Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Three magic circle firms are supporting an initiative to create a “universally standardised” template for non-disclosure agreements.
The OneNDA project lists Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Slaughter and May as part of its drafting group. Major non-UK firms Norton Rose Fulbright and Gilbert + Tobin are also represented on the team, along with Ashurst.
In addition to the aforementioned law firms, in-house counsel from a range of companies are also helping to contribute to the project, commenting on the NDA template as it develops and committing to adopt it once it has been finalised.
Companies involved include Airbus, American Express, Barclays, Bupa, Deliveroo, Ernst & Young, UBS and several Coca-Cola subsidiaries.
The OneNDA initiative was co-founded by Electra Japonas and Roisin Noonan, CEO and COO of The Law Boutique respectively. It aims to have approved a standardised NDA template by the week commencing 10 May and to have attracted 1,000 partner companies by the end of the year.
The initiative hopes that the introduction of a standardised NDA will provide greater commercial protection without unnecessary delay and minimise the potential for friction between parties beginning a business relationship. It will also reduce the need for repetitive, rudimentary legal work.
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“The most exciting bit about it is seeing the legal community really pull together in such an incredible way, from law firms to in-house counsel to legal tech vendors,” Japonas said. “The support has been unbelievable … it’s amazing to see how committed we all are to making this happen.”
Lawyer Monthly hears from Eleanor Weaver, CEO of Luminance, on the prevalence of technology in law and how a single platform is required to integrate it all.
Today, technology is being used by lawyers on a daily basis, from document signing to data rooms, to providing enhanced insight during processes like M&A due diligence or eDiscovery.
But with demand for LegalTech tools sky high, so is the supply. And in an increasingly crowded LegalTech market, it can be difficult for lawyers to find the right solution for their needs, particularly when many of these tools claim to be using sophisticated technology like AI to provide an extra layer of analysis, but actually do nothing of the sort.
Despite being an industry traditionally quite resistant to change, industry experts and investment professionals are placing big bets on this changing: investment in legal technology companies was $1.2 billion in 2019 and has only grown since. And as funding for this fast-growing area has increased, legal tech start-ups have proliferated. In fact, a list compiled by Stanford University feature nearly 1,250 legal technology companies, while a start-up map put together by LegalTech start-up community, Legal Geek includes more than 250 from Europe alone.
It is not uncommon for legal professionals to be using multiple - sometimes dozens - of technologies, each of them fulfilling a niche. Indeed, a lot of LegalTech providers are ‘point’ solutions, meaning they are only able to perform very specific tasks. For instance, this could be a tool that facilitates collaboration across team members or automates the M&A due diligence process by extracting relevant clauses like ‘Change of Control’ and ‘Termination’.
A lack of integration between these platforms has meant that lawyers often find themselves switching between the various tools for different practice areas, wasting precious time, resources and money. Think about the time and effort needed to switch between the results generated from a contract extraction tool to a Word document - the process of locating the relevant document, finding the specific area of the document that needs to be amended and then transferring the analysis provided by the extraction tool is extremely laborious.
It is not uncommon for legal professionals to be using multiple - sometimes dozens - of technologies, each of them fulfilling a niche.
Not to mention the fact that a lot of these technologies lack the flexibility to work in different languages or even across different jurisdictions; I have spoken to global organisations where each and every office has their own tech stack in order to cater to their language needs. It goes without saying that this can be a real hinderance to tech collaboration across global offices as well as overall innovation within a practice.
Recognising the changes underway, a lot of LegalTech providers are now integrating or merging their technologies in an attempt to become the ultimate one-stop shop. 2020 saw Litera, a legal workflow and workspace technology company acquire Allegory, a cloud-based casement management software, to further its aim to become a one-stop shop for the legal profession. There was also Onit, an e-billing and contract management software, which bought SimpleLegal, a technology that helps with collaboration and tracks legal spending.
However, a lot of these providers are still relying on outdated technology such as creating vast banks of rules in a database which search the documents for hits. This inflexible approach means that in an unexpected event like the pandemic or a changing legal situation like Brexit, these technologies are unable to adapt to new legal needs or changes, instead requiring intensive re-programming and re-configuration to be of any value to lawyers. Merely integrating with another legaltech provider is therefore not enough to be a one-stop shop if the underlying technology is not flexible enough to meet evolving legal needs.
Next-generation AI and machine learning is changing the game. The technology does not require any machine ‘pre-training’, but instead can flexibly adapt to the data it sees, no matter the size, complexity, language or even use case, whether it be a regulatory compliance review, an M&A due diligence transaction or even a litigation case.
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In the past few months, end-to-end AI technology has been critical for firms across the globe. I was recently speaking to Tanja Podinic, the Global Director of Innovation Programs at Dentons, who talked about how the firm were using advanced technology to identify force majeure clauses for COVID-19-focused reviews as well as to identify and then remediate and modify documents which are non-compliant with data privacy legislation like the GDPR and CCPA. Dentons were able to deploy Luminance across their European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian offices, with same technology enabling them to work seamlessly across cross-border, multilingual legal matter.
But some think that the one-stop shop may be too good to be true. A recent article in LegalTech News even suggested that firms are concerned that one-stop shop solutions may not offer the flexibility or ‘best-in-class’ functionality for specific legal tasks, meaning they are not able to pivot to new legal changes. These concerns are certainly valid if you are reliant on a solution that isn’t using the latest advances in technology, and sadly there will still be cases of firms having their fingers burnt by false claims of AI and machine learning that are actually reliant on rules-based technologies. But true AI is changing this, helping lawyers across a full spectrum of legal needs, all from within a single, streamlined platform.
We are now entering a next wave of legaltech innovation and finding a one-stop shop solution is a crucial part of this shift. With advanced AI that is able to flexibly adapt to any dataset it sees, finding a one-stop shop solution is not a challenge, but an opportunity.
Entering law school can be very exciting. However, many students feel a sense of dread because they don't know how they are going to pay for it. Luckily, there are plenty of options that may fit whatever circumstance you are facing. Here are just a few of the ways you can pay for your post-graduate education.
You should always check out free money over all else. This free money is called grants and does not need to be repaid unless you drop out of school. While grant money will not cover all of your tuition, it could cover a good portion of it. Check with the financial aid office at your college to learn about which grant programs may be available to you. Unfortunately, the most-known grant program, the Pell Grant, may not be available to you as it is set aside typically for undergraduate students only.
By the time you reach law school, you should have access to many more scholarship opportunities than you did as an undergraduate. These scholarships will be much more specific to what you are going for. Just as with grant money, these do not have to be repaid after graduation. Have the financial aid officer help you to apply as there are hundreds, if not thousands, of scholarships available and you will need to narrow them down to the ones that actually apply to you.
Most people don't think about applying for student loans from private lenders, but they are a great way to get help paying for your schooling. Many graduates find that they are much easier to negotiate with if you need to adjust your payments. There is also the little-recognised fact that by borrowing from a private lender, you have the opportunity to develop a positive relationship with that lender that you can use later in your life, such as if you need an auto loan or a home loan. If you are wondering how much your payments might be after you graduate, most lenders offer a student loan repayment calculator to help with your calculations.
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Many law schools offer work-study programs that allow the student to work and earn money. Since it is a real job, you can spend the money however you see fit, but you may want to use at least a portion of it to help pay your school expenses. This will leave you with less money you have to repay in the future. A huge benefit about work-study is that the job schedules are tailored to your school schedule, so you never have to worry about having to skip a class to get to your job or vice-versa.
There are certain types of loans that may be forgiven in their entirety if you meet certain guidelines, such as practicing law in low-income areas of the country or if you work in the legal department for non-profit organizations. Check your financial aid office to verify which loans would qualify for this and what you need to do to have them forgiven.
Apple on Tuesday called for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to mandate public emissions disclosures by American companies.
In a tweet, Apple president Lisa Jackson shared a statement from the company’s head of global energy and environmental policy, Arvin Ganesan.
"Measuring and mapping carbon emissions enables companies to understand their footprint, develop strategies to reduce emissions and ultimately achieve decarbonisation," Ganesan said, adding that disclosure could serve to create a baseline for best practices and promote the competitive tackling of climate change.
"Apple, therefore, believes that the SEC should issue rules to require that companies disclose third-party-audited emissions information to the public, covering all scopes of emissions, direct and indirect, and the value chain."
An Apple spokesperson confirmed that the statement referred to “Scope 3” emissions, such as those resulting from the use of a company’s products by other parties.
The comments mark the largest backing of comprehensive emissions disclosure rules from a major US company to date, said Veena Ramani, senior program director for Boston-headquartered climate advocacy group Ceres.
Other business leaders have also called on the US government to set mandatory climate impact disclosures, including BlackRock CEO Lary Fink. BlackRock has also urged companies to disclose their Scope 3 emissions to investors.
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ESG-based investment funds have grown increasingly popular in recent years, but a lack of common standards in reporting emissions data has made it difficult to compare operations across companies.
Also on Tuesday, Apple joined more than 300 other blue chip companies in signing an open letter calling on the Biden administration to designate 2030 as the target year for 50% decarbonisation across the US.
With private experience managers on hand to uncover the authentic side of Europe’s most sought after summer destination.
Opening: May 2021
Set to elevate the desirable island of Mykonos to new heights, Kalesma is a brand new 25 suite and two villa luxury hotel, opening 20 May 2021. ‘Kalesma’, meaning ‘inviting’ in Greek, is perfectly suited to the ethos of this boutique, privately-owned property. The whitewashed, beautifully designed collection of houses have been created to resemble a charming Mykonian village, tumbling down a slope to Ornos Bay, just a short walk from the beach. Inspired by Cycladic architecture, combining tradition with contemporary elements, Kalesma is a design aficionados dream – offering sleek and minimalist interiors using locally-sourced materials, evident at every turn.
Emerge into Ibiza’s hospitality scene and enjoy a laidback way to experience the famed party island in the Balearics
Opening: May 2021
Brand new lifestyle brand, OKU Hotels, launches its collection of soulful hideaways with the opening of OKU Ibiza on 28th May 2021. Located on the fringe of Cala Gració bay and nestled in lush hills, OKU Ibiza is home to the island’s largest pool. With a focus on slower living and enriching experiences for the curious traveller, the hotel comprises 184 boho-chic guest rooms and suites, a 140m2 OKU Signature Suite, a standalone four-bedroom villa with a private pool, ocean-view penthouses, two hotel pools (and a further semi-private pool serving the six swim-up rooms), two restaurants and an intimate spa. The look and feel of OKU Ibiza have been thoughtfully designed by OKU’s in-house design team, who has taken inspiration from the location to reflect the simplicity of beach life and invite barefoot living.
An inspiring, authentic retreat that celebrates wellness & nature, on the unspoilt Greek island of Antiparos
Opening: June 2021
More than a resort, The Rooster is the vision become a reality of one woman driven to create a destination with depth, value and relevance to today’s traveller. It is a retreat for the discerning traveller on the under-the-radar Greek island of Antiparos – a place that embraces ‘slow living’ through sustainability, organic food, wellness, learning and fun. Tucked away between the unspoilt beaches of the Aegean coastline and the dramatic landscape of the Cyclades, The Rooster exists in complete harmony with nature. It is all about space and privacy: just 17 individual suites, villas and houses of differing size, each offering stunning views of the Aegean Sea and private gardens; and enchanting raw beauty with sustainability at its heart, all the while working in harmony with the local community with wellness at its core.
A new Casamigos margarita beach shack pop-up lands on the powder-soft shores of Jumby Bay Island, Antigua
Set in one of the most beautiful untouched locations in the world, Jumby Bay Island is a private island of simple pleasures in the Caribbean nation of Antigua & Barbuda, just two miles off mainland Antigua. This season, ultra-premium tequila brand Casamigos has landed straight on the white sand shores of the iconic private island resort. The collaboration includes the launch of a limited-edition Casamigos Margarita Beach Shack pop-up with cocktails specially curated for the resort, as well as a Margarita Hotline for cocktails delivered to suites, villas and Private Residences by a Casamigos bar on wheels. Other classic Jumby Bay experiences have also been given the special Casamigos twist, like the Margarita Sunset Cruise, a sunset catamaran trip with speciality cocktails.
www.oetkercollection.com/hotels/jumby-bay-island
Swap the classroom for the Caribbean – Cobblers Cove partners with Oppidan Education to offer mentoring to younger guests
The family-owned Cobblers Cove, located on the west coast of Barbados, has partnered with Oppidan Education, the pioneering education mentoring agency. Their approach is to empower young people as they prepare for upcoming academic assignments and exams of all levels, as well as catering to the needs of younger children. Whilst holidays are all about R&R, this partnership is a win-win for all – parents can put their trust in the mentors to oversee their children’s revision and, in turn, the younger visitors can enjoy a relaxed and highly bespoke approach to learning, so it doesn’t take away from the holiday fun. Two mentors will be on site daily to offer support to those studying.
The Serengeti’s grand dame gets a modern refresh
Located in the iconic 350,000 acre Singita Grumeti Reserve, Singita Sasakwa Lodge has reopened following a design refresh. Built in the style of a stately Edwardian Manor House, this authentic East African experience has been given a lift with the addition of wraparound verandas and courtyards offering guests a front row seat to some of the country’s most coveted game sightings and star-lit al fresco dinners at night. Dotted around are touchpoints of a bygone era including coveted antiques and local tribal artefacts and soft furnishings paying homage to its history and creating a casual but old-world luxury feel. The property’s new look also features Singita’s signature interactive kitchen allowing guests to take in the action as they pull together contemporary interpretations of classic dishes. Made up of nine private cottages and one private villa, each with its own private infinity pool, Singita Sasakwa is perfect for families looking to reconnect following a long period of separation experiencing complete freedom and stillness together.
‘The sky’s the limit’ helicopter packages take guests to new heights with once-in-a-lifetime wildlife and waterfall journeys
Family-owned and independently run, Matetsi Victoria Falls, is a beautifully designed luxury safari lodge situated on the banks of the Zambezi River, within its own 136,000-acre Matetsi Private Game Reserve. New for 2021, the lodge unveils three new helicopter packages, taking off from its brand-new airstrip in the Matetsi Private Game Reserve. Highlights include a ‘doors-off’ aerial wildlife photography trip for thrill seekers, a conservation focused journey to the Painted Dog Conservation & Research Centre, and a Victoria Falls experience which features a ‘Flight of the Angels’ over the Falls and private island picnic.
The ultimate private island takeover for a tropical ‘bubble’ escape
Miavana is a private island hotel located on Nosy Ankao, off the north-east of Madagascar. With wild beaches, incredible diving, fishing, helicopter adventures and spa treatments, it brings a new level of luxury adventure to the Indian Ocean. This is not simply an exquisite beach lodge on an untouched island, it offers all the adventures you'd expect on a safari, with wildlife, activities and adventures including forest walks and lemur treks. In true castaway style, guests will be delighted by the hotel’s exciting "chamber of curiosities" filled with weird and wonderful items found on the island, from cannonballs to lemur skeletons. Book with destination experts Mavros Safaris for insider tips and little-black-book experiences along the way.
Israel is set to open its first luxury property in the Negev desert with the opening of Six Senses Shaharut
Opening: August 2021
The hotly anticipated opening of Six Senses Shaharut will be nestled within a dramatic cliff with panoramic views of the Negev desert, and will comprise 60 suites and villas, built from local rocks and with furnishings sourced from local artisans. There will be one main restaurant, a poolside bar and grill and a signature Six Senses Spa. It will also be home to a desert activity centre, which will incorporate Six Senses’ brand-wide ‘Earth Lab’ scheme. There will be functioning camel stables, as well as an open-air amphitheatre created from the natural terrain contours and transformed into a Six Senses signature ‘Cinema Paradiso’ beneath the stars
Bawah Reserve opens adults only private island at Elang in Indonesia’s remote Anambas Islands
Opening Summer 2021
Bawah Reserve, a six-island archipelago in the Anambas Islands. Indonesia will unveil brand-new lodges on the previously untouched island, Elang upon reopening in 2021. Elang Private Residence will take the reserve’s private island experience to the next level. Guests over 18 can exclusively hire the island which is home to six sustainably minded cliffside lodges created by Singaporean designer Sim Boon Yang, made from recycled natural materials. Each lodge will have private butler service, a balcony with sparkling ocean views and private paths leading into rocky coves and directly to the sea. The island will be complete with a private clubhouse, inspired by local tribal communal houses as well as its own restaurant, spa and saltwater pool built out of a natural rock hollow with a water slide.
Nihi Sumba launches an exclusive, seven-night superyacht partnership with aqua expeditions, unlocking Indonesia’s best-kept secrets
Iconic hospitality brands Aqua Expeditions and NIHI Sumba have teamed up to create a new adventure exploring the remote and breathtaking islands and seas of East Indonesia. Departing from Bali aboard Aqua Expeditions’ super yacht Aqua Blu, this singular experience combines a four-night private charter navigating the famed Komodo National Park, culminating in three nights at NIHI Sumba, a remote hideaway offering a socially distant, wildly connected experience like never before. At Nihi, guests can go totally off the beaten track and immerse themselves in nature by hiking through dramatic waterfalls, ancient villages and butterfly trails, as well as stand-up paddling down the Wanukaka River to the unique ‘Spa Safari’ by the sea for ultimate relaxation.
Unveiling the Scott Dunn Private Limitless Collection – a curated selection of the world’s most incredible properties and travel experiences, soon to include exclusive-use villas
Having launched in response to a pent up desire from their ultra-high net worth guests to travel in the utmost style, global tour operator, Scott Dunn has launched Scott Dunn Private, and with it a curated selection of the team’s personal favourites – the Limitless Collection. This comprises the world’s most incredible properties and experiences spanning private islands, yachts, chalets, villas and safari retreats. Soon to be added to the Limitless Collection are a select few exclusive-use villas, located in Tuscany, the Cote d’Azur, Santorini and Crete. Members of Scott Dunn Private have access to a dedicated team of expert Personal Travel Advisors and their world class book of contacts, with tailored service and discretion guaranteed.
www.scottdunn.com/scott-dunn-private
*All images from respective sites.
Philip Turvey, executive director at Anglia Research discusses how the probate genealogy sector might repair the damage that has been done to its public perception.
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed thousands of lives across the UK, and with the death toll standing at 127,000, it’s little surprise that our FOI report – which surveyed all 359 local authorities in England and Wales – found that the number of people who died without a will and with no known next-of-kin increased by 60% between March and May 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
The spike in these deaths places an additional importance on the role of probate genealogists in the probate process – as they are used to locate correct beneficiaries and facilitate the distribution of the deceased’s assets.
Yet despite this responsibility, the reputation of the industry has suffered greatly, with our FOI report revealing the fractious relationship between probate genealogist and local authorities, with only 22% of local authorities believing probate genealogists operate transparently or honestly.
So, where did it all go wrong?
There is a common misconception that probate genealogy involves men sitting in dimly lit rooms, sifting through dusty old records at a leisurely pace to find a deceased’s long lost next-of-kin. Of course, there is a scholarly element to the work, but it is far more cutthroat than it may appear.
Only 22% of local authorities believe probate genealogists operate transparently or honestly.
Ever since the TV series Heir Hunters sensationalised the sector and made the work look simple, we’ve seen a boom in the number of inexperienced, self-proclaimed heir hunters. These heir hunters often have few qualifications or industry knowledge and engage in dubious and unethical practices which only serve to diminish the industry’s reputation and line their pockets at the expense of beneficiaries. For instance, these heir hunters are known to pressure local councils into signing written contracts with them to obtain exclusive rights to estates.
The use of written contracts to obtain exclusivity limits the amount of scrutiny given to each case and allows unethical heir hunters to identify one heir to an estate to collect their fee and forego the rest of the beneficiaries – potentially resulting in years of legal battles for beneficiaries.
These practices are damaging the industry’s reputation, with our FOI report finding that only 22% of local authorities in England and Wales thought heir hunters operate honestly and transparently.
The relationship between local authorities and heir hunters has also been damaged by the lack of regulations within the probate genealogy industry. The sector is relatively niche and therefore lacks an overarching statutory regulatory body whose membership is mandatory for all operating in the sector.
The closest we have is the Association of Probate Researchers, however, with membership remaining voluntary, it lacks the statutory powers to enforce regulatory measures that the Office for Communications (Ofcom) does across the television, radio, telecoms, and postal sectors.
The sector is relatively niche and therefore lacks an overarching statutory regulatory body whose membership is mandatory for all operating in the sector.
The lack of an overarching regulatory authority is often exploited by unethical heir hunters to pressure bereaved beneficiaries into signing dubious contracts, as evidenced by the fact our FOI report found that only 19% of local authorities said they believed heir hunters act responsibility towards the next of kin when encouraging them to enter a contract.
To change their perception, probate genealogy firms need to take it upon themselves to self-regulate. They should be committed to following best practice and only charging a fair price for their work. While the onus is on heir hunters to change their behaviour, there are steps local authorities can put in place to protect beneficiaries.
Councils need to follow government guidelines and, where possible, refer all relevant estates to the Government Legal Department’s Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) who will then advertise for next-of-kin within 5 working days. If for some reason this cannot be done, then they need to offer the details simultaneously to at least three probate genealogy firms to ensure oversight, scrutiny and that relatives are offered fair fees. This also ensures protection for councils, who avoid an audit risk and possible accusations of bad practice.
Also, local authorities need to conduct due diligence and stop signing exclusive written contracts with unethical heir hunters. Our FOI report found that seven local councils have these contracts with heir hunters, while one authority admitted contracting with an heir hunter based on the amount they offered to pay the authority for details of each deceased person or ‘lead’ they were given. While this may sound like a small figure, in the context of the pandemic and the rise of intestate deaths, these written contracts and the dubious practices they encourage could leave families facing years of lengthy, expensive legal battles to obtain their inheritance.
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With more people dying intestate as a result of COVID-19, it is our responsibility as probate genealogists to assist overstretched local authorities and locate relatives and facilitate the distribution of the deceased’s assets.
Despite this, our FOI research found there is a general distrust in heir hunting firms within local authorities. All probate genealogists must work ethically and transparently to change this opinion and support local authorities who are time-poor and, in some cases, struggling to maintain due diligence amid the influx of intestate deaths caused by the pandemic.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced the promotion of 22 new partners globally – half of them women.
The latest hiring round comes soon after the firm’s announcement in March that it intends to build a global leadership team that is at least 40% female. It also far surpasses the firm’s 2020 promotion round, in which four of the 21 partners appointed were female (10% of the cohort).
The 50/50 proportion split is also the most equal gender split announced by magic circle firms in this year’s promotion rounds.
Six of the newly appointed partners are based in London; all but one are female. The other 16 new partners are spread relatively evenly across the firm’s offices with five appointed in Germany, three in the US, two in Austria, and one each In Franch, Spain, the Netherlands, Tokyo, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
“I am delighted to welcome such a strong group of colleagues to Freshfields’ global partnership,” said Freshfields senior partner Georgia Dawson in a statement. “Our new partners bring diverse thinking, backgrounds and experience to our partnership, all critical to helping our clients navigate the ongoing complexities of the legal and business landscape.”
“The promotion of our new partners reflects the firm’s focus on diversity over several years and I look forward to working with each of them as we continue to build our firm for the future.”
Freshfields’ announcement follows magic circle rival Linlaters’ unveiling of a 35-partner promotion round in which 40% of those promoted were female. Allen & Overy also announced the promotion of 30 new partners, 10 of whom are female.
The right to remain silent is one of the most talked-about rights available to people who have been arrested because of any offence. However, most people do not know the scope of this right or the specific situations under which it can be exercised. That is why few people apply it, even though it could have saved them from conviction or harsh penalties. Some of the situations under which you can choose to remain silent include:
It is important for everyone to fearlessly defend their right to remain silent. If you thought you have to wait until your rights are read to you before you can choose to be quiet, you were wrong. This right matters, and you should know when to use it because criminal incrimination requires a solid strategy.
One of the most significant advantages of using this right is that it prevents you from self-incrimination. You may think that you are doing a lot to defend yourself, but your words will come back to incriminate you.
For instance, when the police are questioning you, your answers may lay the basis for prosecution. When you choose to remain silent, you ensure that you do not become the source of information that ends up pinning you down.
The police will be hoping to get all the information from you before presenting you to a judge. That is the reason they will use every means to have you talking. When you exercise your right to remain silent, you deny them that opportunity. They cannot force you to speak, which means that they have to look for the information using other means. For example, they may have to look for witnesses to convince the prosecuting attorney to file a case.
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When an officer reads your rights to you, and you have to choose between silence and answering questions, you have to be careful. You may be confident with the replies, but you should also think about what the officers want to achieve.
The fact that they are asking questions means that there is something they are yet to know. They are using that opportunity to gather the information from you, and if you remain silent, they will get nothing. The chances of getting that information are high when you speak.
You should not allow your right to remain silent to be treated as a courtesy. It is your constitutional right. This is one of the rights that ensure that we have a just legal system.
Therefore, you should not be intimidated into speaking when you do not wish to do so. Whether it is at the point of arrest or during interrogation, let the officers know that you understand your rights.
Instead of speaking up and incriminating yourself when you are arrested, the best thing is to contact your attorney for guidance. Let them come to the center where you are detained and find out your situation. They will advise you on how to proceed with the matter. They will also help you to understand other rights that will make the situation more manageable for you.
People are arrested for various offences every day and the chances of finding themselves in police custody. For such reasons, you should be prepared for any situation and know when to remain silent whenever an officer arrests, detains, or interrogates you.
Steve Sumner, Director of IT at Taylor Vinters, discusses how law firms can go about adapting to a new mode of business post-COVID.
IT departments have often been uprooted by the emergence of new and disruptive innovations to assist office life. Now, the disruptive force that is COVID-19 has forced IT to cater its solution to issues that lay outside that arena. Embracing that distinct change has been vital to productivity over the last year, and in many cases survival.
Business resilience quickly became a desirable attribute for IT investments and solutions to have, but this was by no means a focus prior to pandemic. According to McKinsey research, less than 10% of companies pre-COVID were resilient and prepared to survive the pandemic. Those who possessed a degree of resilience and had structures in place to facilitate remote working, even if it was only on a minor scale, enjoyed a head start in the race to onboard new technologies when lockdown became enforced.
Taylor Vinters had begun the process of embracing a flexible approach to work and had some of the skeleton structures in place prior to the pandemic. For organisations like Taylor Vinters, these measures were necessary. With over 180 staff who work across a range of different time zones, 99% of whom operate on corporate-owned devices, Taylor Vinters employees’ devices were already beginning to be onboarded, and our infrastructure was starting to transition away from on-premise to the cloud.
By March, that journey was a quarter of the way complete, but the onslaught of COVID-19 and the need to keep our staff safe and productive accelerated those needs.
According to McKinsey research, less than 10% of companies pre-COVID were resilient and prepared to survive the pandemic.
Of course, all our employees are working remotely now. Despite the disruption to routine commutes, meetings, and coffee catchups, our employees are appreciating working from home. The experience of increased productivity and work life balance has meant Taylor Vinters employees now favour a hybrid model of work.
And they aren’t alone. More than 80% of the global workforce does not want to return to the office full-time, ever. What may have seemed preposterous even two years ago, where employees are given a choice of where they can work, is now readily accepted. The validity of the amount of square feet that law offices currently take up, and the cost of their leases have been called into question.
With the ‘next normal’ moving toward a more permanent transition to remote working, it is critical to have a secure, agile and cloud based working environment in place. Every organisation needs to consider if they have the solutions in place to enable and empower at home workers. To do this effectively they must have the ability to tether internet from mobile phones to laptops for uninterrupted internet service and secure access to both applications and business-critical data across all devices including mobile and laptops.
To ensure these steps for secure remote workers at Taylor Vinters, we worked with Appurity, a long term partner of ours to implement a unified endpoint management (UEM) solution alongside a smart document management system. This solution worked with our iManage Cloud platform to merge seamlessly. We needed functionality and cloud configurability and Appurity and the UEM solution delivered.
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Law firms, like other companies, have increased the amount of applications that sit on employee devices to ensure they have the tools they need to work wherever they are. The addition of video conferencing, browsing, SaaS delivery, and even wellness apps has seen significant demand. The renewed focus on health that the pandemic has bestowed upon us means that individuals now want more information about how long they have been looking at screen or how far they have cycled. Built-in AI screening capabilities of the UEM solution by MobileIron (acquired by Ivanti) ensures all applications downloaded to a device meet our compliance policies.
Taking advantage of a security service provider’s expert skillset can help IT teams optimise their info security, so all applications across all devices are locked down and secure. With the assistance of Appurity, Taylor Vinters was able to onboard its fleet of Android Enterprise devices completely remotely over the course of a few weeks.
Onboarding, user provisioning, configuration, application deployment and control enablement of all endpoints was automated by using zero touch enrolment UEM. Additionally, multi-factor authentication for application access on laptops was deployed by syncing a laptop with a mobile device, and harnessing the biometric capabilities of that device to guarantee a higher standard of identity access management.
Access management has always been important, but with over 36 billion records being exposed in 2020, it is clear that relying on passwords is no longer an option if firms’ priorities are to maintain resilience.
Despite the ramped-up rates of vaccination, the future remains uncertain. Organisations need to equip their employers to work productively and efficiently from anywhere, for some time yet. Mobile devices like phones laptops and tablets are vital to this approach and as a result have become the focal point of 87% of CISOs, according to research from Ivanti. Outside the security of the corporate office and up against a plethora of threats, mobility is key in security and for productivity for whatever the next normal brings.
While businesses recover from cash shortfalls and adapt to constantly shifting public health measures, the financial health of all sized businesses remains at serious risk. Larger businesses with naturally more cash reserves than smaller businesses are well equipped to withstand the pressures posed by the pandemic, however, the impact is likely to be grave following the withdrawal of government support. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme is due to be replaced by the Recovery Loans Scheme from April 2021, with applications closing later this year.
If your business can no longer stay afloat due to deteriorating financial health, what happens to your Bounce Back Loan debt and will you be held personally liable?
Understanding the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)
A Bounce Back Loan is different to a traditional loan which would typically require a personal guarantee for the borrowing to be underwritten. Due to COVID-19, the government introduced the Bounce Back Loan scheme, guaranteeing 100% of the loan to lenders to remove personal risk for company directors. As a result, businesses can confidently access finance to withstand these unprecedented economic conditions.
As part of the eligibility criteria for a Bounce Back Loan, businesses must not have encountered pre-pandemic financial difficulty and should also be able to prove that they have been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Walking away from a traditional loan tied to a personal guarantee can have serious repercussions such as increasing your risk of personal insolvency and damaging your borrowing ability.
Bounce back loans were made available to replenish company cash flow and working capital. As consumer demand and footfall erase overnight, emergency support was introduced to help businesses of all sizes stay afloat. If utilised as prescribed, you should be able to liquidate your business as standard. However, if used improperly – this could impact the insolvency procedure.
Company overheads are likely to rise as loan repayments and interest commence 12 months after the loan is taken out, biting into company cash flow. If your business has exhausted each avenue in a bid to secure survival, you may be left with no option but to turn to company liquidation to protect creditor interests. Failure to do so could result in compulsory liquidation which can be triggered by outstanding creditors.
Personal Liability and Bounce Back Loans
Walking away from a traditional loan tied to a personal guarantee can have serious repercussions such as increasing your risk of personal insolvency and damaging your borrowing ability. A personal guarantee provides security to the lender in the event of non-payment, defaulting or insolvency, binding you to be held personally liable for the loan repayment. In this event, your assets will be at risk and your home could even be repossessed. By accepting a greater level of risk, the risk of bad debt is instantly reduced for the lender, opening up access to competitive loan terms.
In the unfortunate event of insolvency, you will not be held personally liable for a Bounce Back Loan as the loan is guaranteed by the government. As a Bounce Back Loan is an unsecured debt, the lender is an unsecured creditor. During an insolvency procedure, creditors will be paid in priority order, beginning with secured creditors. Once all available funds have been used to repay creditors, any outstanding debts, including unsecured debts will be written off upon company liquidation.
Jonathan Munnery is a partner at UK Liquidators, part of Begbies Traynor Group. Jon is a licensed insolvency practitioner with over 20 years of combined experience in all aspects of corporate insolvency and business turnaround.
