Law360, London: Buried in legislation designed to crack down on phone thieves and anti-social behavior in the government's new Crime and Policing Bill are a range of reforms intended to strengthen the hand of prosecutors as they fight economic crime.

Ofgem has concluded its August 2024 investigation into three gas distribution network (GDN) operators—Cadent Gas Limited (Cadent), Scotland Gas Networks Plc (SGN Scotland), and Southern Gas Networks Plc (SGN Southern)—following their failure to meet emergency response targets during 2022–23. The companies self-reported breaches of Standard Special Condition D10 2(h), which requires 97% of gas emergencies to be attended within one to two hours. They have voluntarily agreed to pay a total of £8m to the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Fund. Cadent will pay £1.5m, SGN Scotland £700,000, and SGN Southern £5.8m.

It may be appropriate to seek title indemnity insurance where ownership of mines or minerals cannot be confirmed, and there has been no recent mining activity. Searches such as: • an index map search, • a Cheshire brine search, and • an inspection of the coal authority’s coal holding register may all assist. If details of ownership

In this particular factual scenario, two of the owners of the property are members of an unincorporated association (a local sports club). The third owner is a former member of the association. An ‘unincorporated association’ is an organisation set up by agreement between a group of people who come together for a reason other than to make a profit. The wording of this Q&A suggests that the property is owned by these three people in their own names, and it is not said that the property is held on trust for the sports club. There is a Form

Law360: In the new year, international arbitration practitioners will remain busy as they increasingly come to grips with artificial intelligence, look to new types of disputes in the construction and energy sectors and prepare for an expected onslaught of claims arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Law360, London: With H2 2026 in full swing, experts tell Law360 that artificial intelligence (AI) remains top of mind. As its usage becomes ever more ubiquitous, the trends they are seeing are not about how it is changing the way lawyers work, but rather how it is leading to three related trends: disputes from the AI buildout, changes to arbitral rules and an increase in award challenges.

Law360: As 2024 comes to a close, savvy international arbitration practitioners will be watching a trio of trends: the rise of environmental-related disputes, an ongoing conversation about the use of artificial intelligence in international arbitration, and the continuing evolution of arbitral rules.

This checklist lists the three key challenges for a new general counsel in their first 100 days in role. Typical challenge Response option Desired outcome The team you have inherited The general counsel's (GC) first imperative is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the legal team. A series of one-to-ones is the best way to assess this, but importantly the GC must seek honest feedback from colleagues in the business.There is every chance of success and every prospect for failure but so much hinges on the quality of the assessment made at this time.This is also the time for the GC to set the tone for his/her leadership and so to clearly and unambiguously set out how the GC envisages roles and behaviours. The desired outcome is to galvanise the collective effort and to set the tone for the priorities to come.The typical experience is of a honeymoon period when everyone is on their best behaviour.

Typical challenge Response option Desired outcome Achieving a meaningful induction Most businesses have a systematic, but frankly superficial approach to inducting new members of staff. Much of this is driven by HR protocol to ensure certain key elements of HR policy are covered – security, health and safety, internal systems of control. Beyond this the general counsel (GC) should also ensure you have a chance to meet key personnel in your team and in the business in a thoughtful and structured way. Much of this, however, is really to help colleagues know that there is a new kid on the block rather than to really help the new employee.The challenge therefore is to make this induction opportunity as meaningful as possible. This is something the new recruit should try to craft for their advantage. It should be comprehensive, but not dauntingly so; it should include front line as well as back-office; and it should also

Law360, London: A government-backed review has set out 58 recommendations to reform the litigation funding sector in England and Wales, in a move that could deliver a significant boost to third-party funders after two years of uncertainty.

A tenant who holds a long lease of a flat has a statutory right (subject to compliance with statutory qualifying criteria) under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) to a 90-year extension of the lease, for which the tenant must pay a premium. The qualifying criteria are: • the tenant has owned the leasehold interest in the flat (ie has been the registered proprietor of that interest) for at least two years before service of the notice requesting an extended lease under LRHUDA 1993, s 39(2) • the flat is held on

Law360, London: Three logistics companies admitted in court 22 August 2023 to taking part in a fraud that deprived Royal Mail of an estimated £70m (US$89.4m) by under-declaring post sent by businesses.