review of what is otherwise an extremely complex area of law and economic reality. The collapse of the Matches Fashion Group leaves employees, suppliers, tax authorities and investors competing to recover what they can. Simeon looks at the order of distribution, known as “the waterfall” , the prescribed part of the sale proceeds that is ear-marked for unsecured creditors, and the way in which the investors have protected as much as possible the purchase monies with which Matches Fashion Group was acquired as recently as December 2023. The prescribed part is a capped percentage of the net sale proceeds realised by the administrators. With the statutory cap set at £800,000 should the net realisations achieve £3,985,000, and an unsecured creditor pool presently estimated at £35M, the prescribed part dividend to the unsecured cohort sits somewhere around 2.2%. It is estimated by the administrators that the preferential and secondary preferential creditors are to be paid in full, but it remains to be seen what dividend will be achieved for the secured creditors after taking into account the expenses and remuneration in the administration process. For further information on the topic of administration practice and procedure, please contact Simeon Gilchrist.

Insurance and Commercial Litigation Partner Nicola Maher considers some of the common insurance issues arising in the event of flooding and steps businesses can take now to avoid insurance disputes in the event of a loss. Climate change is bringing about a rise in the frequency and severity of natural disasters worldwide and incidents involving sudden and unpredicted flash flooding are escalating each year. Businesses in urban areas are considered to be twice as likely to be at risk of flooding than the average British property and in this interview, Nicola discusses what businesses can do to protect themselves and some common insurance issues that can arise in the event of catastrophic flood damage. For further information regarding this topic please contact Nicola Maher on +44 (0)20 7691 4069 or email nicola.maher@edwincoe.com

Intellectual Property Partner Nick Phillips provides guidance on the options available to resolve different kind of domain name disputes. These including the use of law enforcement agencies, the abuse policies of Registries and Registrars, and the availability of the UDRP and other more informal dispute resolution services such as Nominet’s DRS as well as litigation and negotiated settlements. For further information regarding this topic please contact Nick Phillips on +44 (0)20 7691 4191 or email nick.phillips@edwincoe.com

Restructuring and Insolvency partner Simeon Gilchrist discusses the recent failure of The Body Shop, and the administration process into which the company has now been placed. Simeon discusses the pre-appointment press speculation, the pre-pack process used in similar situations, and what may next be on the cards for The Body Shop and its various stakeholders, including landlords, employees and suppliers. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Simeon Gilchrist on +44 (0)20 7691 4166 or email simeon.gilchrist@edwincoe.com

Tax Partner Hetal Sanghvi considers rising enquiries into an individual’s domicile, how case law may be applied in a defence and practical points to review. Hetal discusses how individuals relying on their non domicile position should review their affairs in light of increasing challenges from HMRC. HMRC has built momentum with a number of wins in recent domicile related cases, and Hetal explores how individuals can learn from this. She considers some recent changes for instance with regards to naturalisation, and how she used case law to successfully win a recent domicile challenge from HMRC. For further information regarding this topic please contact Hetal Sanghvi.

The main remedy in employment disputes is financial and in the Tribunal, you do not recover your costs, even if you win. Therefore for Senior Executives, negotiating a financial settlement at an early stage is key. Emma Sangeelee provides some top tips for Senior Executives who are engaging in settlement negotiations with their employer.

Secret commissions paid to brokers have been a bane of many SME transactions over the years with large suppliers from loans to energy contracts. In the supply of gas and electricity, Ofgem, the regulator, has sought to bring daylight to the practice which can lead to the doubling of energy pricing in which the secret commission is added to the rate paid by the customer who is contracting through a broker. In cases highlighted by Ofgem the broker represents the customer in the bargain seeking the best price but the supplier secretly makes the broker a payment that can be likened to a bribe. Customers can claim back the commission and more. In this video interview David Greene explains the principles and what you can do about it. For further information regarding this topic, please contact David Greene on +44 (0)20 7691 4000 or email david.greene@edwincoe.com

Intellectual Property Partner Claire Lehr considers the Metabirken and Juventus trade mark cases as well as the guidance issued by intellectual property offices and gives her thoughts and recommendations for brand owners who are considering entering the Metaverse or who want to protect their brand in the Metaverse. Claire discusses the US court case on the use of the so called Metabirken on non fungible tokens (NFTs) and the outcome of that case together with the Italian court case on NFTs, the Juventus case. Both cases revolved around use of famous or well-known marks. She considers the statements issued by two intellectual property offices on NFTs and contrasts these with the outcome of the two court cases. Claire provides recommendations to brand owners on extending their trade mark portfolios to take into account use in the Metaverse. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Claire Lehr on +44 (0)20 7691 4007 or email claire.lehr@edwincoe.com

Linky Trott, Head of Employment at Edwin Coe LLP looks at the decision of The Harpur Trust v Brazel and the impact of that decision on the calculation of holiday pay. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Linky Trott on +44 (0)20 7691 4022 or email linky.trott@edwincoe.com

Partner and Head of Immigration, Sundeep Rathod, provides guidance on the Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker and the Expansion Worker routes. For further information regarding this topic, please contact Sundeep Rathod on +44(0) 20 3974 8148 or email sundeep.rathod@edwincoe.com