The question of whether a deed can be witnessed remotely is a difficult one as the position at law is unclear. For the reasons that follow, it is likely to be in the best interests of the client to execute the settlement agreement in the physical presence of the witness, rather than remotely. The Law Commission on Electronic Execution of Documents (Law Com No. 386) considers that there is no need for formal primary legislation to reinforce the legal validity of electronic signatures on documents, but states that the position in respect of remote witnessing of documents is less clear. Section 1(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (LP(MP)A 1989) provides that an instrument is validly executed as a deed if, and only if, it is signed by an individual in the presence of a witness who attests

Tenancies granted at a low rent, specifically those with an annual rent of £250 or less (or £1000 or less in Greater London),

This Q&A refers you to the following resources which we hope you will find useful in your research. Practice Notes: • Pre-action disclosure—requirements and the courts' approach • Resolving a dispute—initial considerations • Professional negligence claims—the pre-action protocol • Probate actions—Larke v Nugus requests Legislation: • CPR 31.16 Q&As:

General guidance regarding the implications of coronavirus (COVID-19) on dispute resolution can be found in Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19) implications for dispute resolution [Archived]. In response to the current coronavirus pandemic, a new Practice Direction 51ZA (CPR PD 51ZA) has been implemented to make provisions for parties to agree extensions of time to comply with procedural time limits set out within the CPR, Practice Directions and court orders. CPR PD 51ZA is effective from 2 April

We refer you to the Law Society’s Practice Note on Disputed Wills (LS PN), which sets out the circumstances in which the contents of a Will should be disclosed. It refers to CPR 31.16, namely that the court has power to order pre-action disclosure of documents in order to either: • dispose fairly of the anticipated proceedings • assist the dispute to be resolved without proceedings, or • save costs The LS PN states that: ‘You should make available any documents in your possession that are relevant to the proceedings to avoid the cost of unnecessary applications to court. Providing this information promptly when a will is initially challenged may dispel suspicions and

Rights of way, particularly those granted a number of years ago, often cause difficulties as to their interpretation in more modern circumstances. The extent of an expressly granted easement such as a right of way depends on the interpretation of the deed granting the easement and on its context. The court will

There will be times when it is impossible for a client physically to sign a document that they are otherwise required to sign. This may be, for example, because they are in self-isolation due to a public health emergency. Defence statements are governed by the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996). CPIA 1996, s 6A provides that a defence statement is a written statement setting out the nature of the accused’s defence, including any particular defences on which they intend to rely, indicating the matters of fact on which they take issue with the prosecution, and why they take issue with the prosecution,

Residential owner-occupier If the mortgage contains a term that the mortgagor cannot let the property without the mortgagee’s consent, in the context of a mortgage of residential property created by an owner-occupier, no obligation is implied that in exercising of its right to withhold consent to a letting of the mortgaged property, the mortgagee must act reasonably (City Bank International plc v. Kessler [1999]—not available in Lexis®Library). Commercial investment/buy-to-let However, in the case of a mortgage of a commercial investment property, there is a qualified implied limitation that consent should not be unreasonably withheld. This may also apply in the case of a mortgage of a residential property expressly granted on a ‘buy-to-let’ basis. If the mortgagee acts unreasonably in withholding its consent, the mortgagor is free to

Practice Note: Money Laundering Regulations 2017—record keeping—law firms explains that you must keep your own client due diligence (CDD) records for five years from the date on which: • the occasional transaction is completed, or • the business relationship ends Your enquiry, however, relates to a bank statement obtained for disclosure to the other party’s solicitor. In that case, you should consider how long: • you need to retain the statement for your own purposes, and • you are permitted to retain the statement pursuant to the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 Practice Note: Financial crime

Your client is on the board of directors of company A, which has been working for the last six months to secure a lucrative distribution agreement with company C. All seemed to be going well in the tender process but, ultimately, the contract was awarded to another entity, company B. A year later, your client discovers that one of your co-directors (Mr X) on the board of company A is a majority shareholder in company B. Your client suspects that Mr X used information he had gleaned as a director of company A to enable company B to secure the contract. What can your client do? Directors' duties The starting point is to consider whether Mr X's actions may constitute a breach of the duties he owes to company A as one of its directors. All directors owe duties to the company(ies) of which they are a director. The extent of their general duties has been codified in the Companies Act 2006. See Practice Note: Directors' duties—scope, nature, interpretation

Growth shares have become a popular way for companies  to offer their executives share incentives with geared growth in value which is taxed under the capital gains tax regime (instead of being subject to income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs)). When operating growth shares structures, some companies have chosen to do so by granting the growth share awards under statutory enterprise management incentives (EMI) options. This approach offers the advantage of being able to obtain HMRC agreement to the value of the growth shares at the time that the options are granted (as, although HMRC will not normally agree value for tax purposes before an employee share acquisition, they will do so if the shares will be subject to a statutory tax

The position on this will depend upon whether HMRC considers that the particular reasons for the late filing will amount to a ‘reasonable excuse’. Companies operating employee share incentive arrangements are required to register those arrangements and then file an annual online return to HMRC in relation to them for each tax year. The deadline for filing the annual return is the 6th July following the end of the tax year which is being reported on. Penalties can apply if the relevant 6 July deadline is missed. However, these penalties will not apply if HMRC is satisfied that there is a reasonable