This Practice Note is a ‘how to’ guide on using open source software as part of your business, and considers the implications businesses may face when using such software. It includes a summary of what open source software is, how it is used and the requirements for its use. It also covers additional legal considerations businesses should take into account when considering using open source software. This guide is approached from the perspective of a business seeking to use existing open source software. For further information on open source software, see the following Practice Notes: • Free and open source software • Free and open source software—strategy and policy • Free and open source software—audits • Free and open source software—public sector • GNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0—commentary What is open source software? Broadly speaking, open source software is a collective name for software: • which is made available under a licence that grants a right to use, modify, and/or distribute the software (as either the original or a modified version) free of charge

This Practice Note discusses the value of implementing a competency framework and sets out seven different ways in which the competency framework can be used within an organisation to support learning and development (L&D): • including the competency framework within your business planning • integrating the competency framework into the appraisals process • identifying organisational and learning needs • using the competency framework during one-to-one meetings • promoting discussions during team meetings • personal career management and development • embedding the framework within the recruitment and selection process Including the competency framework within your business planning All good business plans basically have three main sections covering: • where we are now? • where do we want to be? • how will we get there? The competency framework should be fully aligned with and included in the 'how we will get there' section. It should demonstrate the competencies required of the workforce in order to meet the targets set out in the 'where we want to be' section. By including the framework within

Vacating a guilty plea is a complex yet pivotal legal remedy available in the magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts. This Practice Note provides guidance for those seeking to vacate a guilty plea, including the procedural and substantive grounds required to justify withdrawing a guilty plea. The Note also addresses when the court may vitiate a guilty plea on appeal against conviction following a guilty plea. The early guilty plea scheme in England and Wales is designed to streamline the judicial process by encouraging defendants to admit guilt at an earlier stage in exchange for receiving a reduction in their sentence (see Practice Note: Credit for guilty plea). However, this process can sometimes result in defendants feeling pressured or inadequately advised when making their plea decisions. In turn, these factors may later lead some individuals to seek to vacate their guilty plea(s). Both the magistrates' court and Crown Court have a discretion to permit a change of plea from guilty to not guilty at any time before the final disposal of the case. However,

This Practice Note is a ‘how to’ guide on varying commercial contracts which signposts relevant content. It includes a summary of what contract variation is, whether variation is appropriate, the requirements for a valid variation, other legal considerations, and practical points when varying a contract. Although the hope when a contract is signed is that it will be filed away without any need to check the terms, sometimes circumstances change during the life of a contract. This could be because of a change in the law that impacts the parties’ liabilities or a change in the commercial reality of the arrangement (for example the parties want a longer-term). The parties may want to record the changes formally by making a change to the contract. The best way of varying a contract will depend on several factors. For detailed guidance on the law in relation to contract variations, see Practice Note: Contract variation. For a useful, detailed checklist to use when you need to vary an agreement, see: Contract variation—checklist. See Practice Note: Contract variation—FAQs

This Q&A assumes that the party appointing an attorney is a company incorporated under the Companies Act 2006. In order to be effective, a power of attorney needs to be executed as a deed by the person granting the power (the donor) (section 1(1) of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971). The attorney is authorised to act only so far as the terms of the power of attorney allow. This may be in general terms under a general power of attorney or limited to certain acts and for specifically defined purposes. Where the power of attorney states that it is for a particular purpose or a period of time, it will terminate after such time or after such purpose. See Practice Note: Powers of attorney in commercial transactions and Precedent: Power of attorney

Commercial analysis: Section 1(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (LP(MP)A 1989) provides (among other things) that ‘An instrument is validly executed as a deed by an individual if, and only if—(a) it is signed, (i) by him in the presence of a witness who attests the signature…’. A loan was offered by the claimant lender to Rhombus LLP. A guarantee (the ‘Guarantee’) of Rhombus LLP’s indebtedness, purporting to be a deed, was signed by each of the three defendants, and signed by a single person purporting to be a witness, before being returned to the claimant. The defendants later denied that that the Guarantee had been validly witnessed or attested because of the physical and temporal circumstances in which it was signed. His Honour Judge (HHJ) Tindal examined the law on attestation and found that LP(MP)A 1989, s 1(3) had been complied with; before further finding that, in any event, the defendants would be estopped from denying that the Guarantee was a valid deed. Written by Tom Nixon, barrister at Quadrant Chambers.

This guide explains critical rules for a witness in drafting a coherent and credible witness statement which stands the best chance of not being undermined in cross-examination. For the purposes of this guidance, it is assumed that the witness will write their own statement, albeit with input from the lawyer whose client is seeking the evidence of the witness to indicate the matters that the statement should cover The purpose of a witness statement A witness statement, written and delivered to all other parties and the court well in advance of the start of a trial, usually stands as the evidence in chief that the witness would give if examined orally. It is therefore the written equivalent of the witness’s answers to non-leading questions put to them. This is a critical point for a witness to bear in mind throughout the process of writing their witness statement. A witness statement is not: • a statement about the legal case or defence to a claim that the party calling the witness is bringing forward

Legal ownership of a property in England and Wales where there is more than one proprietor will always be as joint tenants. This means that each owns the indivisible whole; and if one dies, the other seamlessly becomes the sole owner (or if there are more than two legal owners, each diminishing number of owners does, until there is only one left). This is known as the doctrine of survivorship. There is no transfer, and the interest of the co-owner does not fall into their estate; rather their interest is simply extinguished. Co-owning legal joint tenants hold the beneficial interest of the property on trust for the beneficial

Law360, London: On 6 April 2024, the consumer protection aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024(DMCCA 2024) came into force, and brought about the biggest change to the UK's consumer protection regime in over a generation.

What is an unincorporated association? In Koeppler, an unincorporated association was described as ‘an association of persons bound together by identifiable rules and having an identifiable membership’. This is a distillation of the lengthier definition found in Burrell. From these definitions (and others) it is possible to deduce that an unincorporated association must: • involve at least two members who are engaged in a non-commercial activity which has a degree of permanence about it, and • have contractual rules which bind all the members Many sports clubs, members’ clubs, political parties, charities and not-for-profit organisations operate as unincorporated associations. Most operate with very little, if any, real degree of formality. No separate legal capacity An unincorporated association does not have a legal capacity separate from its members. This lack of legal personality causes a number of problems in relation to unincorporated associations. One particular problem is that it means that an unincorporated association cannot own property in its own name; instead, any property must be held by individuals on behalf

On 23 April 2020, the UK government announced it would legislate to temporarily ban statutory demands and winding-up petitions. This was supplemented by a press release last updated on 25 April 2020. While this announcement does not yet have legislative effect, the government has confirmed that the ban on statutory demands will be back-dated from 1 March 2020 and last until 30 June 2020. The ban on winding-up petitions will apply to those presented between 27 April 2020 and 30 June 2020. The ban applies to those based on the debtor’s inability to pay its debts due to coronavirus (COVID-19). The measures are due to be included in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, expected imminently. The restrictions expressly state they apply to statutory demands to and winding-up petitions against: • companies; that are • tenants of commercial premises; who • cannot pay their rent due to the coronavirus However, there are

In March 2016, the Approved Persons Regime (APR) was replaced by the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) which places individual responsibility on employees working within the financial services sector. The process in relation to non-senior management, falls under the Certification Regime (CR). The Practice Note: SM&CR—essentials for banks and PRA-designated investment firms provides a useful starting point on this