Neil Swift and Rachel Cook have published an insightful article for Accountancy Age, diving into the significant reform of the umbrella company market set to take effect from April 2026. This development goes well beyond a simple technical adjustment to PAYE administration. Under new measures introduced by HMRC, responsibility for PAYE compliance may shift […]
Parties whose contractual dealings have been affected by the imposition of sanctions now have increased clarity over their rights and obligations, following the Supreme Court’s decision in UniCredit Bank GmbH, London Branch v Constitution Aircraft Leasing (Ireland) 3 Ltd and another [2026] UKSC 10. In short, where sanctions prohibit a party from making an agreed […]
When Trading Standards contacts your business, often without warning, to request documents or invite directors to a meeting, it can be both unexpected and unsettling. In many cases, this is not the result of a complaint. It is due to proactive monitoring by regulators, who are increasingly identifying and scrutinising businesses operating in higher […]
Seeking (and obtaining) anti-suit injunctive relief (ASI) or anti-anti-suit injunctive relief (AASI) in a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, in respect of a claim that is properly arguable in that court, will not ordinarily amount to criminal contempt. This is not least because, if the English courts would themselves grant ASI or AASI in materially […]
Is the Financial Conduct Authority going too far? In this article, Neil Swift and Rachel Cook examine how intensifying insider dealing crackdowns, and the Financial Conduct Authority’s evolving approach to confiscation, are blurring the line between profit and capital, raising critical concerns about fairness, consistency, and trust in the UK’s enforcement regime. To […]
In an article published by Taxation magazine, Rachel Cook examines how HMRC’s new whistleblower reward scheme could reshape the tax risk landscape. With financial incentives encouraging insiders to come forward, scrutiny may increasingly originate from within organisations, rather than solely through routine compliance activity. The message for advisers and clients is clear: technical […]
The Cambridge Dictionary definition of “conversion”, when used in a legal context, is “the illegal act of giving away or selling property that belongs to someone else”. In Yuen v Li [2026] EWHC 532, Cotter J found that neither the passing of the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 (the “2025 Act”), nor the findings […]
In a webinar hosted by the International Underwriting Association, Michael O’Kane and Maya Lester KC of Global Sanctions discussed the growing impact of global trade sanctions on the insurance industry. Senior Partner Michael O’Kane provided attendees with a clear and practical assessment of the challenges facing insurers operating across multiple jurisdictions. His contribution focused […]
At a time when serious questions are being asked about whether the international rules-based order is simply a “useful fiction”, repetition, by the Supreme Court in Zimbabwe v Border Timbers, of a passage in an ICJ judgment, Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v Italy), may have prompted a wry smile from the reader. The […]
