On 16 May 2012, in dismissing the Shahs' claims for damages for breach of contract against HSBC, the High Court clarified duties to clients under the anti-money laundering (AML) regime. Taken as a whole, the decision in Shah is helpful to lawyers. It is, however, a clear reminder to lawyers of the importance of having effective AML procedures in place.

An inability to pay debts or instalments on debts as they become due is called simple or practical insolvency. A debtor can be practically insolvent without any formal legal steps being taken, and even though they could, given time, realise sufficient assets to pay all the debts

Electronic signature platforms (such as DocuSign and Adobe Sign) have fundamentally changed how commercial documents are executed. In banking and finance transactions, this shift has particular significance for security documents, guarantees and intercreditor agreements, many of which are executed as deeds and rely on strict compliance with statutory formalities. These platforms work by allowing users to upload documents to a secure, cloud-based environment where signatories receive links to access and sign remotely. Access may be set up for two-factor authentication, and signatories consent to the platform processing personal data such as email addresses, telephone numbers and IP addresses. Once signing is complete, the platform generates a certificate providing a digital audit trail of the execution process. This involves setting out details of who has signed the document, their email address, their IP address, any additional steps (such as two-factor authentication) taken to authenticate the identity of the relevant person signing and the time and date of the person signing. The shift towards electronic

This Practice Note focuses on the practical issues arising on the winding-up of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. In circumstances where a scheme winding-up is planned, most of the matters discussed below can be dealt with in advance and ideally a project plan can be produced and agreed between the trustees and the employer. In this situation, the scheme employer will also need to consult with any affected employees and ensure that it complies with its statutory auto-enrolment obligations (further information on both of these matters is provided below). Consideration should also be given as to whether any amendments can or should be made to the scheme trust deed or rules before the winding-up commences because, depending on the terms of the scheme’s amendment clause, it may not be possible to make any amendments once winding-up has been triggered. For more information, see Practice Note: Interpretation of restrictions on pension scheme amendment powers. In some circumstances it will not be possible to plan for a winding-up

The practical lease negotiation collection is a guide to commercial property lease negotiations. Each Negotiation Guide in this collection focuses on a key clause, identifying market practice and the aims of the landlord and tenant, while also considering any potential gaps or pitfalls

Family analysis: In cases where there is no evidence that contact with a non-resident parent would harm a child, yet the resident parent claims that contact would not be in the child’s best interests, can the courts force parents out of their entrenched positions? Sarah Phillimore, barrister at St John’s Chambers, looks at the issues and offers some practical advice.

Dispute Resolution analysis: Simon J in the Commercial Court deals with a number of applications as the parties jostled for position in the litigation. Of interest will be the application of the Crabtree principle in security for costs applications, the grant of an anti-suit injunction in relation to a pre judgment attachment order sought in another jurisdiction with the purpose of frustrating any successful summary judgment application in relation to an outstanding loan as well as substantive issues such as whether there had been an absolute assignment under 136(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925.

This Practice Note sets out some practical considerations for banking and finance lawyers who are new to in-house roles. It is written for banking and finance lawyers working in banks or other financial institutions. The Practice Note highlights some of the ways in which working in-house as a banking and finance lawyer may differ from working in private practice and suggests practical steps for new in-house lawyers including getting to know the bank or financial institution in question, the various policies and processes which may exist within the institution and the role of the in-house banking and finance lawyer within that institution. The nature of the particular bank or other financial institution For a banking and finance lawyer moving to an in-house role in a bank or other financial institution, it will be important to get to know the institution in question as well as possible, as quickly as possible, at the outset. Areas of interest are likely to include the following • Market position of the institution—information

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: A consultation (which closed on 7 July 2025) sought views on options for simplifying, modernising and reforming HMRC’s approach to dispute resolution with the aim of raising awareness of the dispute resolution processes and improving access to (and take-up of) alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and statutory review processes. The consultation also proposes aligning and simplifying the approach for appeals processes to combine the benefits of the different approaches currently used for direct and indirect tax disputes. For more information, see News Analysis articles: Tax update spring 2025—Tax analysis—Taxes management and dispute resolution and Tax update spring 2025—Improving HMRC’s approach to dispute resolution. This Checklist has been written by Anne Redston, Barrister. It is her personal view; she is not authorised to speak for the Tribunals Service or the judiciary. The receipt of an HMRC decision normally starts the clock ticking for appealing to the First-tier Tax Tribunal (FTT). This Checklist may be useful to prevent you overlooking important points at that critical juncture. It considers: • whether you have an appealable

A revenue determination in relation to direct tax is issued by HMRC where a taxpayer fails to file a tax return in response to a notice requiring the taxpayer to file a return. Receiving a revenue determination (unless it was issued by HMRC in error) represents a significant failure by a taxpayer to deal with their tax affairs. A revenue determination should be dealt with promptly and a taxpayer may wish to engage an adviser to help. For more information on the consequences of a revenue determination in respect of direct taxes and the ways in which to displace it, see Practice Note: What is a revenue determination for direct tax purposes? This Checklist sets out some practical steps on what to consider and how to proceed once a taxpayer has received a revenue determination from HMRC. Determinations in respect of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) are outside the scope of this Checklist. Unlike revenue determinations relating to direct tax where there is no right of appeal, there is

Who is investigating? In the modern world, with its globalised markets, transnational corporations and businesses, and international money flows, it is very common for multiple authorities or agencies, across multiple jurisdictions, to investigate the same conduct. Many jurisdictions, such as the UK and the US, have anti-bribery and corruption provisions with extensive extra-territorial reach. In addition, some national enforcement agencies are willing to co-operate and share intelligence when tackling cross-border bribery and corruption. At the outset of an investigation, consideration should be given to which agencies are known to be involved, or might become involved in the future. Government agencies can and do conduct parallel and/or co-ordinated investigations with each other, within and across jurisdictions. Individuals and corporates under investigation may well find themselves facing engagement with enforcement agencies on several fronts simultaneously (sometimes within the same jurisdiction), and due care and consideration must be given to how each engagement impacts one another. Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) treaties and Memoranda of Understanding provide US and UK enforcement agencies with

What are growth shares and are they appropriate? Growth shares, also known as value shares or hurdle shares, are a special class of shares that have restricted rights. These rights are designed to allow employees only to participate in post-acquisition increases in the value of the company. For a more detailed explanation of the key features of growth shares and when they are normally introduced by a company, see Practice Note: Growth shares (value shares). Key features of growth shares Growth shares are specially constituted and classified under the articles of association of the company as a separate class of shares from the existing shares in the company. They will be issued to selected employees and will be subject to the provisions of the articles of association and also either to the subscription agreement that each participating employee will be asked to sign or the option documentation that they enter into, where the employee acquires their growth shares via an option over them. See Practice Note: Growth shares (value shares)—Growth shares