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Brexit: can "Exit Day" be changed in time?
22 Mar 2019
On 21 March the European Council agreed to extend the UK's Article 50 notice period, either:
Until 22 May if the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration (WA) is approved by the House of Commons before 29 March; or
Until 12 April if the WA is not approved.
Until 22 May if the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration (WA) is approved by the House of Commons before 29 March; or
Until 12 April if the WA is not approved.
When does a loss occur in the context of a contract for ground investigations?
21 Mar 2019
The law of prescription in Scotland, or the period beyond which a claim will prescribe or become inactionable due to the passage of time, is currently undergoing change. As a result of, amongst other things, recent decisions regarding assessment of when a loss might be considered to have been incurred by a wronged party, the Scottish Law Commission underwent consultation. The result of that is the Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 which was given Royal Assent on 18 December 2018.
Member activism: challenging a funding deficit
21 Mar 2019
The cost of funding pension plans has, for some time now, proved a considerable problem for many employers who sponsor a defined benefit occupational pension plan. This is due to a combination of factors such as changes in markets, low interest rates, greater life expectancy, stricter legal regulation of pension plans and a tendency for the trustees who run pension plans to take an increasingly risk-free approach in a desire to ward off member or regulator criticism, thereby pushing up the costs to the employer (as any deficit in a defined benefit pension plan must be met by the employer).
Brexit: extension or no deal?
20 Mar 2019
The UK Prime Minister has written to Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, requesting an extension of the Article 50 notice period to 30 June 2019. During Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister confirmed her opposition to any further extension beyond that date. The Prime Minister has also confirmed her intention to bring the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration (WA) back to the House of Commons for a third time, explaining that the proposed extension to 30 June would be to allow time to "enact our commitments under the Withdrawal Agreement into domestic law".
WBD supports Leeds Manufacturing Festival
20 Mar 2019
WBD is supporting this year's Leeds Manufacturing Festival (October 2019) which aims to provide young people, career advisers, teachers and parents a better understanding of what modern manufacturing is all about.
'How to be human in the age of the machine' launches International Innovation Week
19 Mar 2019
Algorithms – should we love them or fear them? Last night mathematician and science presenter, Dr Hannah Fry, kicked off WBD's International Innovation Week with a fascinating session on the good, the bad and the ugly algorithms that are all around us. 'How to be human in the age of the machine' was streamed across all of WBD's UK and US offices and asked questions such as whether you would trust an algorithm to send someone to jail? Or to diagnose someone with cancer?
Brexit: the long goodbye
15 Mar 2019
The Parliamentary week began with a stark choice between the UK government's Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration (WA) and a "no deal" Brexit. The week has ended with no real change. Next week, the government will seek for the third time to secure approval for the WA in order to obtain a short "technical extension" to the Article 50 notice period so that the necessary legislation can be passed. If the WA were to be rejected again, then the government would have to ask for a longer extension, and that request might be vetoed by any EU member state. Consequently, the House of Commons still faces a choice between the government's WA and "no deal".
WBD strengthens white collar crime expertise with new partner hire in London
14 Mar 2019
WBD has appointed Audrey Koh as a partner in the firm's London office. Specialising in white collar crime, Audrey will strengthen the firm's key sectors of expertise, in particular Financial Institutions, Energy and Natural Resources, Pharma, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Real Estate and Technology.
Brexit: going through the motions
14 Mar 2019
On 13 March the UK government tabled a motion to determine whether the House of Commons wished to rule out a "no deal" Brexit on 29 March. By a narrow margin of 4 votes the government's motion was amended to make it clear that the House of Commons wished to rule out "no deal" not just on 29 March, but at any time. The government then issued an instruction to Conservative party MPs to vote against the amended motion. Despite that, the amended motion passed with an increased majority of 43.
