This Practice Note provides an overview of the nature of building societies and mutual organisations, the legislation that underpins their existence and the activities that they are permitted to carry out. Nature of a building society The principal measure governing the activities of building societies is the Building Societies Act 1986 (BSA 1986), as amended by the Building Societies Act 1997 (BSA 1997) and the Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Act 2024 (BSA(A)A 2024). A building society is a financial institution that offers savings accounts and mortgages as its main business. Building societies are mutual institutions. This means that most customers who have a savings account or a mortgage with a building society are also members and have certain rights to vote and receive information, and to attend and speak at meetings. Each member has one vote, regardless of how much money they have invested or borrowed or how many accounts they may have. The key distinction between a mutual over a stock market listed or 'plc' bank is that a mutual does not

This Practice Note, together with Introduction to business finance and accounting—management accounting and internal decision-making, aims to help you understand your organisation through its financial language and methods. It is intended for in-house lawyers working in private sector, commercial organisations. Not-for-profit, third-sector organisations and government bodies operate with specialised financial governance principles and are not covered in this Practice Note. This Practice Note covers: • why financial literacy is important for in-house lawyers • the difference between financial accounting and management accounting • the core financial statements—the balance sheet, income statement and cashflow statement • how to assess financial health • how the market values businesses • the working capital cycle See Practice Note: Introduction to business finance and accounting—management accounting and internal decision-making for guidance on financial decision-making tools and budgeting. See also Checklists: How financially literate are you and Improving your financial literacy, which offer a series of questions and practical actions to help you assess and improve your financial literacy. The language of finance Management

This Practice Note, together with Introduction to business finance and accounting—financial accounting and external performance, aims to help you understand your organisation through its financial language and methods. This Practice Note covers: • the difference between fixed and variable costs • how investments are appraised by the business • budgeting See Practice Note: Introduction to business finance and accounting—financial accounting and external performance for guidance on financial accounting—the core financial statements, how to assess financial health, how markets value companies, and working capital. See also Checklists: How financially literate are you and Improving your financial literacy, which offer a series of questions and practical actions to help you assess and improve your financial literacy. Cost behaviour Not all business costs behave the same way: • some costs are fixed, meaning they don’t change with volume, eg rent • some are variable, meaning they change directly with volume, eg the materials used to make each product This distinction matters because it determines how profit changes as volume

This Practice Note gives an overview of what needs to be included in a set of company financial statements for companies applying FRS 102 (UK GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It focuses on the most significant financial information that needs to be included in the accounts (the ‘primary statements’) but does not cover in detail the notes that need to be included in a set of financial statements, other than incidentally. This note also looks at the different reserves a company may present on its balance sheet and an overview of what they can be used for. The core principle underpinning the preparation of financial statements is that they are required to show a true and fair view of the income and expenditure, financial position and cash flows of the company for the relevant financial reporting period. This does not mean that they need to be accurate to the penny, but does mean that they need to be materially accurate. Broadly, an item is material to the financial statements

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This practical guidance relates to the pre-Procurement Act 2023 regime This Practice Note contains guidance relevant to public procurement exercises commenced before the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) came into force on 24 February 2025. It captures the law as it stood at that point in time. In-scope procurements begun on or after 24 February 2025 are governed by PA 2023. Under the transitional and savings provisions for PA 2023, the previous public procurement regimes continue to apply to the extent necessary to allow contracting authorities to complete and manage procurements commenced before PA 2023 came into force (ie ongoing procurements). This Practice Note should be read in that context. For background reading, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023. Further practical guidance on PA 2023 is set out in a separate subtopic, see: Procurement Act 2023—overview. Application of the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016—pre-PA 2023 CCR 2016, SI 2016/273 came into force on 18 April 2016,

These training materials contain template PowerPoint slides and associated notes for use by a trainer when providing an introduction to construction disputes to trainee solicitors or others who are new to construction. They look at the work of a construction disputes lawyer and the types of dispute that commonly arise on construction projects, and explain the basics of adjudication, dispute boards, litigation in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), construction arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The materials are available in both PowerPoint and Word formats and are fully customisable. Click the link below to download the presentation: Contents

These training materials contain template PowerPoint slides and associated notes for use by a trainer when providing an introduction to construction law, to trainee solicitors or others who are new to construction. Topics covered include the structure and timeline of construction projects, legislation relevant to construction lawyers, an introduction to building contracts, consultant appointments, collateral warranties and third party rights, construction disputes and terminology relevant to construction lawyers. The materials are available in both PowerPoint and Word formats and are fully customisable. Click the link below to download the presentation: Contents • What do construction lawyers do? • Construction projects ◦ parties ◦ structure ◦ timeline • Legislation (the ‘Construction Act’ and other legislation) • Construction documents ◦ building contracts ◦ sub-contracts

Click the link below to download the training presentation. Contents • Execution • Lack of testamentary capacity • Lack of testamentary capacity—continued • Lack of testamentary capacity—evidence • Lack of knowledge and approval • Undue influence • Undue influence—continued • Fraudulent calumny • Fraudulent calumny—continued • Proprietary estoppel • Proprietary estoppel—continued • Other

This Practice Note is intended for commercial lawyers not specialised in intellectual property (IP). It provides an introduction to copyright and associated rights in the UK, covering: what copyright is, how it comes to subsist, how to protect it, deal in it, manage it and exploit it. If you are a specialist IP lawyer, see instead the Copyright & associated rights—overview and Copyright disputes—overview and the documents referred to in them. Using this Practice Note This Practice Note is broadly grouped into five main sections that cover: • subsistence of copyright (copyright is not a registered right). This section covers the eligibility of a work to be protected by copyright, including the requirement for the work to fall into a qualifying category of works and qualification generally • maintaining copyright, covering duration of copyright protection, copyright notices and policies • dealing with copyright in agreements covering assignments, licences and collective licensing • asserting copyright, covering disputes, copyright exceptions (also known as permitted acts) and defences, and remedies available for those whose rights have been infringed • rights

This Practice Note provides guidance on the rules regarding the costs provisions of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), SI 1998/3132 and the circumstances in which they will apply to proceedings conducted by family lawyers. It also considers the factors taken into account by the court in determining costs, the types of costs orders that may be made, fixed costs and costs budgeting. There are a number of circumstances in which the costs provisions of the CPR will apply to proceedings conducted by family lawyers, as opposed to the costs provisions of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955. These will include claims made under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996), the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) and, by incorporation, some aspects of financial remedy proceedings, see also Practice Note: Costs in family proceedings, in particular the section on Application of the CPR. It is therefore important

This Practice Note explains the phenomenon of ‘cryptoassets’, namely assets which are issued using distributed ledger technology. It includes a discussion of how these assets are dealt with in practice and the issues that Private Client practitioners face in this evolving area. What is a blockchain? A blockchain, in its purest form, is a digital ledger which records transactions chronologically and which is ‘distributed’ across a network of computers (or ‘nodes’) around the world. The novel feature of blockchain, as compared to existing ledgers, is that it is decentralised (distributed) and hence there is no centralised institution which maintains the ledger. The core function of a blockchain is a mechanism for storing and transferring data on a decentralised platform. In its simplest form it is a mechanism by which X can transfer an asset to Y, and that transfer is recorded on one single public (ie distributed) ledger. However, a blockchain will not record the identities of X and Y, who are pseudonymous. Instead, X and Y will each have what

The contractual method by which a project sponsor decides to procure a construction project is a key factor in determining the cost-effectiveness, quality and overall success of the project and the project sponsor’s satisfaction with the end result. The choice will be influenced by the time available for tendering and for completion of the project, method of financing and the expertise of the construction contractor. What is a design and build contract? A project sponsor may choose to adopt the design and build approach to reduce the risks that it must bear. Design and build (D&B) procurement is a common procurement approach adopted by project sponsors undertaking a construction project. For the project sponsor, procuring a project via the D&B route offers a more integrated approach to project delivery than keeping the design and construction elements separate under traditional procurement (see Practice Note: Traditional procurement of construction contracts). Under D&B procurement, the project sponsor employs a main contractor under a D&B contract and the