The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has aunched a Web3 Panel of specialist arbitrators to resolve disputes involving blockchain, smart contracts, digital assets, tokenisation, decentralised systems, agentic commerce and autonomous transactions. The panel will address disputes concerning contract formation and interpretation, governance, asset control, cybersecurity, transaction records and cross-border enforcement. The AAA noted that the panel responds to the increasing integration of blockchain, digital assets and autonomous systems into commercial activity and will continue to expand as new technologies, business models and dispute types emerge. The initiative forms part of the AAA’s broader dispute resolution framework for emerging technologies and artificial intelligence-enabled commerce.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246 have been in force since 6 April 2006. TUPE 2006 implements Directive 2001/23/EC, the Acquired Rights Directive (ARD). This means that courts and employment tribunals were required to give TUPE 2006 a purposive construction to give effect to the purpose of ARD as the underlying Directive, namely to safeguard employee rights on the transfer of a business. Domestic laws that have been made to implement UK obligations under EU law are assimilated law. Therefore, to the extent that TUPE 2006 implements the ARD, it is assimilated law. For further information, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. TUPE 2006 is wide-ranging. For example: • TUPE 2006 may apply whenever a client buys something that has employees associated with it: this might look like an asset, or an activity, and not a business, but TUPE 2006 may well protect those employees' rights. For example, a shopping centre is likely to have cleaners, security guards or caretakers, whose employment may be transferred to a client when it buys

[Insert name and address of employee] [For use only where the employee is foregoing salary for the following benefits that retain income tax and/or National Insurance contributions (NICs) advantages permitted pursuant to the Finance Act 2017:] [Insert date] Dear [insert name of employee] [insert name of company] (the Company) [operates OR is introducing] a salary sacrifice scheme in which you may participate if you

Boilerplate provisions in public sector contracts This Practice Note looks at freedom of information clauses in public sector contracts. For more information on what contracting authorities (and other interested parties) need to know when using boilerplate provisions in public sector agreements, see Practice Note: Boilerplate provisions in public sector agreements: general considerations. Public procurement reform As of 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) are in force. Procurements begun on or after this date must be carried out under PA 2023. The existing public procurement rules (including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) and Procurement Practice Notes (PPNs), Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, and Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) and/or those governed by other statute(s) (such as health care procurements) continue to apply to procurements already commenced when the PA 2023 regime entered into force. Procurements starting after the entry into force of PA 2023 must be conducted by reference to PA 2023 only. Procurements commenced under the previous legislation

This Agreement is made on [date] Parties 1 [insert name of Client] [of OR a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose registered office is at] [insert address] (Client); and 2 [insert name of Agency] [of OR a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose registered office is at] [insert address] (Agency) (each of the Agency and the Client being a party and together the Agency and the Client are the parties). Background (A) The Client conducts the business of [insert description]. (B) The Agency conducts the business of providing advertising services to other businesses. (C) The parties have agreed that the Agency shall supply advertising services to the Client on the terms set out in this Agreement. (D) The parties contemplate that the Agency shall supply advertising services to the Client on a project basis when requested by the Client. The parties agree: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 In this Agreement: Advertising Regulator • means any or all of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Office

This Practice Note examines why parties involved in a construction project may enter into an escrow agreement (or escrow deed) to set up an escrow account. It looks at the benefits of paying funds into escrow, how an escrow account operates and the provisions typically found in an escrow agreement. One of the principal concerns of a contractor/sub-contractor on a construction project is that it will not get paid. One way of addressing this concern is for the contractor/sub-contractor to enter into an escrow agreement with its employer and to set up an escrow account. An escrow agreement may be entered into, and an escrow account set up, between a contractor and employer, a contractor and a sub-contractor or indeed wherever, on a construction project, one party has obligations to pay another for works/services. For simplicity, this Practice Note refers to an arrangement between an employer and contractor. On a construction project, an escrow account is principally used in order to give confidence regarding the financial security of the paying party and so that the party

Lock-Up Agreement (US IPO) [insert company name] [insert date], 20[insert year] [insert name] [insert name] [insert name] As Representatives of Several Underwriters c/o [insert name] [insert name] [insert name] Ladies and Gentlemen: The undersigned understands that [insert name] (the Representative), as the representative of the underwriters to be named therein (the Underwriters), propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the Underwriting Agreement) with [insert name], a [insert nature of company] (the Company) and the stockholders named therein, providing for a public offering of the Company's common stock (the Offered Shares) pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 (the Registration Statement) that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). To induce the Underwriters to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and in consideration of the agreement by the Underwriters to offer and sell the Offered Shares and in recognition of the benefit that such an offering will confer upon the undersigned, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees that, during the period beginning from the date of the final Prospectus

Dispute Resolution analysis: The Commercial Court refused to stay proceedings brought by an English employer against a former employee notwithstanding that the underlying allegations concerned a large-scale ‘team move’ centred on the Middle East. The court held that the defendant had failed to establish that the Dubai courts were an available forum with competent jurisdiction for all of the claims pleaded and, in any event, had not shown that Dubai was clearly or distinctly the more appropriate forum. Particular weight was given to the employee’s domicile in England, the English governing law and exclusive jurisdiction clause in the employment contract, and the statutory protection afforded to employees domiciled in the United Kingdom.

Commercial analysis: This is an important decision as to a seller’s ability to claim in debt for the price of unpaid goods notwithstanding a retention of title provision in the contract of sale. The judgment contains a useful analysis as to the requirement, in section 49(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (SGA 1979), for a price to be payable on ‘a day certain irrespective of delivery’, confirming that a wide interpretation should be adopted. The case also contains guidance as to construing guarantees and the operation and effect of the doctrine of contractual estoppel. Written by Nicola Allsop, barrister at Quadrant Chambers.

Pensions analysis: In a rare case of its kind, the Pensions Ombudsman (PO) upheld the complaint of Mr H that his former employer and scheme trustee were bound, variously by contract, estoppel by convention and the inferred exercise of powers on their true interpretation, to provide him with the same generous increases to pensions in payment as enjoyed under his old scheme, as had been announced and promised to him but not implemented by amendments to the scheme rules. Written by Oliver Hilton, barrister at Radcliffe Chambers, Lincoln’s Inn.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has launched a consultation on revenue support regulations for greenhouse gas removals (GGRs) and power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) business models. The consultation seeks views on four key areas: direction to offer to contract, publication of information, counterparty functions and eligibility requirements. Running from 28 April to 9 June 2025, the consultation seeks views from project developers, voluntary carbon market stakeholders, Emission Trading Scheme participants, financial investors and trade associations. DESNZ has published a 29-page consultation document outlining the proposed regulatory framework.

When deciding whether a post-termination non-solicitation clause in an employment contract has been breached, (1) the question of whether the client of the former employer or the ex-employee was the first to initiate contact is relevant but not decisive and, where it was the client, that fact does not exclude the possibility that solicitation occurred, and (2) for there to have been solicitation, the ex-employee must, directly or indirectly, have conveyed a message which requested, or sought to encourage or persuade, the client to transfer his custom, according to the High Court in Towry EJ v Bennett, Raymond James Investment Services and others.