UK/USA relations in a post-brexit world!

Paul Marmor, Head of Litigation and International Services, recently visited the offices of our Alliott Global Alliance (“AGA”) correspondent law firms in Dallas and New York – Platt Richmond and Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe – and gave a presentation to each on the topic of UK/USA relations post-Brexit, where Paul explained how the trading relationship has been affected in a post-Brexit world.

Paul set out the good, the bad and the ugly from all perspectives.  Paul also gave the same presentation to AGA’s North American annual meeting in Palm Springs, California, attended by over 70 members from the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Paul is pictured presenting a ceremonial gift to each law firm, with the Managing Partner of Platt Richmond, Bob Daniels, and a number of his colleague, and with Jeff Berger, the Managing Partner of Golenbocks.  Paul is presenting David Gauke’s book entitled The Case for the Centre Right, which is a collection of essays on politics in the UK at this time, with special emphasis on Brexit, including contributions from Rory Stewart, Daniel Finklestein  and Dominic Grieve and others.

Paul Marmor visits Dallas, New York and California to discuss UK and USA relations post-brexit.

For more information about our connectivity, clients and friends across the Americas, through our involvement in the AGA, the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association, and for our legal perspectives relating to Brexit, then please reach out to Paul Marmor on +44 20 7478 9010 or pdm@sherrards.com, or visit www.sherrards.com.

Illegal working penalties are set to triple in the New Year

The last increase to the civil penalty was in 2014. From January 2024 , this will be raised up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach (from £15,000), and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches (from £20,000).

We have assisted numerous employers in ensuring compliance. Whether this is in terms of advice on issues surrounding illegal working generally,  or more specific concerns. 

If you have any concerns about your processes, please do not delay.  An audit or health-check could be the key to avoiding non-compliance. 

Please contact Emma peacock on the below details for more information, if required.

Sherrards at the Queen’s Room Middle Temple with Chinese Delegates

The event was organised by Laurel Zhang, Head of China & Southeast Asia Group, and her connections with the Chinese Tax Specialists. Laurel is part of the Corporate & Commercial team, based in London and she speaks fluent Mandarin and English. She commented, “We provide a lot of support to companies looking to do business in the UK coming in from China, Hong Kong and across Asia and one of the key benefits we can provide is cultural and language support as well as plenty of experience operating in the region and discuss our experience with the delegation.”

The event began with an introduction from Paul Marmor, Head of International and Dispute Resolution, who introduced Sherrards, its history and each spokesperson from Sherrards for the morning. Paul then discussed the amazing history and importance of ‘The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple’ and how legal practitioners are split into Solicitors & Barristers within the UK. He informed the audience of how Sherrards is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA), the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Alliott Global Alliance (AGA) with Sherrards having individual desks for Germany, China, France, USA, and eastern-Europe. A truly global law Firm.

Jean-Paul da Costa, head of Corporate and Commercial, was the first to present to the group. He discussed the ways the Government use incentives like tax to influence the UK’s economy and how the government have several tax incentive schemes to influence investors such as the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Venture Capital Trusts Scheme (VCT). Jean-Paul also covered Tax breaks a tool to influence UK business activity. This included the Entrepreneurs Relief (Business Asset Disposal Relief) scheme, small businesses not being charged for VAT for the first £85,000, and the Corporate Venturing Scheme (CVS). He then discussed the methods the Government use to boost the economic activity of employees such as the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), Share Incentive Plans (SIPs) and the Employee Ownership Trusts (EOT) programs. The final area Jean-Paul spoke about was presenting a global perspective to show in what ways that UK economy is unique worldwide. He commented, “Much of Sherrards’ work is related to FDI (Foreign direct investment) to the UK with specialist teams focussing on IP (Intellectual Property), corporate & property (real estate) structures as well as litigation and we were only too happy to share our knowledge with the delegation”.

Aleksandra Rychlewska, Legal Assistant in the Litigation department, then gave a thorough explanation of the UK’s Legal System, informing the delegation of the four factors that make the UK legal system an attractive choice for international parties to resolve their commercial disputes. These included the expertise, specialisation, and independent judiciary that the UK possess, the tradition of the Common Law, the Enforceability of Judgements across jurisdictions and alternative dispute resolution options.

Guy Morgan, Partner in our Commercial Property department then gave a detailed description of the Commercial Property market in England with a summary of concepts in English Property law and the challenges that the UK economy face post-pandemic and with the economic and political climate, including issues like climate change & technological change. Guy then gave an overview of key property taxes such as the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) to inform the audience on the UK’s tax system. Guy concluded his presentation with a ‘glimpse into the future’, which addressed the possible changes that 2024’s General election will bring to the UK.

The final spokesperson from Sherrards was Greg Pooler who gave a presentation on Disclosure and cross-border data transfers. He explained what disclosure is and its importance in law, along-side the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and how it influences legal practice in the UK. This was followed by examples of Sherrards past experiences with disclosure across jurisdictions including how Sherrards were advised on the Chinese regime and it’s three pillars – Data Security Law, The Personal Information Protection Law, and State Secrets Law. Greg then listed key UK laws and their influence; Data Security Law (Article 36), Personal Information Protection Law (Article 41) and the Securities Law (Article 25).

The event finished with a visit to the “Great Hall” and networking.

 

Building the law firm of the future

This first Class Panel at the The Law Society London, UK, was focused on best practice for attracting & retaining talent in the legal profession across the globe. Over 150 attendees from around the globe were in attendance.

The impressive panel included a keynote session from David Gauke, Head of Public Policy at Macfarlanes, speaking from his perspective as former Minister of Justice & Lord Chancellor, David focused on the next generation and a desire to protect the rule of law, among many other points.

Paul was also joined by Claire Sanders of Being Human, who explored best ways to harness the younger generation.

Paulo Rocha, Managing Partner of leading Brazilian law firm Demarest Advogados, confirmed that talent-related issues are the same globally.

Lisa Göransson, head of the Nordic desk at Allen & Overy, and also IBA officer from the Women’s Committee, focused on the need to focus on women in the profession.

Paul Marmor comments: “We set out a range of points and thoughts on how to attract and retain talent into the legal profession which is an area of focus for the IBA and, indeed, for Sherrards which is at the heart of much of our thinking as a legal profession especially through our Sherrards Training Academy.”

Sherrards act for Sphering Group

The Sphering Group is a front-line player in flue and air care in Europe with a renowned expertise in design, manufacturing and distribution of innovative high-quality chimney and ventilation systems.

The Sphering Group wanted to expand its European presence with a location in the UK and targeted a competitor, SFL Ltd, previously part of the Stamm International Corp. who was the No. 2 manufacturer of flues and chimneys in the UK with well-established distribution in the USA and Far East.

Sherrards were introduced to Sphering Group via the London division of the French Chamber of Commerce and were quickly instructed to assist on the targeted acquisition of SFL.  

This was Sphering Group’s first targeted UK acquisition of a trading business, and the deal took almost two years to complete due to the cross jurisdictional nature and complexities in the company raised during the research phase and resulting in a complicated escrow fund held by J P Morgan on behalf of the parties and to cover against potential and significant risks of claims associated with the trading business. 

The acquisition was eventually successful and adds R&D capabilities and a sixth manufacturing plant to Sphering Group’s industrial capacities already operating in France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Poland. With the integration of SFL teams, the Group now employs 800 people across Europe.

 

To find out more, contact the Corporate team. 

 

 

The Corporate team assist International Client, Guangdong Xinbao Electrical Appliance Holdings

Sherrards coordinated directly with Donlim and acted alongside a major law firm in China, as the transaction was subject to extensive negotiations, including requiring approval from the Chinese government. The transaction was completed in March 2023.

Donlim is headquartered in Shunde, Guangdon, China, and is a major manufacturer of home kitchen appliances and other electrical products, with over 28,000 staff and revenues of RMB 14.9 billion in 2021. Donlim wished to expand its portfolio of international brands by acquiring Morphy Richards, a well regarded British brand established in 1936, and for whom Donlim had been manufacturing products under contract for some time.  MRCA was, before the transaction, owned by Glen Dimplex, an Irish company, and has substantial operations in the UK in addition to other major markets in China, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Glen Dimplex retained the rights to the Morphy Richards brand in other key international markets. The transaction received significant press coverage in the UK and Ireland.

Following completion, Donlim has acquired a permanent presence in the UK and will use this as a platform to expand its consumer appliances offering in the UK market, as well as now having the benefit of an esteemed British brand to use in its operations overseas.

To find out more, contact James Crook. 

Sherrards at the Paris International Bar Association: Report

Paul, as well as being the head of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution department, is the co-vice chair of the IBA’s Law Firm Management Committee, which is one of the IBA’s leading sections made up of managing partners, senior partners and leading lights, as well as allied professionals from across the global legal profession.

Paul spoke at an LFMC session at the Paris IBA Conference on how law firms can convey their messaging publicly, on behalf of themselves and their clients, through social media, which included a stellar panel of Deborah Farone, a leading marketing strategy consultant, Olga Mach of LexisNexis, Helen Burness of Saltmarsh Marketing, and Sneha Ashtikar Roy of Jus Mundi.

Sophie, Sherrards’ Head of Marketing & Business Development, attended the first ever High-Tide conference, the IBA’s Marketing and Business development conference, which saw over 80 marketing professionals from across the world come together to discuss and debate a variety of legal marketing topics. Sophie took part in the fishbowl session, discussing how artificial intelligence can help as a tool in law firms’ messaging but that it needs to be managed if used by junior members of the team. 

The IBA is a leading voice in the global legal profession, as a networking organisation for lawyers, but it is also an important and very significant platform for extolling and promoting the rule of law, which has never been more relevant than it is today.

Sherrards are very much involved in and supportive of the IBA, which means that our clients, friends and contacts have access to professionals from across the world, frankly just about anywhere, whether it be through the IBA or our membership of the Alliott Global Alliance

For more information about our involvement in the IBA, or how we can help you through our international connectivity, please reach out to Paul Marmor on pdm@sherrards.com or +44 (0) 20 7478 9010 or Sophie Hudson on sophie.hudson@sherrards.com or +44 (0) 1727 832 830.

Helping to put the UK on the Global map, legally speaking!

Paul Marmor spoke about his involvement in developing Sherrards’ international persona, passing on the benefit of his experiences to an audience predominantly from the legal profession, looking to expand their international footprint.

In particular, Paul used the international webinar to speak about our work with an international alliance (Alliott Global Alliance) and our connectivity with other first-class law firms through the International Bar Association and American Bar Association, as well as working alongside The Law Society’s International Division and the Department for International Trade, including becoming part of the UK investment support directory hosted by the DIT.

Marco Cillario, International Policy Manager of The Law Society commented, “We are ready and willing to shout about the legal profession and to help our members, whether to improve access to key markets, facilitate introductions to networking opportunities with contacts across the world, or to create the right environment to do so ”.

Paul Marmor of Sherrards comments, “It’s been quite a journey for the firm, but in 20 years we have helped our clients and contacts with their increasing needs overseas, as well as the burgeoning demand for use of the UK courts by foreign parties.  I have no doubt that our legal profession is supported by some brilliant institutions, whether it be the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Business and Trade or The Law Society’s International Division”.

To download the interntional webinar to watch, click here.

For more information about Sherrards’ international offering and our work with the IBA, ABA, Alliott Global Alliance and Law Society International Division, and how the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Justice can help you, please reach out to Paul Marmor.

Arbitration Case Report

The client/Defendant to the claim is a Central European company specialising in the production of aluminium profiles. 

A dispute arose between the parties arising out of the contract for the supply of aluminium billets, in respect of which the Claimant sought payment which the client was resisting, on the basis that the contract mechanism for determining price had not been followed and that the billets delivered were not of satisfactory quality, which caused it loss.

Karen Dobson, Partner at Sherrards, managed to negotiate an early settlement of the dispute, following the commencement of arbitration proceedings.

The settlement was very favourable to the client and resulted in it avoiding significant legal costs which would have been incurred in a fully-contested arbitration.

Plans to liberalise India’s Legal Services Market meets with mixed reactions

This has been an ongoing debate in this area for many years, and one that the firm is familiar with, having interacted with Indian law firms and business interests passing back and forth between the UK and India for some time. 

Paul Marmor, our Head of International Services and the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department, was asked for his views on the changes to India’s legal service, which are set out in this article published by the International Bar Association, which sets the scene with input from a number of commentators including Paul, as to what may happen over the next few years: click here to read the article. 

For more information on our work relating to Indian concerns, please reach out to Paul and the International team on the details below.