Going concern value.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulates both individuals (solicitors, registered European lawyers, registered foreign lawyers and registered Swiss lawyers) and firms (including partnerships, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), companies and sole practitioners). This Practice Note explains the concept of firm-based regulation under which entities are regulated by the SRA. What is firm-based regulation? The vast majority of firms operate via some sort of business entity, eg: • partnership • LLP • company The sole practitioner (ie sole trader) business model is the obvious exception. If a firm provides reserved legal activity services, it must generally be authorised by one of the legal services regulators. If a firm does not provide reserved legal activity services, it may not need to be authorised, but can, subject to complying with the SRA’s eligibility requirements, choose to bring itself within SRA regulation. If a firm provides immigration, claims management or financial services, it will need to be authorised, but this could be by the applicable sector-specific regulator (ie Immigration Advice Authority or Financial Conduct Authority) rather than the SRA—see Practice Note: New

Type of skills Level 1: Trainee/Junior Level 2: Fee earner/Team member Level 3: Team leader/Supervisor Level 4: Senior team member/Partner Business/commercial skills Understanding firm structure and commercial awareness.Introductory business development (networking, client engagement).Basic negotiation techniques.Competent user of all in-house technology. Expanding professional network.Refining negotiation tactics.Starting to develop a personal brand within the firm.Developing business cases for capital requests.Understanding the impact of continuous improvement in the workplace.Engaging in cross-team projects and building internal network. Taking the lead on business development and relationship management.Delivering training and thought leadership content.Strengthening negotiation and deal structuring.Working alongside senior lawyers to drive business development strategies.Skilled negotiator—competent when working with vendors and developing client agreements.Maintaining a competitive edge by embracing innovation. Leading business development initiatives.Driving change through the business.Managing firm reputation and brand positioning.Managing firm-wide partnerships.Driving profitability strategies through efficiency and automation.Overseeing brand positioning and seizing competitive advantage through innovation. People skills Effective client communication.Building relationships with colleagues and clients.Effective time and workload management. Mentoring junior colleagues.Handling difficult conversations professionally.Building strong, cross-functional client relationships.Managing the workflow through the team and meeting deadlines.Building management/leadership brand.Communicating project vision across departments.Managing stakeholder groups and addressing

This Firm-wide money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risk assessment checklist pulls together requirements in the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), SI 2017/692, as amended, in relation to the obligation to conduct a firm-wide risk assessment (FWRA) of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks. It also contains requirements taken from the: • National money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment • National proliferation financing risk assessment • Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG) Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Guidance for the Legal Sector • SRA Sectoral Risk Assessment—Anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing and sanctions • various SRA AML reports It also contains recommended actions. The checklist signposts relevant Precedents you can use or adapt to comply with these requirements and recommendations. There is a section for you to mark whether you have completed each requirement and also to insert comments or note action points. For more guidance, see Practice Note: Money Laundering Regulations 2017—how to identify and

Law360: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have challenged two thirds of general insurance and investment firms about their ability to prevent disruption by threats like cyberattacks, according to an industry study.

Law360, London: A recent court ruling that trainees and paralegals cannot conduct litigation, even under supervision, has left some firms 'in purgatory' as they grapple with a judgment that, lawyers warn, could make swathes of work unviable.

Law360, London: Companies that over-hype the impact of new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on their business could face potential shareholder or regulatory action down the road, MS Amlin warned.

Congratulations on securing your first in-house role! You’ve done the hard work of deciding to build your career in-house and you’ve found a company you respect and a role that suits you, so now you need to start planning how you’re going to make an impact and do well. This Practice Note is part of subtopic: New to role—in-house, which aims to help you rapidly become an effective part of your organisation. For practical steps you should make time to complete in your first few weeks in the role, together with suggestions for some longer-term projects that you should keep in mind and for which you should start to prepare, see Practice Notes: • Taking up a new role in-house—new role to you and to the organisation • Taking up a new role in-house—replacing a previous in-house lawyer • Taking up a new role in-house—joining an existing team This Practice Note sets out advice on making the most of your first 100 days as an in-house lawyer, some of the projects

Initial hearing in respect of financial proceedings.

Arbitration analysis: The China International Commercial Court (CICC) has recently issued its first rulings in three inter-related cases in which the court considered the application of the doctrine of separability of the arbitration agreement under the law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner John Choong and senior associates Yong Wei Chan and Xin Liu discuss the implications of the rulings.

Law360: TPT Retirement Solutions announced on 9 October 2025 that it intends to launch a new run-on defined benefit (DB) superfund, claiming it has secured enough capital for its first deals worth £1bn in the fledgling sector.

Arbitration analysis: In this case, the Hong Kong Court dismissed an anti-suit injunction application seeking to restrain winding-up proceedings in the Cayman Islands, holding that such proceedings did not breach the arbitration clause in the parties’ agreement. The court found that the Cayman petition did not ‘finally resolve’ the dispute and thus fell outside the scope of the arbitration agreement. This decision sidesteps the divergent approaches in Re Guy Lam and Sian Participation, but underscores that the enforceability of arbitration clauses against foreign insolvency actions depends on precise drafting. Practitioners should note the court’s emphasis on the governing law of the foreign proceedings and the interpretation of ‘finally resolved’ as expressed in arbitration clauses. Hong Kong courts should be slow to interfere with the debtor’s home jurisdiction unless a clear breach of an arbitration agreement is shown. The case is a key reference for cross-border insolvency and arbitration practitioners navigating anti-suit relief in common law jurisdictions. Written by Wesley Pang, partner and Head of International Arbitration, Asia, and Aaron Yam, associate, Litigation and Dispute Management, Hong Kong, at Eversheds Sutherland (The authors thank Yuxaun Huang and Karin Yuen for their assistance in preparing this commentary).