| 1 | Bribery Act 2010: toolkit A toolkit to assist with Bribery Act 2010 compliance. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 2 | Children and the law An overview of the law as it applies to children including contracting capacity, advertising to children and data protection. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 3 | Compulsory liquidation: a quick guide A quick guide to the process of compulsory liquidation or winding up of an insolvent company under the Insolvency Act 1986. It includes guidance for creditors, employees and directors of a company in compulsory liquidation. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 4 | Corporate insolvency: a guide An introduction to the aims of and background to corporate insolvency law, together with a brief overview of the various insolvency procedures available. This note also contains links to a multi-jurisdictional guide to restructuring and insolvency and a detailed note on US bankruptcy procedures. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 5 | Corporate loan facilities An introduction to the common types of corporate loan facilities, including an explanation of key concepts and a discussion of common terms and their negotiation on behalf of lenders and borrowers. This note links to a multi-jurisdictional guide to finance, including issues relating to secured lending, and a detailed note on corporate loan facilities and bank loans in the US. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 6 | Creditors' voluntary liquidation: a quick guide A quick guide to the process of creditors' voluntary liquidation (CVL) of an insolvent company under the Insolvency Act 1986. It includes guidance for creditors, employees and directors of a company in CVL. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 7 | Document retention toolkit A toolkit to guide users through PLC's UK, US and international content on document retention. It includes materials on retention of employment records, Companies Act 2006 requirements and electronic disclosure. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 8 | Environmental law: overview This note provides a summary of the main types of environmental liabilities that a company or a lender can incur, primarily under the contaminated land, water pollution, environmental permitting, waste and asbestos regimes, as well as civil law. The note is aimed at non-environmental specialists who need to understand, at a very high level, what environmental issues may arise in a transaction. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 9 | EU competition law: overview The overview provides a route-map guide to the EU competition law regime. It outlines the key legal, procedural and practical aspects likely to be encountered when confronting a competition law problem. You should read this at the start of any transaction or specific research, to give you a broad overview of the main points that are likely to arise. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 10 | Guarantees and indemnities This practice note examines legal and drafting issues relating to guarantees and indemnities where the obligations of a third party are guaranteed and/or indemnified. This practice note considers the legal distinctions between primary obligations (indemnities, performance guarantees, performance bonds) and secondary obligations (guarantees). It provides an overview of relevant contractual issues relating to guarantees and indemnities (the statute of frauds, capacity) as well as legal issues (undue influence, duress, role of directors). It also provides links to our more detailed content on performance bonds, payment guarantees, comfort letters and our standard form guarantees and indemnities. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 11 | Guarantees and indemnities: a quick guide A quick guide to guarantees and indemnities, including their respective advantages, legal and drafting issues to bear in mind, and links to further materials. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 12 | How to deal with the standard rate VAT increase on 4 January ... A guide for businesses on how to deal with the increase in the standard rate of VAT on 4 January 2011, from 17.5% to 20%. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 13 | Judicial review: a quick guide A quick guide to judicial review, including who can apply for a review, what decisions can be reviewed and the remedies which may be granted. This is one of a series of quick guides, see Quick guides. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 14 | Limitation periods: an overview An overview of limitation periods. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 15 | Maximising privilege protection following Akzo Nobel: a quick ... A quick guide explaining how in-house lawyers can maximise privilege protection following the ECJ decision in Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd and Akcros Chemicals Ltd v Commission (Case C-550/07 P) [2010]. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 16 | Overview: UK competition law The Overview provides a route-map guide to the current UK competition law regime. You should read this at the start of any transaction or specific research, to give you a broad overview of the main points that are likely to arise. In March 2012 the government announced its decision on proposals to reform the UK competition regime. The government decided to establish a new single Competition and Markets Authority to replace the OFT and Competition Commission. The government also decided on various, largely procedural, changes to strengthen the mergers, markets and antitrust enforcement regimes. For further information see Government decisions on establishment of Competition and Markets Authority and reform of UK competition regime. These changes will be implemented by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (see Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill 2012 -13: competition tracker). | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 17 | Personal insolvency procedures: overview A practice note giving an overview of bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangements (IVA) and debt relief orders (DRO), enforcement restriction orders, county court administration orders and debt repayment plans. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 18 | Personal insolvency: a quick guide A quick guide to personal insolvency procedures in England and Wales, including bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs).This is one of a series of quick guides, see Quick guides. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 19 | Transfer pricing issues in commercial agreements This practice note provides an overview for commercial lawyers of when and how the transfer pricing rules in the UK tax code affect commercial agreements between group companies in a UK context. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 20 | "Purdah": the decision-making of public bodies in a pre ... This note provides an overview of the implications of the political convention of "purdah" on the decision-making of central and local government and other public authorities in the lead up to a general election. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 21 | Anti-corruption regimes in the UK and US: a comparison of the ... This note outlines the UK Bribery Act 2010 and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 (FCPA) and the anti-corruption regimes in which they operate. It focuses particularly on the practical implications of the differences between these two important pieces of legislation. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 22 | Bribery Act 2010 A practice note about the Bribery Act 2010, which received Royal Assent in April 2010 and came into force on 1 July 2011. The background to the Act is described in Practice note, Bribery: law reform. PLC's materials on the Bribery Act are set out in Bribery Act 2010: toolkit. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 23 | Bribery Act 2010 anti-corruption policies This note addresses the issues to consider in creating an anti-corruption policy with particular emphasis on the Bribery Act 2010, the new offence of failing to prevent bribery under section 7 of that Act and the adequate procedures defence to that offence. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 24 | Bribery Act 2010: application to commercial agreements This practice note considers the offence of failing to prevent bribery under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, and the issues that companies and other commercial organisations need to address before entering into commercial agreements. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 25 | Bribery Act 2010: corporate criminal liability This note considers how criminal liability for offences under the Bribery Act 2010 may attach to companies. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 26 | Bribery Act 2010: corporate hospitality, gifts and expenses This note looks at how promotional expenses, such as corporate hospitality and gifts, may be dealt with under the Bribery Act 2010. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 27 | Bribery Act 2010: enforcement: prosecutorial discretion This note explains what principles the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) must apply when making decisions about how to deal with cases of suspected criminal activity. In particular, the note examines the various guidelines the SFO must apply, particularly with regard to the Bribery Act 2010. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 28 | Bribery Act 2010: facilitation payments This note looks at facilitation payments, examining in particular what they are, why the lack of an exemption in the Bribery Act has been controversial, how the SFO plans to enforce the Bribery Act in relation to them and what can be done to prevent them being made. Information is also given on the position the OECD and other countries have taken towards facilitation payments. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 29 | Bribery Act 2010: jurisdictional reach A note examining the jurisdictional reach of the Bribery Act 2010. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 30 | Bribery Act 2010: using a statement of ethics effectively This note explains the purpose of a statement of ethics (or anti-corruption statement) and how it might best be used in the context of the Bribery Act 2010, particularly in relation to implementing adequate procedures to prevent bribery and demonstrating a top level commitment to doing so. This note accompanies Standard document, Bribery Act 2010: sample statement of ethics. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 31 | Bribery and corruption: self-reporting regime in Scotland In this note, Christine O'Neill, partner, and Paul Marshall, associate, of Brodies LLP consider the bribery and corruption self-reporting initiative in Scotland. This initiative was introduced on 1 July 2011, when the Bribery Act 2010 came into force, and is run by the Serious and Organised Crime Division (SOCD) of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 32 | Bribery: law reform A practice note about the reform of the law on bribery in the UK. This note has now been replaced by a new resource: Practice note, Bribery Act 2010, detailing the Bribery Bill which was introduced into parliament in November 2009 and received Royal Assent as the Bribery Act 2010 in April 2010. | Practice notes | 31-Jul-2009 |
| 33 | Business interruption: pandemics and other civil emergencies A practice note giving organisations an overview of some of the legal and practical issues arising from the threat of disruption by pandemic influenza and other civil emergencies. Practical Law is grateful to Alexis Roberts, a partner in the Insurance & Reinsurance Group of Pinsent Masons LLP, for his assistance with aspects of this note. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 34 | Constitutional legislation in the UK This note explains what is meant by constitutional legislation in the UK. It discusses: The traditional view of the constitution as a body of law and conventions. The High Court's recognition of a separate class of statute in Thoburn v Sunderland City Council [2002] EWHC 195 (Admin). Constitutional legislation post-Thoburn. How constitutional legislation can be distinguished from prerogative legislation and embedded legislation. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 35 | Corporate insolvency and guarantees: overview An overview of the impact of corporate insolvency on guarantees. This practice note looks at the effect of the insolvency of the principal obligor, the guarantor and the guaranteed third party on the guarantee and on the parties' rights and remedies. It also considers the effect of foreign corporate insolvency proceedings on English law guarantees. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 36 | Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 This note provides a summary of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. The Act received Royal Assent on 26 July 2007 and is in force from 6 April 2008 (with the exception of the provisions relating to deaths in custody). The Act applies to the whole of the UK. Broadly, under the Act, an organisation (which includes most employers) is guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised (by its senior management) causes a person's death and this amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 37 | Creditors of companies in financial difficulty or insolvency: top ... Suggested answers to some common questions asked by creditors of insolvent companies and companies in financial difficulties. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 38 | Data protection issues on commercial transactions This note considers how UK data protection legislation affects commercial transactions and, in particular, data relating to employees. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 39 | Double tax treaties: an introduction This practice note provides an introduction to the purpose and interpretation of double tax treaties. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 40 | Employment agencies and employment businesses ... A note considering the regulation of employment agencies and employment businesses under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/3319). | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 41 | Enduring powers of attorney This practice note outlines the requirements for enduring powers of attorney (EPAs). Since 1 October 2007, it has not been possible to create new EPAs but EPAs created before 1 October 2007 continue to be valid. Lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) replaced EPAs from 1 October 2007. For more information on LPAs, see Practice note, Lasting powers of attorney. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 42 | Engagement letters Engagement letters are used by accountants, investment banks and other advisers to limit their liability when giving advice. This note deals with the issues that arise when limiting liability and summarises the provisions most commonly found in engagement letters. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 43 | Execution of deeds and documents Overview of the key legal requirements relating to the execution of deeds and documents under the laws of England and Wales. It reflects the law on execution from 1 October 2009. For details of the law governing execution of deeds and documents before 1 October 2009, see Practice note, Execution of deeds and documents: pre-1 October 2009. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 44 | Expert determination A note on the types of disputes or issues to which expert determination is most applicable, how to draft an effective expert determination clause, what to look out for in an expert's terms of reference and on what terms to appoint an expert. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 45 | Extent and devolution The note discusses the three devolved legislatures in the UK and the extent to which devolution has introduced new layers of complexity to the UK statute book. The note covers: The extent and application of the three jurisdictions within the UK. How Westminster legislation extends to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 46 | Fiduciary duties An outline of the common law fiduciary duties, ways of modifying those duties (including the use of Chinese walls) and proposals for reform. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 47 | Flowchart guides: Article 101 and commercial agreements This flowchart guide contains a short overview of the application of Article 101 to commercial agreements, designed to give the user a general understanding of the key legal and practical issues relevant when negotiating or operating commercial agreements in the EU. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 48 | Flowchart guides: Competition Act 1998 and commercial ... Competition law is a complex subject and is not easy to summarise succinctly. The flowchart guides extract the essence of the more complicated or technical areas of the law, providing a short overview of the application of the Competition Act 1998 to commercial agreements, designed to give the user a general understanding of the key legal and practical issues involved. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 49 | General principles of insurance law This practice note explains the various doctrines and principles concerned with insurance, including: What constitutes an insurable interest. Subrogation. Joint insurance. Double insurance. Noting. For information about insurance as it relates to commercial property, see Practice note, Property insurance. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 50 | Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 A note on the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, which increases the maximum penalties for health and safety offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 51 | How are health and safety offences prosecuted? A practice note on the prosecution of health and safety offences in Great Britain, focusing on practice in England and Wales. The note explains the types of health and safety offences, who prosecutes the offences and when a prosecution may be brought. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 52 | How are health and safety offences sentenced in England and ... A note on the sentencing of health and safety law in England and Wales. The note considers sentencing for health and safety breaches and also sentencing for corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. It refers to the factors a court takes into consideration when sentencing and general principles of sentencing. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 53 | How can I protect my business from a debtor getting into ... A practice note on how to respond to the financial difficulties or insolvency of a company that owes you money, which considers how to press for payment from a distressed trading partner, key contractual issues and outlines the position of the unsecured creditor in an insolvency process. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 54 | How do I give effective advice to a business in financial ... A practice note how to provide effective advice to a client in financial difficulty or near insolvency. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 55 | How to identify a company in financial difficulty A practice note explaining the "decline curve" of a business, giving guidance on how to get the information to assess how serious a business' difficulties are, and providing an overview of what insolvency means and how to react to it. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 56 | Human Rights Act 1998: overview A note on the European Convention on Human Rights and its interaction with the Human Rights Act 1998 including links to relevant PLC content. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 57 | Interpreting legislation under section 3 of the Human Rights ... This practice note explains the rule under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 that, so far as possible, legislation must be read and given effect in a way compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The note explains: The scope of the rule and how it applies to various types of legislation. How the courts have approached its application. The limits of what kinds of interpretation are "possible" to achieve human rights compliance. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 58 | Key dates for in-house lawyers: 2012 This table provides in-house lawyers with the key dates they need to be aware of in 2012. For information on significant consultations of interest to in-house lawyers, see the Consultations tracker. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 59 | Key dates for in-house lawyers: 2013 This table provides in-house lawyers with the key dates they need to be aware of in 2013. For information on significant consultations of interest to in-house lawyers, see the Consultations tracker. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 60 | Lasting powers of attorney This Practice note explains the regime of lasting powers of attorney (LPAs), which was introduced by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 on 1 October 2007, including: How to make an LPA. The formalities for registering an LPA. Guidance for third parties when relying on an LPA. From 1 October 2007, LPAs replaced enduring powers of attorney (EPAs) as the primary way of appointing a decision maker to act on a donor's behalf in the event of a loss of mental capacity. LPAs can authorise an attorney to make decisions about the donor's personal welfare, as well as decisions about their property and affairs. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 61 | LIBOR review and reform: overview for finance lawyers This note provides an overview of the proposals to reform LIBOR, focussing on those aspects that may impact existing and future finance agreements that refer to LIBOR. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 62 | Liquidation: overview An overview of the methods of achieving a liquidation of a company registered in England and Wales. This practice note links to more detailed practice notes covering: Compulsory liquidation. Voluntary liquidation. Liquidator's powers. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 63 | Notaries and notarisation This note explains the role of notaries and what notarisation means. It outlines the types of documents that are notarised and explains what legalisation and apostille mean. It includes a checklist of what to consider when instructing a notary. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 64 | Perfection and priority of security (for corporate lawyers) An overview for corporate lawyers of the different methods of perfecting security, the basic rules governing priority and some contractual ways in which those rules can be varied. For a more detailed note on perfection and priority of security, see Practice note, Perfection and priority of security. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 65 | Powers of attorney This practice note examines powers of attorney, in particular, general powers of attorney and their commercial application. It includes links to standard documents for general powers of attorney and specimen execution clauses. For further details on other types of powers of attorney, see Practice note, Lasting powers of attorney and Practice note, Enduring powers of attorney. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 66 | Primary sources An outline of freely available sources of case law and legislation in the UK. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 67 | Quasi-legislation: codes, guidance, orders, rules and ... A note on the various types of quasi-legislation and how they should be treated. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 68 | Recovering a trade debt: quick guide A quick guide to recovering a modest trade debt where both parties are businesses within the jurisdiction and there is likely to be no substantial dispute of fact or evidence. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 69 | Reforming insurance contract law A practice note summarising the consultation process, begun in July 2006, to reform insurance contract law. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 70 | Retention of title An introduction to the law applying to retention of title clauses. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 71 | Reviewable transactions in corporate insolvency A guide to the procedures under UK corporate insolvency law to enable the adjustment of antecedent transactions and the protection of the insolvent company's assets for the benefit of its creditors. This note covers disclaimer, transactions at undervalue, preferences, extortionate credit transactions, invalid floating charges, transactions defrauding creditors, contribution by past shareholders and directors, and common law rules. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 72 | Saving defective notices This practice note explains the principle established in the House of Lords' case of Mannai Investment Co Ltd v Eagle Star Life Assurance Co Ltd [1997] UKHL 19 and its subsequent application to defects in both contractual and statutory notices. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 73 | Taking security (for corporate lawyers) A brief overview for corporate lawyers of the options available to lenders when taking security for loans. For a more detailed note on taking security, see Practice note, Taking security. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 74 | Time of the essence A practice note discussing when time limits in a contract are essential conditions of the contract, a breach of which would amount to a fundamental breach that would justify the other party terminating the contract. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 75 | Trusts in commercial transactions The trust is widely admired and recognised in many jurisdictions around the world. Although primarily used by individuals, they also have a wide variety of applications in a commercial context. This practice note provides an introduction to trusts and trustees and considers some commercial applications of trusts. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 76 | Value added tax Value added tax (VAT) is a tax on supplies of goods and services made by a taxable person in the course or furtherance of a business. It is administered by HM Revenue & Customs. This note covers the VAT position on standard-rated supplies, exempt supplies, zero-rated supplies and supplies that are outside the scope of VAT. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 77 | Variation of guaranteed obligations A note about the law relating to variation of guaranteed obligations. It examines the extent to which an underlying contract, which is the subject of a guarantee, can be amended or varied without that variation of contract discharging the guarantee and releasing the guarantor from its liability. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 78 | What are the warning signs of financial difficulty in a ... A guide to what to look for in a company's accounts when assessing its financial position and the warnings signs that may indicate financial difficulty or potential insolvency. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 79 | Who enforces health and safety law in England, Wales and ... A note on the enforcement of health and safety law in England, Wales and Scotland. | Practice notes | Maintained |