Aggregation—background Aggregation remains a major issue in the settlement of insurance and reinsurance claims leading to a number of disputes across the market. Claims managers, arbitrators and even appellate judges appear to take differing views as to what particular policy wordings are intending to achieve in an aggregation clause. A spate of judicial decisions on the common aggregation wordings in the late 1990s and early 2000s was followed by a quieter period. The last of the litigation arising from the 9/11 tragedy coupled with a spate of solicitors’ and medical negligence claims provided some insight into the modern approach to aggregation. More recently, the wealth of insurance litigation arising out of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (mostly concerning business interruption losses) has provided an opportunity for the courts to review the relevant principles. What are aggregation clauses? An aggregation clause is a common feature of insurance and reinsurance contracts, which enables two or more separate losses covered by the policy to be treated as a single loss (aggregated) for the purposes of the excess

Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024: The Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024 supersedes the COVID-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol (2020) (last updated in June 2021) which was initially created as an emergency measure to adapt clinical negligence claims handling and litigation processes during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The 2024 Agreement builds on the previous Protocol with various practices now adopted into everyday claims management. The Agreement is not contractually binding but places an emphasis on collaborative working between the parties. Introduction This Practice Note provides an overview of the claims procedure in clinical negligence cases following service of the initial statements of case. It is limited to claims allocated to the multi-track. General principles of personal injury law apply, but practitioners must also be aware of the specific considerations applicable to clinical negligence claims. Practitioners should be familiar with the Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes. See Practice Note: The Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes—6 April 2015 onwards. Clinical negligence litigation can be complex and lengthy. The court must actively

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. For more information, see subtopic: New and updated content in Practice Compliance. This Practice Note tells you, on a month-by-month basis, whether we have amended existing content or published new content in Practice Compliance. This content may have been added or amended to reflect regulatory changes or as part of our ongoing content development. December 2020 New or updated? Content Reason New Precedent: Privacy impact assessment Content development New Practice Note: How to manage sanctions compliance—law firms Content development Updated Practice Notes:—Understanding and improving gender and other pay gaps—Gender pay gap reporting Updated to reflect latest government guidance on gender pay gaps published in December 2020. Updated Precedents:—Privacy policy—general commercial organisation—customer-facing—Privacy policy—law firms and professional services Updated to reflect the impact of Brexit and the introduction of the UK GDPR. Particularly on sections on international data transfers and appointing a representative. Updated Practice Notes:—Coronavirus (COVID-19)—employment data protection issues [Archived] Updated to reflect

This Practice Note provides details of the annual employment tribunal (ET) and Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) statistics published by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). It also includes links to quarterly ET statistics reports. Background The annual employment tribunal and EAT statistics are of interest to employment lawyers for assessing: • any discernible trends in employment litigation • the potential impact of the HMCTS Reform Employment Tribunal Project—see Practice Note: Employment tribunal case management—Employment tribunal reforms • the continuing impact, if any, or the legacy of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic • compensation that might be awarded to successful claimants in different case types, albeit with the need to take into account that: ◦ compensation is highly dependent on the facts and circumstances of each individual case, so compensation awarded in one case does not reflect what would necessarily be awarded in another ◦ the annual statistics do not take into account amounts of compensation agreed between parties in confidential settlements Historically, the MOJ has published: • employment tribunal and EAT statistics on a quarterly

This short guide sets out the matters to be considered, and the steps to be taken, to call and hold an effective hybrid general meeting of a company. A hybrid meeting is a shareholder meeting format offering simultaneous physical and remote electronic participation. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the holding of hybrid general meetings and annual general meetings (AGMs). This trend was initially driven by advances in remote communication technology and was then significantly furthered by necessity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic due to restrictions on gatherings. Many companies now offer their members the ability to attend meetings via some form of remote communication technology. There is also interest in holding entirely virtual meetings (where shareholders can only attend and vote using an online platform) The Investment Association’s (IA) October 2026 guidance favours hybrid AGMs, while recognising that some members may support virtual-only meetings in limited circumstances, subject to a clear rationale and shareholder safeguards. Reasons for this include the perceived importance of members being able

This Practice Note provides a brief summary of the retail operating landscape and highlights some of the key legal and practical issues facing office-holders appointed over a retail business. It also reviews some considerations for different restructuring options, including ‘light touch’ administrations, company voluntary arrangements, and restructuring plans under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006. In this Practice Note, the assumption is made that any meaningful retail insolvency will occur through an administration process. A liquidation will essentially result in a close down, with limited or no trading activity, although some of the points below will nonetheless be relevant to a liquidation and so should be considered when deliberating appropriate strategies. Overview of the retail insolvency landscape Analysis of Companies House accounts, conducted by FRP in December 2024, showed more than 13,000 retail businesses across the UK showing signs of financial distress. This reflects what has been a period of challenging operating conditions for retailers, exacerbated by, but long preceding, the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Recent years have seen

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. For information on what to watch in 2022, see Practice Note: Corporate Crime horizon scanner 2022. This Practice Note provided a summary of the key legal developments that were expected to impact corporate crime lawyers during 2021. Coronavirus (COVID-19) continued to be a significant issue throughout 2021. The following resources are dedicated to those with a corporate crime practice: • Practical guide to remote hearings in the criminal courts It may also be useful to refer to the Brexit legislation tracker [Archived], Brexit collection and Brexit timeline [Archived]. Key primary legislation For information on primary legislation and the progress of government bills relevant to the field of corporate crime which have been tabled in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords in the UK Parliament, see Practice Note: Legislation tracker for corporate crime practitioners—2021. Key secondary legislation Forthcoming secondary legislation which may be of interest to corporate crime lawyers include: Commencement date SI Details Further reading 1 January 2022 The

This Checklist on remotely accessed mediations summarises the key considerations when deciding whether and, if so, how, to engage in a remotely accessed mediation via video conference (VC). The arrival of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic saw an increase in the use of remotely accessed mediations, ie mediations carried out online by way of VC. VC mediations (also commonly referred to as ‘online mediation’, ‘remote mediation’ and ‘remotely accessed mediation’) are not the only means of conducting a non face-to-face mediation, you can also mediate by telephone. That said, the ease and increased user functionality of the various platforms offering VC have lent themselves well to the process for remote access mediation. The information below identifies the key areas to think about when considering whether to engage in a remote access mediation with links to detailed guidance on these areas. Consideration Comments Can parties be required to mediate, whether face-to-face or remotely? Although mediation is generally voluntary, the High Court has confirmed that, in an appropriate case, the court may direct parties

This week's edition of Insurance & Reinsurance weekly highlights includes: lawyers question UK’s sanction muscle two years after invasion; the Association of British Insurers (ABI) produced an artificial intelligence guide; insurers warned to be alert to escalation in Middle East; insurance M&A hits ten-year low amid political uncertainty; the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fired warning shot over city’s Consumer Duty failings; the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published PS2/24: Review of Solvency II—adapting to the UK insurance market; cases & decisions; key dates for your diary; and other news highlights reported over the past week.

This Practice Note looks at how to start and conduct an appeal in the Supreme Court (UKSC) where permission to appeal is not needed—Notice of appeal, including the requirements for the contents, form, filing and service of a notice of appeal. It covers the notice of intention to proceed following the grant of permission as well as acknowledgement of notice of appeal/notice of intention to proceed by respondent. It also deals with documents for the appeal hearing, including the agreed statement of relevant facts and issues and appendix, and fixing the substantive hearing date. Finally, it sets out the rules for the form, content, filing and service of the appellants’ and respondents’ cases for the appeal hearing. Appeals filed before 2 December 2024 This Practice Note applies only to: • appeals to the Supreme Court which were proceeding before 2 December 2024, and • applications for permission to appeal and notices of appeal which were filed before 2 December 2024 unless the court or Registrar directs that the SCR shall apply

A member’s right to appoint a proxy is governed by the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006). In addition to the statutory provisions, companies are entitled to confer more extensive rights in relation to the appointment of proxies in their articles of association. A traded company has to comply with additional requirements in the CA 2006 in relation to the appointment of proxies. This Practice Note also summarises those additional requirements. For examples of different types of proxy form, see Precedents: • Short-form proxy form for the general meeting of a private company or unlisted public company • Long-form proxy form for a general meeting of a private company or unlisted public company • Proxy form for a general meeting of a listed company This Practice Note does not cover voting by proxy. See Practice Note: Voting by proxy. For information on the appointment of a corporate representative as an alternative to a proxy see Practice Note: How to appoint one or more corporate representatives. Holding hybrid general meetings and AGMs Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, more companies

Construction projects often by their nature can be affected by volatile economic conditions or events which impact the price and availability of the products, materials and labour necessary to carry out the works. This, in turn, can lead to delay or disruption, and cost overruns can be frequent, particularly on larger projects. For example, among the challenges faced by the UK construction industry in 2021 were shortages and soaring costs of key goods and materials, which adversely impacted productivity in several sectors. Increases in the global demand for construction products in the aftermath of the worst effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 which had a detrimental effect on manufacturing capacity throughout the world, combined with lowered distribution capacity and other conditions impacted supply chains at every point, leading to price rises, prolonged lead times and unavailability. Among the materials affected were timber, steel, cement, roof tiles, paints and electrical components. In 2022, these challenges were further exacerbated by the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia, which had the twin effect of