Coaching is much talked about in the business world, and with good cause too, as it is one of the most powerful tools at a manager’s disposal when it comes to building and strengthening the skills set in the team. Although coaching sessions can be discrete activities, they can also form part of an overall approach to management and supervision. This Practice Note considers: • what is, and isn’t, coaching • coaching -v- mentoring—the differences and similarities • what skills a great coach needs • what coaching can be used for • getting to the heart of the issue • keeping coaching on track • asking amazing coaching questions • setting up a coaching programme For further reading on the topic of coaching, see Practice Notes: Becoming a coaching manager, Coaching for coachees and Popular coaching models and methodologies. What is, and isn’t, coaching? Coaching is a flexible, structured, approach that aims to support individuals as they grow and develop in their career. The aim is for the coach to ask appropriate

This Practice Note provides an introduction to collateral and credit support documentation for over-the counter (OTC) derivatives transaction. What is counterparty credit risk? Counterparty credit risk is the risk that the counterparty to a derivatives transaction with bilateral cash flows could default before the final settlement of the transaction. If a default occurs, the transaction will terminate and a termination amount will be payable. Standard derivatives documentation provides for a variety of ways of calculating the termination amount, but in the majority of cases the termination amount will be based on the market value of the transaction at the time of termination. A simple interest rate swap can be used as an example of what the market value of a derivatives transaction is and how it changes over time. In the example, the notional amount of the swap is €10 million. On specified payment dates during the swap’s five-year term, Party A pays fixed amounts to Party B (ie amounts accrued at a n agreed fixed rate on the notional amount)

Question Summary What is competition law? Competition benefits both businesses and consumers. It shows companies where they need to improve and encourages organisations to strive for greater efficiency, become more innovative, more productive, and ultimately be better businesses.Competition law is designed to protect businesses and consumers from anti-competitive behaviour, and safeguard effective competition.All businesses must comply with competition law and there can be serious consequences for businesses and individuals, including directors, for non-compliance. These can include heavy fines, prison sentences, director disqualifications and reputational damage. When is it an issue? Competition law may become an issue for organisations in three main contexts:cartels—these are usually based on horizontal arrangements where two or more businesses agree, whether in writing or otherwise, not to compete with each other. Cartels are the most serious type of anti-competitive agreements. They include agreements to fix prices, engage in bid-rigging, limit production and share customers or markets. A cartel may also arise where there is a unilateral exchange of information or when businesses disclose or exchange commercially-sensitive information. In this context, the key

Question Correct answer 1. As an SRA-regulated law firm, what do we have to comply with? (c) SRA Standards and Regulations and any other applicable legislation and rules that apply to our business generally 2. How many SRA Principles are there? (b) 7 3. Which of the following is not one of the SRA Principles? (c) Comply with your

How to use this test These questions are designed to test your understanding after your attendance at our training on an introduction to compliance. After you have completed this test, please return it to [insert name]. General Name of person completing test [Insert name] Role [Insert role] Date [Insert date] Multiple choice questions Circle the correct answer. Question Multiple choice answers 1. As an SRA-regulated law firm, what do we have to comply with? (a) UK legislation(b) SRA Standards and Regulations and Law Society Practice Notes(c) SRA Standards and Regulations and any other applicable legislation and rules that apply to our business generally 2. How

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 7 September 2026, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade published a consultation setting out the government’s proposals to amend the UK’s corporate reporting framework. The key proposals in relation to remuneration included the following: (i) removal of the annual advisory shareholder vote on the directors’ remuneration report, (ii) streamlining or removal of accumulated director shareholding and option-holding disclosures, (iii) removal of CEO: employee pay ratio reporting, and (iv) removal of several other statutory disclosures including malus and clawback policies and their operation during the year, alignment between directors’ remuneration and wider workforce pay, and the company’s response to significant shareholder dissent. Some of the matters proposed for removal from legislation—notably malus and clawback, workforce alignment, engagement and responses to shareholder dissent—would continue to be addressed under the UK Corporate Governance Code for companies subject to it, on a ‘comply or explain’ basis. The consultation closes on 30 November 2026, and the government has said that it aims to publish a consultation outcome within six months of its

Deferred share bonus: key elements Deferred share bonus plans are typically constituted by the following key elements: • they are structured as employees’ share schemes as defined in section 1166 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006)—see Practice Note: The Companies Act definition of employees' share scheme and its implications • participants are typically also participants in the company’s annual bonus plan. Participation will usually be at the discretion of the directors/remuneration committee • participants may either be required to defer a proportion of their bonus under the annual bonus plan or may be invited voluntarily to defer a proportion of their bonus under the plan • participants will receive an award relating to shares in the company in lieu of the proportion of their cash bonus deferred into the deferred share bonus plan • participants will commonly be provided with the opportunity or right to receive free additional matching shares from the company which will vest at some point in the future • the additional matching shares will normally be subject to performance targets

Devolution is the process of pushing down decision-making to lower levels within the nation-state. Domestically, it refers to the process of giving the smaller nations within the UK their own parliamentary and governmental structures. This Practice Note provides an overview of the relevant law-making bodies created by statute in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Brexit impact—devolution The UK devolution structures involve complex interaction with EU law and EU competences, and are therefore impacted by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. For general updates on the process and preparations for Brexit, see Practice Note: Brexit timeline [Archived]. For further reading on the impact of Brexit on devolution, see News Analysis: Examining the impact of Brexit and UK-wide common frameworks on devolution. Devolved institutions and their law-making powers Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have unicameral legislatures consisting of elected members, some of whom also hold office as Ministers exercising executive responsibilities. The legislatures all: • scrutinise and pass legislation • hold debates both in plenary

Introduction The plurilateral agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are found in Annex 4 to the Marrakesh Agreement. Plurilateral agreements cater for instances where certain Member States may agree on rules on trade in specific subjects that not all Member States may agree to. As such, plurilateral agreements come to the fore where there is no multilateral consent. These plurilateral agreements therefore only bind Member States that have signed up to them. Currently there are only two plurilateral agreements namely the Agreement on Government Procurement and the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft while the International Dairy Agreement and the International Bovine Meat Agreement terminated at the end of 1997. Member States also negotiated a plurilateral agreement in trade in services, the Trade in Services Agreement, which has not yet been concluded. The WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement Introduction Government procurement was originally omitted from the scope of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947. It was specifically excluded from the National Treatment principle. Article III.8(a) of the GATT 1947

What is repo? Repo is the market term for a ‘repurchase transaction’, which involves the sale of an asset by one party (the seller) to another party (the buyer) with a simultaneous agreement between the parties that the seller will repurchase the asset from the buyer at a future date for a specified price. Any asset that is capable of being transferred from one person to another may be subject to repo. The most common types of asset that are repo’d are debt securities (bonds), equity securities (shares) and other financial assets such as loans and commodities. Commodity repos give rise to particular documentary, structural and legal issues which are not covered in this Practice Note. For information on commodity repos, see Practice Note: Commodity repo transactions and true sale considerations. The principal payment and delivery obligations in a typical repo are set out in the diagram below: Purchase Date: Repurchase Date: The main features of repo therefore are: • the assets (both the original asset and

What is securities lending? A securities lending transaction typically involves the outright transfer of a security by one party (the 'lender') to another party (the 'borrower') in exchange for the outright transfer of collateral by the borrower to the lender, with a simultaneous agreement between the parties that the borrower will return the loaned security to the lender at a future date in exchange for the return by the lender to the borrower of the collateral. In 2018, the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) released documentation which allows parties to exchange collateral by way of security (rather than outright transfer). This Practice Note focuses on securities lending transactions backed by the outright transfer of collateral, with a summary of the newer security interest structure (and the key differences as compared to using title transfer collateral) set out below. Any asset that is capable of being transferred from one party to another may be subject to a securities lending transaction. The most common types of asset

This Practice Note provides an introduction to the trading strategy known as ‘short selling’. It explains the purpose of short selling, the types of short selling, the risks associated with it and the restrictions on short selling under the UK and EU short selling regimes. What is short selling? Short selling, or 'going short', is a trading strategy whereby securities are borrowed to be sold at the current price but with the hope that the price will subsequently fall, with the aim of making a profit when they are bought back at a lower price at a later date. Short selling therefore enables investors to profit from falling securities prices. What is the purpose of short selling? A wide range of market participants use short selling as an investment technique. While hedge funds are particularly associated with the practice, due to their use of short-term trading strategies to make profits, traditional fund managers and investment banks also use short selling as an investment technique. Short selling is a legitimate investment practice in normal financial