Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Law firm Edwin Coe LLP, acting on behalf of 371 investors, is bringing a group action worth £1.3 billion against HSBC UK for losses caused by its role in the “conception, development, and marketing of a series of Disney film investment schemes known as the Eclipse Partnerships”, which ran between 2006 and 2008.
The investors allege that HSBC’s private banking arm encouraged them to invest on the “false promise” that the scheme represented a genuine opportunity to invest in popular Disney films. The scheme saw some £2.3 billion of investment, some of which was financed by loans taken out by investors expecting their returns to cover the interest.
However, Edwin Coe claims that no active trade in film rights between Eclipse and Disney was ever made, and that the scheme proved “financially catastrophic for its unwitting investors”.
“At no point did Eclipse actually exploit, or otherwise trade in, any meaningful film rights of any value from Disney,” claimed David Greene, senior partner at Edwin Coe.
As Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs ruled in 2019 that loans taken out by Eclipse’s investors would not be recognised as losses, investors who partnered with Eclipse subsequently faced tax liabilities on money that they did not receive.
HSBC said it would not comment on the ongoing legal issue.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated lives, jobs and economies worldwide. SMEs comprise 98% of private sector businesses in the UK, employing around 16 million people, and contributing £1.9 trillion per year to the economy. There is no doubt that start-ups and small businesses are crucial to the UK’s economic recovery following COVID-19, with recent Government support reflecting an understanding of their vital role in preserving jobs, livelihoods and economic growth in the country going forward.
Despite the Government introducing several financial schemes over recent months in a bid to support and protect British businesses, nearly a quarter of UK small business owners do not believe the Government support schemes available are enough to help them survive. Michael Buckworth, managing director at Buckworths, analyses the issues inherent with the Government's response and they could be solved.
The Government’s Future Fund, launched in May, aims to match private sector investment with public money to help start-ups impacted by the pandemic. However, individual investors providing matched funding under the scheme cannot claim Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)—a tax relief to encourage investment into early-stage businesses—on their investment due to the scheme being structured as convertible loans. Moreover, angel investors wishing to make equity investments in start-ups under EIS will likely be unable to claim EIS where the investment monies are used to pay off existing debt (including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back loans) and for working capital purposes. EIS monies are to be used for growth and not for working capital. As such, many start-ups could be forced to re-enter the economy without sufficient financial backing.
Nearly a quarter of UK small business owners do not believe the Government support schemes available are enough to help them survive.
It is clear that an alternative scheme is required to support start-ups and SMEs unable to raise money via the Future Fund and/or using EIS. Now more than ever, the legal industry needs to engage with Government to ensure that tailored support packages are put in place to help sectors that are struggling.
Businesses can borrow money from high street and challenger banks under Government-backed loan schemes. However, where businesses need to borrow larger sums, banks may require personal guarantees from directors (which makes directors personally liable for the loan if the borrower goes bust), and may apply inflexible qualification criteria. CBILS also contains restrictions on “business in difficulty” from borrowing using the scheme. This concept includes high growth start-ups whose accumulated losses exceed 50% of their paid-up share capital. Whilst such businesses can in theory qualify for a Bounce Back loan, many are excluded due to the operation of State Aid rules. In short, Government-backed loans are not accessible for all, and in any event add to the repayable debt for businesses.
Nonetheless, British companies have so far borrowed £38.4bn under the Government’s emergency credit programmes since the coronavirus pandemic struck, demonstrating the urgent need for finance so that businesses can fund cashflow. For SMEs that have so far survived, the next 12 months will prove critical. Upon reopening, businesses will face significant re-launch costs; the employer contribution to the furlough scheme is increasing and suppliers may want arrears paid before they supply further goods and services.
Many businesses will look to raise investment to fund their working capital requirements and to ensure that they can afford CBILS and Bounce Back repayments once they kick in next year. Yet, as referenced above, existing schemes, most notably Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), do not allow tax relief on investments used to repay historic debt and to fund working capital: monies must be used for growth. As it stands, start-ups may struggle to raise investment.
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The Government’s latest funding involves a programme that will pump a further £250 million into innovative start-ups via a ‘Future Fund’ administered by the British Business Bank. The initiative aims to encourage private sector investors to take on some of the risk involved in rebooting the British economy. However, by structuring the scheme using convertible debt which does not qualify for EIS relief, UK based angel investors are not incentivised to provide matched funding as part of a Future Fund round, and this significantly weakens the impact of the scheme.
Most UK angel investors are reliant on EIS to reduce their risk and reward them for making high-risk investments in early-stage businesses. An investment under EIS can benefit from an upfront 30% income tax relief and 100% capital gains tax relief on sale. EIS only applies to equity investments meaning that convertible loans do not qualify. Consequently, whilst many SMEs have been able to secure matched funding from foreign angels (who would not qualify for EIS in any event) and VCs, many more have been unable to access the scheme. To make matters worse, many start-ups unable to access the Future Fund have also been locked out of CBILS and Bounce Back Loans due to the State Aid restrictions in respect of those schemes.
Businesses who wish to access the Future Fund must have raised at least £250,000 from investors within the last five years. This penalises early-stage start-ups and SMEs that have boot-strapped or grown organically. Many SMEs have been blocked from accessing the Future Fund as a result of this restriction.
Meanwhile, the options available to aid the economic survival and success of small businesses will need careful consideration. The ability to qualify for the Future Fund, the need to obtain matched private investment without access to EIS, the relatively high rate of interest on the loan, a 100% redemption premium in the event of repayment, and the favoured nation clause that ensures that the Government always get the best terms of any subsequent investment, are all key considerations that are likely to have long-lasting implications for start-ups.
Businesses who wish to access the Future Fund must have raised at least £250,000 from investors within the last five years.
The convertible loan agreement (CLA) is complex and non-negotiable with a number of terms that are more onerous than the UK market standard. Whilst the involvement of solicitors is hard-wired into the application process in that a solicitor must be appointed to hold investment monies, many start-ups are skipping the important step of taking detailed advice on the commercials and long-term implications of a Future Fund round. That aside, legal advisors will have to be acutely aware of the terms of the CLA when advising on future fundraisings.
For many smaller start-ups, an alternative option to the Future Fund is needed which better shifts the risk from the Government to private investors. We believe that this could be achieved through creating a temporary tax relief scheme similar in nature to EIS to encourage angel investors to invest in start-ups.
Monies raised using such a scheme would provide working capital to SMEs and could be used to repay COVID-19 debts including CBILS and Bounce Back loans. Investors tend to want to invest for growth, not for working capital purposes. Consequently, it is our view that a higher upfront rate of income tax relief is required to compensate for the additional risks of providing working capital to an SME. We also believe that the age restrictions applicable to EIS should be lifted for any temporary new scheme.
The legal industry will be looked upon to advise small businesses at this difficult time, while champions of start-ups must continue to lobby the Government to ensure that all of our SMEs can access the right support. We believe that a new temporary scheme as outlined above is needed to help SMEs re-launch; others believe that changes to the current EIS scheme are required; whilst still, others advocate a further Government bail-out via debt forgiveness scheme. It is our job as lawyers to engage with our peers, clients and the Government to ensure that the voices of our clients are heard. Failure to act now could threaten the businesses that make up the bedrock of our economy, resulting in numerous SMEs entering insolvency, and contributing to rising unemployment and the threat of a recession worse than that predicted by the OECD.
The Tom Petty estate has issued a formal cease and desist letter to President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, protesting the use of the late singer’s music.
Specifically at issue is the use of Tom Petty’s 1989 radio single “I Won’t Back Down” during Trump’s 20 June rally in Tulsa.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Petty’s family said that the campaign “was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind.”
“Tom Petty would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate,” the message continued. “He liked to bring people together.”
The statement was signed by Tom Petty’s widow Dana Petty, his daughters Adria and Annakim, and their mother Jane.
Various musicians have in the past attempted to prevent the Trump campaign from using their music during events. In 2015, Neil Young claimed that then-candidate Trump had not been given permission to use “Rockin’ in the Free World” during his presidential campaign announcement.
Other musicians who have denounced the Trump campaign’s use of their music include Rihanna, Elton John, Adele, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Guns N Roses, Prince, RM, Aerosmith and Earth Wind and Fire.
Do you imagine yourself fiercely defending people unjustly accused of crimes in a court of law, negotiating contracts for the top names in the film or music business as an entertainment attorney or fighting to save the environment using legal means? Perhaps you want to work as a high-powered corporate attorney or focus on human rights abuses, or maybe you want to help people with their bankruptcies or divorces. Maybe you hope to be a small-town district attorney or a big city federal prosecutor. Whatever type of legal career you envision for yourself, the first step is to pick the right law school that will help get you there. Cost, compatibility and rankings are all factors you should consider.
There are a few things to keep in mind as you look at cost. It is important to have a sense of balance. If you want to go into an area that pays less, such as human rights or environmental law, you may not want to take on the highest debt. On the other hand, choosing a school that isn't really right for you because it's $15,000 cheaper than a better fit is probably not a great trade-off either. Ultimately, if you can't pay for it, you can't go there, but law school may be more affordable than you think. With a combination of student loans, savings, money earned while in school, grants and scholarships, you should be able to cover tuition, room and board. Keep in mind that there may be a number of private student loans available. The best private loans for students will have low interest rates and these are often quick and relatively easy to apply for online.
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Compatibility can mean making sure the school has a focus in the area of law that interests you, but there's more to it than that. Schools have different atmospheres. You might be looking for a particularly competitive environment, or you may want one that encourages building relationships and helping one another. It's also worth looking at the location itself. Going to law school in a big city might be very different from attending one in a small town. You may also have a preference about the size of the law school itself.
Like compatibility, there is more to rankings than meets the eye. Everyone may know what the top 10 law schools are, but that doesn't mean they are right for you. You may want to prioritise such factors as how many graduates get jobs in the legal field, how many students who attend pass the bar and what the student body is like. Prestige might also be a factor for you. You should also consider how likely you are to be admitted to the school. If it's a long shot, that doesn't mean you shouldn't apply, but it is usually a good idea to have at least one safe school, at least one you have a good chance to get into and at least one that is an ambitious leap for you.
The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday blocked the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to end legal protections for the 650,000 young immigrants often referred to as “Dreamers”, posing a significant setback to Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
The Court acknowledged that President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have the authority to end the DACA programme, but rejected arguments that the programme was illegal and that courts had no role to play in reviewing the decision to end it.
In his written opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts (who joined the liberal wing of the Court in the 5-4 ruling) emphasised that the Supreme Court’s decision was based on purely apolitical reasoning.
“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies," he wrote. "We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action. Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients.”
He added that the Department of Homeland Security may try again.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (DACA) was created in 2012 under President Obama, and allows people brought to the US illegally as children the temporary right to live, work and study in America. As of today, its protections are extended to 650,000 US residents.
Ending DACA was one of Trump’s signature promises during his 2016 presidential campaign. This latest setback is especially significant by its timing, coming less than five months before the 2020 election.
Following Thursday’s decision, the President tweeted: “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”
Family law deals with family issues such as marriage, divorce, child support, and adoptions. These laws may vary in different states and countries, but they all protect the interests of a family.
Of course, you can choose to hire an attorney anytime depending on how urgently you need their services. However, there are some situations in which you are recommended to have an attorney who can help in your family matters anytime.
Here are some instances where you should hire a family attorney:
This is a wide area with different categories that will need the expertise of an attorney to help resolve issues if the need arises. These categories can include the following:
A family law firm may also help with other incidences that can add up to this list as they can provide a full range of services relating to every aspect of family law.
Family attorneys can help in keeping important family documents. These documents can be presented as proof in case of any issues.
The Power of Attorney (POA) is a document giving another person permission to act on behalf of yourself. You can give someone permission to take care of your children or the family business when you are unable to due to sickness or old age.
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Having an attorney present will ensure the deal is signed and the person given the responsibilities follows all the rules that have been laid down. An attorney can also give advice on the best person who can be responsible for such tasks.
As mentioned, family lawyers manage legal issues within the family. When drafting estate plans and wills, it's important to have an attorney present to keep the records of the will. When passing over your property to other family members after retirement or death, the family attorney can make sure the will is followed just as the owner wrote it to prevent any conflicts from arising. The attorney can also provide some legal advice and act as a mediator in case conflicts happen.
A civil union is a legal relationship between two people who enjoy marriage rights, although it’s not a marriage. In other words, a domestic partnership is an interpersonal relationship between people who share a common life but are not married.
Unfortunately, these unions and partnerships are not considered legal in all countries and states. Before deciding to form one, you need to consult a family lawyer if it’s legal in your location or not.
These unions and partnerships are common in pairs who want their rights protected in a similar way like marriage rights. If you’ve followed this route, you must have a lawyer who will guide you through the process and make sure it’s legal.
"Seeking legal counsel from experienced family law attorneys is crucial when entering into a civil union or domestic partnership. They ensure that your rights are protected and the union is recognized in your jurisdiction." - Lawyer, Law Office of Ben Carrasco
Apart from the aforementioned cases, there are many other instances when you will need an attorney to help act as a mediator or represent you in court in case of a conflict.
Other self-explanatory factors include someone hurting you physically without your consent, damage to property, land disputes, and violation of human rights.
Before hiring an attorney, you need to keep off scammers and fakers. Learn more about how to choose a family law attorney whom you can trust and rely on.
While not every mishap requires a lawyer, there are some cases which will. These include accidents where you may have sustained permanent or serious injury. In such a scenario, a talented attorney can make a world of difference and can help you get the compensation you deserve.
Since no two accidents are the same, how do you decide whether your situation requires a lawyer or not? Well, here are some scenarios in which the services of a personal injury lawyer can prove invaluable. Let’s take a look.
In cases where you were permanently disabled or seriously injured in a mishap, you certainly need an attorney. Serious and permanent injuries can cause suffering, pain, and ongoing bills. Some common serious or permanent injuries include but aren’t limited to:
If the accident has led to a permanent disability or an injury requiring long-term care as suggested from the list above, the services of a lawyer could be your only way to avert severe, long-lasting financial burden.
Assigning fault in an accident involving multiple parties is rarely straightforward. Consequently, without a lawyer representing you, there’s a good chance you may lose your case. Some examples of accidents involving multiple parties include:
If you’ve experienced any of the above, it’s a good idea to consider hiring an experienced attorney. They’ll be able to handle multiple insurance carriers and get you the compensation that’s yours.
Assigning fault in an accident involving multiple parties is rarely straightforward.
Have you suffered damage due to medical negligence? If so, it’s important to see legal advice as soon as possible.
The law dictates these types of claims should be made within a specific time period. You’ll need to seek advice from your lawyer about when to inform the doctor, hospital, or provider in question about the claim. Medical negligence can be in the form of:
These are just some that can occur. Overall, a medical negligence claim tends to be complex, technical, and long-drawn-out, so hiring an attorney is a necessity.
A workplace injury can be quite overwhelming or even fatal. Generally, lifestyle changes are required, and medical bills may strain your finances. Some workplace injuries include:
Typically, in a workplace injury claim, you need to address two fronts: your employer and your insurance company. While your employer may be likely to deny their liability to avoid paying the compensatory damages, your insurance carrier may try to avoid responsibility by paying as little compensation as possible.
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So how can make you the best of a bad situation? Consulting an experienced personal injury attorney after a workplace injury is a good starting point. They’ll be able to advocate your case and get you the best results possible.
Do you want to settle the case out of court but believe the offer made by the other party is far less than you deserve?
In cases like this, you can try negotiating more compensation with the insurance company in question—but these companies tend to play hardball. They may use aggressive tactics and technical jargon to confuse you into agreeing to something you may not understand or want.
Hiring a lawyer to help you understand your situation with out-of-court settlements can give you the edge you need to win. People who hire lawyers win five to seven times more out-of-court compensation cases than those who don’t.
As you can see, dealing with a personal injury claim by yourself is anything but easy. While you may be able to win by representing yourself, a personal injury lawyer can help ensure you get nothing less than what you deserve. They can also take the stress of the legal process off your shoulders.
Below, we explore the differences between a car accident and a truck accident, highlighting the aspects that make truck accidents so complicated.
Vehicle size is one of the factors used by insurance companies to calculate the cost of coverage. Truck policies can be worth up to 40 times more than passenger vehicle policies. Thus, many insurers would do anything to escape liability in the event of an accident, meaning you are less likely to recover damages if the at-fault party is a commercial truck driver.
Without a seasoned truck accident attorney, you may not receive the compensation you deserve. There are many factors to consider when calculating a claim’s worth that an attorney who is not familiar with truck accidents may not fully understand.
Additionally, semi-truck lawyers know all the tactics used by insurance adjusters to exploit victims. A first offer may seem good when it is actually far below what a court would have awarded. Sometimes victims are coerced into admitting liability, oblivious of the impact it will have on their claim. If you are involved in an accident of this kind, you should learn all you can about how a truck accident attorney can help with your case.
Without a seasoned truck accident attorney, you may not receive the compensation you deserve.
Most commercial trucks do interstate deliveries, meaning trucking companies have to register with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Some of the trucking industry regulations include annual inspections, special driver qualifications, and truck maintenance rules. These truck-specific regulations are among the elements that create a platform for complexity in the claim-filing process.
Statistics by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration show that truck accidents cause between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths every year. Typically when a victim loses their life in an accident, fault determination becomes more laborious, and the whole legal process becomes drawn-out. It is best that whoever is filing a wrongful death claim hires an accident attorney to conduct independent investigations for them instead of relying on the findings of the potential at-fault party.
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Due to their size and weight, trucks are often harder to control or stop when there is an emergency. This creates room for mistakes and increases the chances of the truck ramming into other vehicles on the road. The involvement of several cars makes it more challenging for investigators to determine fault and expedite the victim compensation process. Many accident cases involving trucks end up in court for this reason.
Now you know why compensation claims for truck accident victims are so complicated. Always have an attorney by your side when pursuing damage recovery following a truck accident. An attorney will navigate the legal process more smoothly and negotiate a fair compensation amount for you.
The UK Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by credit card companies Visa and Mastercard, upholding an early Court of Appeal ruling that multilateral interchange fees (MIFs), which are set by the card companies and charged to retailers each time a credit or debit card purchase is processed, breach both UK and EU competition law.
The case was originally brought by retailers Sainsbury’s, Asda, Argos and Morrisons in 1992, and Mastercard and Visa’s appeal was heard over four days in January this year. After three separate rulings on the issue in lower courts and tribunals produced different results, the Supreme Court chose to uphold the Court of Appeal’s finding in 2018 that the MIFs charged in the Visa and Mastercard payment card schemes were unlawful.
Kate Pollock, head of competition litigation at Stewarts, the firm representing Morrisons, Asda and Argos, commended the decision. “The fixing of interchange fees by Mastercard and its network members over many years was an unlawful infringement of competition law,” she said in a statement, adding that her clients "look forward to a swift resolution of the matter without further delay.”
Visa said that it was “disappointed that the Supreme Court did not agree with the previous High Court ruling that Visa’s UK interchange complies with competition law.”
Meanwhile, a Mastercard spokesperson said that the Supreme Court’s decision was “not a final ruling,” and that the issues would be raised in further court hearings, which “will most likely take place in 2021.”
As lockdown is slowly lifted, law firms will be looking to get back into business and onto an even keel as swiftly as possible. However, they will also probably be looking to cut costs to do so.
This needs to be balanced with the knowledge that certain types of work are likely to be more abundant than others in the immediate aftermath of lockdown. For example; commercial leases and contracts, tenancy agreements, general contractual disputes, divorce and family law, probate, will writing, employment contract, and company mergers and acquisitions, etc. These are areas you want to be sure you can service effectively and profitably from the minute your doors open again for business.
However, some of these areas are at the lower end of the fee scale and may not be work you generally focus on. Perhaps in the past they haven’t been profitable enough to form a key part of the business, but with demand likely to be high, now might be the time to reconsider.
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So, what can you do if your firm does not employ (or is unable financially to employ) sufficiently experienced individuals in these areas? This is where outsourcing to a local licenced paralegal may solve the problem. NALP licenced paralegals specialise in one or two legal areas and will not be as costly to employ on a contractual basis as a qualified solicitor. As many have their own paralegal practice, it’s possible either to outsource or sub-contract the work to them, while keeping the management (and profits) in-house.
Over the next few months there is likely to be a rush of small low-end legal matters, like small claims, contractual disputes and tribunal matters. Access to legal advice and help may be too costly via conventional routes like paying a fee to a solicitor for matters such as general contractual advice, matrimonial assistance, hiring and firing staff (employment contracts), renting or leasing private accommodation or commercial units, collection of debts or minor civil disputes. All of these can be dealt with, at a much lower rate, by a NALP Licenced Paralegal Practitioner.
It therefore makes sense to utilise the services of a NALP paralegal or two and ensure you win that business. By offering these services at an affordable rate and then outsourcing to a paralegal, you can increase your profits without the risk of taking on more staff or making a long-term commitment. The rest of your team can then continue to earn the bigger fees while the smaller jobs tick along and pay the bills. In addition, these new lower paying clients today may well be tomorrow's higher paying business.
Over the next few months there is likely to be a rush of small low-end legal matters, like claims, contractual disputes and tribunal matters.
As a law firm, if you’re looking to use the services of a paralegal there are a few things to look out for:
There is no doubt that paralegals can play a big part in getting the legal sector back on its feet quickly and helping to ensure it’s in a position where they can thrive once more.
Amanda Hamilton is Chief Executive of the National Association of Licenced Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit Membership Body and the only Paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England).
