Law360, London: Reform of the senior managers regime by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will cut red tape but bring new risks of bad behaviour. Ahead of the regime change, lawyers warn that companies must strengthen their governance now, or bad apples could slip through the net.

Kent County Council (KCC) has announced that it is proceeding with a legal challenge over the government's July 2026 decision on local government reorganisation in Kent. The government's preferred option would establish 4 unitary councils, replacing KCC, Medway Council and Kent's 12 district and borough councils. KCC states it has repeatedly asked ministers to explain why this option was chosen, how the decision was reached and what evidence supported it, but its questions remain unanswered. Although the government has since announced a review and paused the wider reorganisation process, the original Kent decision remains in place. With the legal deadline approaching, KCC says it has taken steps to protect Kent's interests. The matter is now with the government's legal department and the court.

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Kenya and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. Kenya is also a member of COMESA and the EAC, which operate supra-national merger control regimes. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Kenyan merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Kenya? The relevant legislation is the Competition Act, No. 12 of 2010 (Act), also known as the Competition Act, Chapter 504, Laws of Kenya, which has been in effect since 1 August 2011. The Competition (General) Rules, 2019 (Rules) came into force on 6 December 2019. The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has also reviewed its Guidelines on Relevant Market Definition to introduce globally mainstream concepts like multisided markets and digital markets. The CAK published the Administrative Remedies Guidelines in December 2023. The Guidelines outline the CAK's approach to administrative remedies and settlement for specific violations under the Competition Act in relation to restrictive trade practices, merger control, abuse of buyer power, and consumer

Law360: A New York federal judge on 23 April 2024 largely denied attempts by Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter's maker to discard a proposed class action alleging its product is misbranded as 'pure' though it might contain 'forever chemicals', finding the suit plausibly alleges chemicals from the packaging could migrate to the product.

Law360, London: 2023 was another year of change brought by global factors, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the rising trend of protectionism, the continued and increased disruption to supply chains, and inflation—all factors that are set to continue in 2024 and will give rise to dispute risks across different jurisdictions and sectors.

This Practice Note: • explains the key CGT (used as shorthand for capital gains tax and corporation tax on chargeable gains) implications of a rights issue for shareholders who: ◦ are resident for tax purposes in the UK, and ◦ hold their existing shares (also referred to as original shares) in the issuer as an investment and are therefore subject to taxation on chargeable gains in respect of any disposal of their shares (whether existing or new shares) in the issuer, but • does not cover the tax implications of a rights issue for shareholders who either: ◦ are resident for tax purposes outside the UK, or ◦ are subject to special tax rules because, for instance, they do not hold their existing shares as an investment (such as share dealers) or they have acquired (or are deemed to have acquired) their shares in connection with an employment or office This Practice Note also does not deal with the tax implications of a rights issue where

This Practice Note sets out the key EU competition law issues arising in distribution/reseller agreements. It is aimed primarily at commercial and IT lawyers undertaking the competition law analysis themselves (especially in-house lawyers without specialist competition lawyers to hand) but also as a reference point for competition lawyers providing full advice to their clients. This Practice Note sets out: (i) a brief overview of EU competition law applicable to vertical agreements; (ii) general considerations when carrying out an initial analysis of a distribution/reseller agreement; and (iii) particular issues, along with drafting tips to help avoid common pitfalls. This Practice note focuses on helping to ensure compliance with the EU’s vertical agreements block exemption—Regulation (EU) 2022/720 (VBER 2022). Overview of the law Article 101(1) TFEU Distribution and reseller agreements are subject to Article 101(1) TFEU which prohibits agreements between undertakings or concerted practices that (a) may affect trade between Member States and (b) have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction, or distortion of competition within the internal market. The requirement that the

This Practice Note sets out a brief description of the main consumer directives and regulations that businesses should consider when dealing with consumers. It covers the core legislation relevant when trading or contracting with consumers within the EU and other key legislation applicable to the business-to-consumer (B2C) relationship in the context of advertising and labelling, data protection, e-commerce, payment, product liability and safety, provision of services, and consumer disputes and enforcement. It also covers sector-specific consumer legislation. This Practice Note does not cover environmental and life sciences legislation. For further information on the application and interpretation of EU consumer legislation, see Practice Notes: EU consumer protection cases tracker [Archived] and EU commercial law—key developments tracker for cases decided before and after 2025 respectively. To track EU consumer protection legislation initiatives (regulations and directives), guidance, and other ongoing policy developments, see Practice Notes: EU commercial law—horizon scanner and EU commercial law—key developments tracker. For more information on consumer legislation specific to the digital sector, see Practice Note: Key EU digital initiatives—summary. Core EU consumer protection legislation The

This Practice Note sets out a brief description of the key recent digital (Directive, Regulation and Code of Conduct) initiatives that businesses should consider when trading, offering or providing services in the EU or when they are established in the EU. It covers key initiatives related to: • Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Data • Online platforms • Online content • Liability and safety, and • Privacy and cybersecurity This Practice Note covers EU legislation or codes adopted recently as well as ongoing legislative initiatives. The initiatives are listed in chronological order. This Practice Note does not cover digital initiatives related to consumer law. For information on key EU consumer protection legislation such as the Digital Content and Services Directive (EU 2019/770), the Sale of Goods Directive (EU 2019/771), the EU Omnibus Directive (EU 2019/2161) and the EU Representative Actions Directive (EU 2020/1828), see Practice Note: Key EU consumer legislation—summary. This Practice Note does not cover cryptoassets, for more information, see Practice Note: EU regulation of cryptoassets. For more information on the key initiatives taken

This Practice Note sets out a summary of key EU employment legislation, covering, among others, employment and social policy, labour law (including the protection of specific categories of workers), working conditions, protection against discrimination, equal treatment and work-life balance. However, for a summary of EU employment legislation which applies from 2025 and proposed legislation, see respectively Practice Notes: EU employment and social policy—key developments tracker and EU employment and social policy—horizon scanner. . In this Practice Note, the key EU employment and social policy legislation for employment practitioners is grouped into broad policy fields of: • labour law (including the protection of specific categories of worker and working conditions) • protection against discrimination (including equal treatment for women and men, work-life balance and other forms of discrimination at work), and • health and safety at work (including provisions on workplaces and equipment) Agency workers EU legislation Summary and national implementation Directive 2008/104/EC, Temporary Agency Workers Equal Treatment Directive ‘Temporary agency workers’ are workers with a contract of employment or an employment relationship with a temporary-work

This Practice Note tracks the major events involving the EU institutions, including the State of the Union, the Commission’s work programme, the EU budget, the Commission infringement packages, the priorities of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as the Conference on Future of Europe. State of the Union The State of the Union speech considers the accomplishments of the previous year and outlines the priority of the next one. What’s happening? When? Find out more State of the Union address by President von der Leyen 16 September 2026 The President of the Commission delivered the 2026 State of the Union speech. The address focused on the challenges facing the EU, including the growing impact of climate change, persistently high energy prices, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, dependencies on third countries for critical raw materials, and the risks associated with advanced AI models. It also set out priorities for strengthening Europe's resilience, competitiveness, international cooperation with key allies and security.See: LNB News 16/09/2026 19. State of the Union address by President

Estates—inheritance tax Inheritance tax (IHT) is applicable across the UK and is not a devolved tax. Therefore liability to IHT arises in the same way for Scottish individuals or assets as it does to those in England and Wales. For an individual who is long-term resident in the UK, their worldwide assets are subject to IHT. For individuals who are not long-term resident in the UK, IHT is applicable to their UK-situs assets alone. There is a lot of content within the Lexis+® Private Client module that may therefore be useful for Scottish practitioners and this is highlighted below. For introductory content on IHT, see Practice Notes: • Introductory guide to IHT • IHT—valuation principles and particular types of property • IHT—the charge on death • Funding inheritance tax See also the following subtopics: • Estates—inheritance tax—overview • Inheritance tax (IHT)—overview Compliance and administration Personal representatives (PRs) must provide valuations of estate assets in a Form IHT400, along with the other relevant schedules within six months