What is the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, and do you need to comply?
The Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (the Act) is German legislation that came into force in Germany in 1 January 2023. As a UK company, you may at first think that it has no application to your business. But the Act imposes wide-ranging obligations on German businesses, which can affect your trading opportunities in the […]
The CSR Directive and how to comply
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a piece of European Legislation which came into force on 5 January 2023. Even though the UK has now left the EU, some companies in the UK still need to comply with the directive, which has extra-territorial effect. Which companies need to comply? The companies that need to […]
Which governance issues can sabotage your ESG reporting?
When we think about the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) obligations of companies, the focus is often on climate risk and social responsibility (or the ‘E’ and the ‘S’). Governance issues are critically important to the health of the business, and for transparent, well-rounded reporting. Governance issues include things like: If your business needs to […]
ESG compliance: How to comply with the social aspect of ESG
Whether by choice or necessity, more and more companies are finding themselves at the helm of ESG issues. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sustainability initiatives. Start building it piece-by-piece. In this blog we give you some pointers on the social element of ESG, which relates to the way that companies impact society. The […]
ESG compliance: what are your environmental obligations?
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues are on the agenda for all businesses these days. Bigger businesses have to report on their compliance but even if you run a smaller business, it pays dividends to invest in your ESG strategy. While there are three components to ESG, in this blog we focus on your environmental […]
What is an LLP and when is it a good idea?
A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is a way to structure your business as a hybrid between a partnership and a limited company. As an LLP, your business has a separate legal personality. It can sign agreements, enter leases and offer fixed and floating charges over assets as security. Importantly, as its own legal entity, the […]
Unpicking IP: Protecting the Intellectual Property created in joint ventures
Intellectual property (‘IP’) can be one of the most valuable assets to a business. It refers to ‘creations of the mind’ such as literature, art and music. If your IP is protected, you can earn recognition and benefit financially from what you invent or create. But the intangible nature of ideas makes them difficult to […]
Legal considerations for AI use and development
The rise in artificial intelligence (AI) is gathering pace and more and more businesses are adopting forms of AI into their working practises. There is no set definition of AI, but it can be understood to be: technology that works together to enable machines to understand, learn and act with human-like levels of intelligence. Machine […]
Emojis in contractual negotiations: does a ‘thumbs up‘ (👍) mean acceptance of contract terms?
As a matter of common sense, as well as in law, parties to an agreement need to know when that agreement has been reached. In legal terms, an agreement comprises offer and acceptance. One party makes the offer, and the other party accepts the terms of that offer. If the offeree amends the terms, then […]
Legal Implications of Chat GPT
Everyone’s talking about it. Chat GPT is the generative AI technology that interacts with users in a conversational way. And it has made quite the impact in the world of business. Buzzfeed has recently laid off 12% of its staff to incorporate using Chat GPT more frequently for content creation. Social media and mainstream media […]
