FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 23 June 2026, the government published a response to the consultation Make Work Pay: protection from detriments for taking industrial action. According to the response, the government will introduce regulations prohibiting all detriments imposed on workers for the sole or main purpose of penalising, preventing or deterring them from taking industrial action. The regulations also add claims under section 236A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992) to TULR(C)A 1992, Sch 2, enabling employment tribunals to adjust compensation awards by up to 25% where there has been an unreasonable failure to follow the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. The draft Protection Against Detriment (Industrial Action) Regulations 2026 were published on 25 June 2026 and are set to come into force on 30 October 2026. For further information, see News Analysis: Government opts to prohibit all detriments for taking industrial action. This Practice Note will be updated in due course. This Practice Note provides an introduction to industrial action including what it is, picketing,

For many businesses, intellectual property rights (IPRs) represent an increasingly valuable asset class. While modern technology businesses, pharmaceutical companies and industrial enterprises may be among those most synonymous with having portfolios of IPR-rich assets, even the most unlikely of companies may have rights which are intrinsic to them and without which they would be unable to operate (or to do so as efficiently or as profitably) or would be significantly devalued. As a class, IPRs are broad and varied. Depending on the context, there are rights beyond the best known (patents, trade marks and copyright) which may—or may not—be considered strictly to be IPRs, such as database rights, websites and their associated domain names, goodwill and contractual rights allied to IPRs. For further detail on the main types of intellectual property rights which an insolvency practitioner as office holder may encounter, see Practice Note: IP right comparison table. Patents, design rights and trade marks depend for their existence and protection on being registered (at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO)

For guidance on applying for an interim payment including the time limits and procedure and the court’s approach to determining the amount of any interim payment, see Practice Note: Applying for an interim payment order in personal injury claims. Background and entitlement Often an injured claimant, particularly a seriously injured one, will need funds well in advance of the final resolution of their case. Typically, their capacity to work and earn a living will have been temporarily or permanently disrupted. They may have needs, in relation to care, aids and equipment and accommodation arising from their injuries. An interim payment is a payment on account of any sum (excluding costs) which the defendant may be held liable to pay to the claimant. For guidance on the potential issues to consider where an interim payment is made and qualified one-way costs shifting applies, see Practice Note: Qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS). An interim payment may be ordered in circumstances where: • the claimant has satisfied the conditions pursuant to CPR 25.23 (see also: Conditions

The international enforcement of financial orders is not a common feature of everyday practice. As a result, reported cases are few. However, there are numerous conventions, regulations, statutes and statutory instruments, making this a highly complex area. With some jurisdictions, there is more than one statutory route to enforcing an order; in others, none; or there may even be variations in relation to different parts of a particular state. Consideration should also be given to the impact of the exit of the UK from the EU (Brexit). 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. At that time (referred to in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), key transitional arrangements came to an end and significant changes took effect across the UK’s legal regime. This has implications for practitioners considering issues of enforcement. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Family proceedings with EU connections—toolkit. See also Practice Note: Jurisdiction in cases with EU connections issued before IP completion day, including the sections

Click the link below to download the training presentation: Contents • What is a lasting power of attorney (LPA)? • Property and financial affairs LPAs • Health and welfare LPAs • Statutory basis of LPAs • Creating a valid LPA • Attorneys • Replacement attorneys • Certificate provider • People to notify • Duties of attorneys • Powers of attorneys • Statutory restrictions on powers • Instructions

Overview of the marketing/communications department The nature of the marketing department’s activities within your organisation will vary depending on a number of factors, such as your organisation’s size, industry, and whether or not it is a large global or national organisation with multiple offices, or an SME. Typically, the marketing team will be responsible for all advertising and promotional campaigns for your business, ensuring that your products/services are featured and promoted online, through social and other media, in appropriate trade journals, at trade shows, and other events. They are also likely to deal with organising events, such as workshops, networking and industry events specifically geared at promoting your organisation’s brands, as well as generating brochures, product leaflets, posters and other marketing materials to provide information geared towards your customers and prospective customers to encourage them to buy, or to continue to buy your products/services. They generally work very closely with the sales department as well as the product development team. The marketing team is usually geared towards gaining a wider audience for your organisation’s product

STOP PRESS: A revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August 2026. This content is being reviewed in light of the revised version. What is neighbourhood planning? Neighbourhood planning was introduced in England by the Localism Act 2011. It empowers communities to shape the development and growth of a local area through the production of a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP), a Neighbourhood Development Order (NDO), a Community Right to Build Order (CRTBO), and neighbourhood priorities statements. See also Practice Notes: • Preparing a neighbourhood development plan • Neighbourhood planning—independent examination and referendum • Neighbourhood development orders Guidance The NDP/NDO must be prepared in conformity with national and local planning policy, and from a date to be appointed, relevant national development management policies. National policy is that set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The local plan sets out a vision and objectives for the whole of the district or local authority area. It describes an overall strategy including how much and what sort of development should happen (and

This Practice Note provides an introduction to non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) (formerly known as alternative dispute resolution (ADR)) methods. It sets out the requirement to consider alternative methods of resolving a dispute with family clients pursuant to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, including the requirement to attend a family mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM) and the pre-application protocols for financial remedy and private children proceedings. When the court may adjourn proceedings for the parties to undertake NCDR is also considered. Pre-application requirements FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 3, together with FPR 2010, PD 3A, provides for all potential applicants to attend a MIAM before making certain kinds of applications to obtain a court order in relevant family proceedings, save where an exemption applies. The court must consider, at every stage in proceedings, whether NCDR is appropriate and has a general power to adjourn proceedings in order for NCDR to be attempted, including attendance at a MIAM to consider family mediation and other NCDR options. Parties must also file with the court and serve

Unlike many other countries, the UK has no unfair competition law. Brand owners seeking to prevent competitors from marketing ‘copycat’ products or using misleading advertising have to rely on a combination of different IP rights. These rights include the common law right to prevent passing off. A claim in passing off is based on the premise that no one has the right to represent their goods or services as being those of somebody else. A common scenario is where the defendant has copied the claimant’s packaging, get up or brand in order to misrepresent the source of its goods or services. The key elements necessary to establish passing off are set out below, as well as an overview of defences, remedies and practical points to consider. Passing off is often claimed in conjunction with trade mark infringement or infringement of design rights. For more information, see Practice Notes: Introduction to trade marks and Introduction to designs. For more information about the ways in which the various IP rights interact with each other, see Practice Note: IP

This Practice Note provides an introduction to various aspects of patent law including applying for and maintaining patents, patent assignment and licensing, and patent infringement. For more information about applying for and maintaining patents and transactions involving patents, see: Patent transactions and management—overview. For more information about disputes involving patents, see: Patent disputes—overview. What is a patent? A patent is a form of property which protects certain types of technical inventions. The invention can be a product or a process for doing something. Patents do not cover information or what things look like, which might instead be protected by trade marks, copyright or design rights. To obtain a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application. Patent applications are filed at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) or designated patent authority within the relevant country. The IPO examines patent applications to determine whether they should be granted. A patent document (whether a patent application or a granted patent) consists of: • bibliographic data—this forms the front cover of the patent and contains

STOP PRESS: A revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August 2026. This content is being reviewed in light of the revised version. This is a Practice Note version of the PowerPoint Introduction to Planning Law, which sets out a series of slides and speaker notes to introduce trainees, junior lawyers and lawyers from other practice areas to the basics of Planning law. For the PowerPoint version, see: Introduction to planning law—powerpoint. When planning permission is needed ‘Development’ Section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) states that planning permission is required for the ‘development’ of land. ‘Development’ is defined in TCPA 1990, s 55 as meaning: • the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land (known as ‘operational development’), or • the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land ‘Operational development’ Operational development includes building operations, engineering operations, mining operations and other operations. Building operations Building operations are specifically defined

This PowerPoint sets out a series of slides and speaker notes to introduce trainees, junior lawyers, lawyers from other practice areas or clients to the basics of planning law.