Publications
Our publications are downloadable in .PDF format.
All present and correct?
Joanna Mills runs through the basic tick list for clients considering gifting assets to family.
(This article was first published in Private Client Adviser magazine)
FAQ property questions
• A telecoms operator wants to place a mobile telecoms mast on your client’s land, he asks what rights the operator will have.
• A tenant has served notice breaking its lease but now wants to withdraw it. Can it do so?
• You are a tenant who wants to dispose of your premises but your landlord has refused consent to an assignment or sublease based on reasonable concerns about the financial strength of the incoming assignee/subtenant. An offer of additional security has not been acceptable to the landlord. Is there another way of disposing of the premises?
• Your tenant client wants to sublet its premises, but the terms agreed with the subtenant do not comply with the conditions for subletting in the lease. What can the tenant do if the landlord insists that the sublease must comply?
• Your client tenant intends to exercise a break option in its lease. The break date falls on a quarter day and is conditional on the tenant having paid all lease rents that are due. What points must your client be aware of with that condition?
VAT and Property: the Option to Tax
The aim of this note is to provide a general background to the option to tax rules and set out the operation of those rules in the context of the amendments which were introduced to the VAT Act 1994 (“VATA”) in 2008 and 2009.
The benefits of an arbitration clause
Arbitration can and should be a flexible and efficient procedure for determining disputes.
When is a subject to contract agreement a binding contract?
On 10 March 2010, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in RTS Flexible Systems Ltd-v-Molkeroi Alois Muller GMBH [2010] UKSC 14. The Supreme Court had to determine the deceptively simple question of whether or not the parties had entered into a contract in circumstances where the parties never signed a formal written agreement, which was expressed to be subject to contract.
Personal injury litigation process
Abstract
This paper considers the claims process for personal injury matters, both prior to and post commencement of litigation. There is an examination of the personal injury pre-action protocol and thereafter, the actions required to commence legal proceedings. Flowing from this is a step by step guide to the actions required to prepare a case for trial. It concludes with a summary of the trial process, in the event that the case is not resolved by other means.
The Fit and Proper Persons Test
Part of the IBB Charities team 5 minute guide to... series, this briefing gives an overview of the fit and proper persons test. HMRC has introduced a new test to determine whether persons who are in a position of financial responsibility within charities are fit and proper persons.
Charitable Incorporated Organisations
Part of the IBB Charities team 5 minute guide to... series, this briefing looks at issues surrounding charitable incorporated organisations. This is a new legal structure with incorporated form specifically designed for charities and was one of the most widely welcomed changes introduced by the Charities Act 2006.
Volunteers not covered by discrimination legislation
Approximately 18 million people give their time to volunteer in some way each year. It was no insignificant matter then when the question of whether volunteers are protected by discrimination legislation fell to be decided by the Court of Appeal at the end of last year in the case of X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureaux and others.
Government's proposals to greatly reduce the capability review period for underperforming school teachers
As I was stuck in traffic on my way to work last Friday (Friday the 13th was living up to its billing) I overheard a piece on the radio that caught my ear. The Government was to announce measures that would mean “bad” teachers could be sacked within a term. Let the battle commence. In the blue corner we had Michael Gove telling us how it was not right that bad teachers are tolerated for so long. In the red corner we had Christine Blower (General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers) telling us how this was potentially a Bully’s Charter.
Proposals to give inheritance rights to cohabiting couples
The Law Commission has recommended changes to the law affecting unmarried cohabiting couples when one of them dies. These proposals have been a long time in the making but the Government has not yet indicated when it will respond to the recommendations. It should be noted that last autumn the Government rejected the Law Commission’s previous proposals giving unmarried couples property rights when they separate.
Employment Law - Companies in administration
The UK is once again bracing itself for the possibility of a double-dip recession after disappointing Christmas sales were announced by high street retailers. It has been suggested that 2012 will see a Europe-wide recession with the possibility of a number of countries leaving the eurozone; but are the recent decisions of the judiciary assisting in the struggle to re-vitalise the economy or hindering it?
Recovering rent
Can landlords recover rent from their tenant’s administrators for occupying or using their leasehold property?
Charities Bulletin - New Year Roundup 2011
This is the first of our new e-bulletins designed to keep you up to date with the latest developments in the sector and provide you with a roundup of recent changes to the law as well as focusing on key developments expected this year.
The Vetting and Barring Scheme
Part of the IBB Charities team 5 minute guide to... series, this briefing looks at the vetting and barring scheme. The Scheme requires that those who work or volunteer with children or vulnerable adults and carry out “regulated” or “controlled” activities on a frequent, intensive or overnight basis, must register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority.
Calculating Damages Claims
This paper considers how compensation claims are calculated for people who have suffered injuries as a result of negligence or an accident.
When is use of a trade mark in the EC not use of a trade mark in the EC
When is the use of a trade mark in the EC not use of a trade mark in the EC? This issue arose in the case of Leno Merken B.V. v Hagelkruis Beheer B.V. It may have profound implications as regards the right to use trade marks in the EC.
Termination of Agency
A recent case on termination of agency has highlighted the extent to which abusive behaviour can be a fundamental breach of contract justifying termination of agency without the need to compensate the agent under the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (“the Regulations”).
Court of Appeals Clarifies Meaning of “Suitable” Work Equipment
In the same week as the Government delivered its report, following a Whitehall-wide review of the operation of health and safety laws, the Court of Appeal, in Threlfall v Hull City Council [2010] EWCA Civ 1147, dealt with the practical implications of risk assessments.
The pitfalls of development: dealing with rights to light
The recent decision in HKRUK II (CHC) Ltd v Heaney has emphasised the risk to developers of progressing their construction works without first resolving issues with neighbours who claim that the development will effect their right of light.
Agency Workers Regulations 2010 to remain unchanged
In July 2010, the new coalition government’s Employment Relations Minister, Edward Davey, announced his intention to review the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, due to various concerns of the business community. He has now announced that the government will not be amending the Regulations before they come into force in October 2011.
Various Claimants v Catholic Child Welfare Society
Malcolm Underhill, specialist personal injury solicitor and member of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, comments on the most recent judgement of the Court of Appeal, in this developing area of civil law.
The Court of Appeal, in its most recent pronouncement on child abuse law, has limited the extent to which organisations may be liable for the physical and sexual misconduct of its members.
Vanishing Point: Concerns for clinical negligence claimants
This article originally appeared in the Law Society Gazette, in December 2010.
Coupling costs reform with legal aid cuts could cause calamity for clinical negligence claimants, argues Malcolm Underhill.
Evaluation of main provisions of Companies Act 2006
On 22 December 2010, the UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) published a report evaluating the main provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) and the consequences of the Act for companies, shareholders and other stakeholders. One of the main reasons for the evaluation was to assess whether the Act is meeting its key policy objectives which include making it easier to set up a business.
Surveillance in Personal Injury Claims
The authors review the use of surveillance evidence in personal injury proceedings and provide advice to the wary practitioner.
User principle in accessing damages in trademark cases
Mark Lewis reviews a case that raises some interesting points on deciding damages in trademark infringement cases. (Originally published in Intellectual Property magazine)
Prepare for new temp hiring law
From October, temporary staff hired through agencies will gain more rights. Solicitor Jonathan Bruck shows how this might affect your business.
This article was originally published in 'Caterers & Hotelkeeper' on 4th March 2011.
Open Season: Does the Steven Neary case herald the beginning of a more open approach to Court of Protection judgments?
The media has a growing interest in the cases heard by the Court of Protection.
Mr 20% in the directors' dock
This article first appeared in Insolvency Today in their April/May edition.
Sir Clive Thompson, known in the business community as ‘Mr 20 per cent’, is currently defending a director’s disqualification case with others over his tenure at Farepak, the provider of Christmas hampers. Funke Abimbola, senior solicitor with IBB Solicitors and a corporate restructuring specialist,unravels the implications for directors everywhere.
Charities Update - 15th April 2011
This is our second Charities e-bulletin designed to keep you up to date with the latest developments in the sector and provide you with a roundup of recent changes to the law as well as focusing on key developments expected this year.
Phone tapping: the criminal perspective
In January 2007 Clive Goodman, the former royal editor of the News of the World, was sentenced to four months imprisonment for phone hacking. His co-defendant, Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator, was sentenced to six months.
Bribery Act 2010: implications for accountants
Anil Rajani summarises the Bribery Act 2010 guidance and the important implications for accountants.
Additional paternity leave
The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010, which apply in relation to children due, or placed for adoption, on or after 3 April 2011, confer on fathers (or the partner of the mother or adopter) the benefit of up to 26 weeks of additional paternity leave, which can be taken at any time between the 20th and the 52nd week after the child is born or placed for adoption.
Addressing gender inequality in the boardroom
Lord Davies' much awaited independent review on the under-representation of women in the boardroom was published at the end of February. The coalition Government had asked for the review to be conducted because of its concerns on the issue. However, opinion is divided as to whether the recommendations that the report made will help break the 'glass ceiling' that many say still exists for women in business.
MPs who named names could end up less privileged than they think
The outing of Sir Fred and Ryan Giggs using parliamentary privilege may conflict with the Human Rights Act
In outing Sir Fred and Ryan Giggs, Lord Oakeshott and John Hemming breached the injunctions that these litigants had obtained. Ordinarily, a serious breach of an injunction such as this will give rise to proceedings for contempt of court against the wrongdoer, who can be punished by the imposition of a fine and/or imprisonment. No doubt, however, both parliamentarians thought they could breach a super-injunction with impunity by “outing” their target by words spoken in the House of Lords (in the case of Lord Oakeshott) and the House of Commons (in the case of John Hemming). They would have had in mind article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689 which, on the face of it, confers absolute legal immunity to members of either House for what they say or do in proceedings in Parliament.
Private Client Bulletin - Summer Edition
For many of us, the improved weather and longer days make us want to take on new challenges. For my part, I have just taken on the voluntary role of Company Secretary for a wonderful local charity, Shed@ThePark. Irene Perrin, current chair of Shed, tells us a little more about the organisation in this edition.
