This Practice Note considers the charging and funding of family law services, including contractual terms, regulatory requirements including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulatory regime and other guidance from the Law Society and the Legal Ombudsman as well as methods of charging, such as fixed fees, hourly rates, blended rates and ‘unbundling’. Contractual relationship The solicitor and client contract for services is a key element in the business relationship. Handled well, it can boost reputation, handled badly it can damage the relationship and cause loss to the firm, sometimes both financially and to reputation. This Practice Note provides guidance on the underlying principles and how to manage charging for legal advice in family cases. At the heart of any business is cash flow. The key elements for family lawyers are how much and how to charge for family law services. A firm must be profitable as unprofitability may put the firm at risk. When reviewing charging, practitioners should consider: • the terms of business, ie the contractual relationship with the client

This Practice Note contains Q&As on practical execution issues on the following key aspects of executing documents in commercial transactions. • Authority to execute • Executing contracts • Executing deeds • Counterparts • Dating • Witnesses • Mistakes in executing documents Authority to execute • What is the process for authorising a non-director to sign contracts on behalf of a company? • Can a manager who is not a director sign a simple contract on behalf of a company? If so, what is required to show authority to sign? • What evidence should be sought to ascertain the status and authority of the person signing a deed as a partner on behalf of a general partnership? • Can a Head of Finance of one company in a group of companies sign the contractual documents of another company in the same group? What formalities are required for any such signature to be valid? • Can a third party rely on ostensible/apparent authority where they know the person signing a document is an employee of a company not

This guide sets out the requirements for executing deeds in various international jurisdictions. The table provides a quick-reference summary of the execution formalities for companies, individuals and partnerships in different countries. More detailed guidance on each overseas jurisdiction covered by the table is set out in the sections below, including any differences between limitation periods for claims arising out of contracts executed as a deed. For information on the execution of contracts in various jurisdictions, see Practice Note: Execution of contracts—jurisdictional guide. For information on electronic signatures in various jurisdictions, see Practice Note: E-signatures—jurisdictional guide. For information on the formation of contracts in various jurisdictions, see Practice Note: Contract formation—jurisdictional guide. For information on the execution of documents under Scots law, see Execution—Scotland—overview. Please note that this is intended as an introductory guide only and local advice from appropriate legal professionals in the relevant country should be sought where appropriate. Summary table What are the formalities for creation of a valid deed? What are the requirements for execution of deeds by companies? What

What does this Practice Note cover? This Practice Note discusses the key features of a total return (or total rate of return) swap (TRS) including: • what a TRS is • how it is classified • who enters into a TRS, and • how to document a TRS What is a total return swap? TRS is derivative contract in which one counterparty transfers the total economic performance, including income from interest and fees, gains and losses from price movements, and credit losses, of a reference obligation to another counterparty. TRSs can have an effect that is equivalent to securities financing transactions (SFTs)—TRSs can be used as synthetic repo instruments for funding purposes. SFTs and TRSs are used extensively by managers of collective investment undertakings to get exposure to certain strategies or enhance their returns. A TRS is an over-the-counter, off balance-sheet transaction. One party, the total return payer (the TRS payer or ‘beneficiary’) will pay to the other party, the total return receiver (the TRS receiver or ‘guarantor’), the actual income (or rate of

In the past, a defendant would only be vicariously liable for the negligence of a driver if the driver was acting in the course of their employment for the defendant. The law has developed significantly since then. If the driver is not an employee of the defendant, a potential claimant must now consider the relationship between the driver and the defendant and the connection between that relationship and the driver’s negligence. Liability of an ‘employer’ for a driver’s negligence Does the relationship between the defendant and the tortfeasor attract vicarious liability? Whether the tortfeasor is considered to be an employee is often straightforward where a conventional employer/employee relationship exists by virtue of a contract of employment. The situation is less clear cut if, for example, the driver is said to be self-employed but appears to be carrying out activities on the instruction of the defendant. A variety of different tests have been adopted by the courts to determine whether an individual should be considered to be an employee, ultimately depending on an assessment

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note considers Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast) and the jurisdiction of the court when dealing with multiple defendants. The courts of an EU Member State have special jurisdiction to hear a dispute when a co-defendant is not domiciled in the jurisdiction if certain criteria are meet. This Practice Note considers the various criteria and how the courts have applied them in practice. In particular, it considers the meaning of ‘irreconcilable judgments’ and ‘anchor defendants’. The three other situations under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast) are considered in Practice Note: E&W Brussels I (recast)—third parties, counterclaims and rights in rem (art 8) [Archived]. Other special jurisdiction situations, in which the claimant is able to choose to bring proceedings in a different jurisdiction to that of the defendant's domicile, are found in: • Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast), see Practice Notes: E&W Brussels I (recast)—contract claims (Art 7(1))

Dear [insert client's name] Re [describe matter] Thank you for your instructions to provide [advice OR assistance OR in connection with [describe matter, eg the financial settlement of your divorce]. This engagement letter and the attached Terms of Business explain the basis on which we will be acting for you—together they form the contract between us. Please contact me if you have any difficulty understanding this letter or other information we may provide, eg if you require information to be provided in larger text, another format or a different language. 1 Contact details and supervision The person dealing with your matter is [insert name of person handling matter], who is a [insert status]. Their contact details are: Telephone number Email address Postal address [Insert telephone number] [Insert email address] [Insert postal address] The best way to contact [insert name of handler] is [insert best contact method and times]. If [insert handler] is not available, the following members of staff may be able to deal with any queries you have: [insert names and contact details of other

This Checklist sets out the key issues to consider when dealing with the payment or recovery of retention monies. It assumes that the contract is subject to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 HGCRA 1996 and primarily refers to employer–contractor retention monies, although the same issues also apply to contractor–sub-contractor retention monies. See Practice Note: Retention of payment in construction contracts for an explanation of retention, when it is usually paid, and the way retention is dealt with under JCT and NEC contracts. Note that significant changes are imminent with the UK government’s intention to prohibit the use of any retention practices in construction contracts. In May 2026, it was confirmed in the King’s Speech that the legislative agenda included the tackling of late payments through the Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill. Now re-named as the Commercial Payments Bill, this has been introduced by the House of Lords. This new legislation aims to apply a range of protective measures and financial penalties to address the damage caused to smaller businesses by the withholding of payment by larger

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 explains what unlawful eviction is, how and when it may arise from a civil perspective, the civil remedies available and potential consequential causes of action. Unlawful eviction Unlawful eviction (or illegal eviction) is defined in the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (PEA 1977) and is a criminal offence. An action for unlawful eviction arises when a landlord or another person deprives, or attempts to deprive, a residential occupier of their occupation of a property without using the legally prescribed means to do so. A ‘residential occupier’ is defined as: ‘…a person occupying the premises as a residence, whether under a contract or by virtue of any enactment or rule of law giving him the right to remain in occupation or restricting the right of any other person to recover possession of the premises.’ This definition applies to tenants and licensees. However, it does not apply to a contractual licensee whose licence has expired—R v Blankley [1979] Crim LR 166 (not reported by LexisNexis®) (decided

Is land contamination an issue? The Law Society’s practice note on contaminated land advises that solicitors should consider whether contamination is an issue in all conveyancing transactions. It notes that land contamination may be a significant issue in a small number of transactions, and states that solicitors should be aware that environmental liabilities may arise and should consider what enquiries and specialist assistance their clients may require—see Practice Note: Land contamination—Law Society practice note on contaminated land. In particular, the practice note outlines the contaminated land regime set out in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). This includes a brief overview of who is liable to remediate contaminated land. However, in addition to clean up liability under the EPA 1990, Pt IIA, land contamination may also trigger: • clean-up liabilities under other regulatory regimes, eg environmental damage, works notices or environmental permitting regimes • civil liabilities, eg nuisance, negligence or breach of contract • criminal liabilities, eg failure to comply with a remediation notice See Practice Note: Environmental liabilities—what are clean-up liabilities? Is

Introduction This Practice Note looks at the mechanics of completing the sale and purchase of a property. Traditionally, completion took place by the personal attendance of the buyer’s solicitor at the offices of the seller’s solicitor or the seller’s lender’s solicitor. A banker’s draft for the completion money would be handed over in return for the executed conveyance and other title documents. Personal completions are now the exception and most transactions are completed by post. In place of a banker’s draft, the completion money is remitted by direct bank transfer and the seller’s solicitor acts as the buyer’s solicitor’s agent in dealing with the completion formalities and forwarding the completed transfer and other title documents to the buyer’s solicitor after completion. Contractual terms relating to completion The sale and purchase contract will specify the time and date for completion and any other arrangements for completion expressly agreed between the parties. Condition 9 of the: Standard Commercial Property Conditions (Third Edition—2018 Revision) (SCPC) and condition 6 of the: Standard Conditions of Sale (5th Edn—2018 revision): Encyclopaedia