News and Insights

Welcome to our News and Insights section. Here we’ll talk about the latest legal developments with our articles and videos. You can browse or search by practice area or sector. We’ll also let you know about changes at our firm including the expansion into new practice areas, sectors and locations.



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Dhana Doobay discusses how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is impacting telecoms with Mobile Europe

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is already having a major impact on telecoms. Mobile Europe considers the issues and our head of...


Press | Technology | Technology, Media, Telecoms
Posted: 28 Mar 2022



Hilesh Chavda comments on Dividend Tax increase in Daily Express

Our private client partner Hilesh Chavda discussed the Chancellor's Spring Statement with the Daily Express. An increase in the...


Press
Posted: 28 Mar 2022



Digital News Bytes March 2022

In Brief: Cyberattack preparedness: Google Cloud bolsters cybersecurity offering UK Telecoms (Security) Act 2021 in force – Ofcom’s prop...


Article | Technology | Technology, Media, Telecoms
Posted: 24 Mar 2022



Justin Murray discusses neurodiversity and hybrid workplaces

Hybrid working is now widespread due to extended periods of remote working during the pandemic. While the flexibility is...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 17 Mar 2022



The Rule is Change: New Immigration Rules published 15 March 2022

In this article, Immigration and Global Mobility Partner Samar Shams explains the main upcoming changes to Immigration Rules...


Article | Immigration & Global Mobility
Posted: 16 Mar 2022



Sponsor duties: It’s all fun and games until someone loses the right to work

Sponsoring non-UK nationals to work in the UK is popular as UK businesses compete for talent. Immigration and Global Mobility...


Webinar | Immigration & Global Mobility
Posted: 14 Mar 2022



Prepare your organisation for changes to right to work checks

This article was published on 17 February 2022 and updated on 14 March 2022. A number of changes to right to work checks will...


Article | Immigration & Global Mobility
Posted: 14 Mar 2022



Bryony Irvine joins Law Society Gazette discussion on hybrid working during the pandemic

When the first lockdown started in March 2020 the world of work changed overnight. Remote working impacted workers in diverse...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 14 Mar 2022



Edmund Probert discusses NY Times’ acquisition of Wordle with PC Pro

The lockdown word game phenomenon Wordle was bought by the New York Times for a reported £3 million in January. Our...


Press | Commercial | Intellectual Property | Information Technology
Posted: 14 Mar 2022



International Women’s Day and the gender pay gap

Businesses with a gender pay gap that shared posts about International Women’s Day were targeted by a twitter bot, which...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 14 Mar 2022



SRA guidance on law firm culture

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recently published guidance on workplace environments in law firms which highlights...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 10 Mar 2022



Amanda Lennon discusses how to ask for a pay rise with Daily Mirror

International Women’s Day has again shone a light on the issue of the gender pay gap, and an article in the Daily Mirror...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 10 Mar 2022



Flexible working – the way forward

During the course of the last 2 years, while dealing with the restrictions and lockdown caused by the pandemic, we, as office...


Article | General
Posted: 9 Mar 2022



Hilesh Chavda discusses NFTs in Money Marketing

The non-fungible token (NFT) market is booming, but legislation has not caught up.   Our private client partner has...


Press
Posted: 8 Mar 2022



How will rising fuel costs due to the Ukraine conflict affect UK construction?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in increased sanctions against Russia and exposed the vulnerability of the European...


Press | Construction, Engineering & Projects | Corporate & Commercial
Posted: 8 Mar 2022



London tube strike: Amanda Lennon outlines what HR teams need to know

Commuters in London have faced disruption this week due to a strike involving 10,000 tube workers. Issues like this require a...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 4 Mar 2022



COVID-19: changes to risk assessments, testing and self-isolation

COVID-19: Self-isolation requirements revoked from 24 February 2022, with a number of additional changes expected on April 1,...


News | Employment Law
Posted: 2 Mar 2022



Succession advice for entrepreneurs

Orchid Lee shares her advice on succession planning for entrepreneurs in an article for Just Entrepreneurs. Orchid explains:...


Press
Posted: 2 Mar 2022



Turning Strangers into Friends

Juliana Barbedo Carvalho from the Madrid office of Spencer West Spain is a multidisciplinary and international attorney with...


News | ESG
Posted: 2 Mar 2022



SRA Guidance on Workplace Culture

The SRA recently published guidance on workplace environments in law firms[1] (the ‘Guidance’) which highlights some of the...


Article | Employment Law
Posted: 28 Feb 2022



Digital News Bytes February 2022

In Brief: “Levelling up” - UK push for 5G/4G cell site access versus scaled-back gigabit broadband target? Spanish Government to target...


Article | Technology | Technology, Media, Telecoms
Posted: 25 Feb 2022



Employment Partner Dr John McMullen assumes new trustee role

Our Employment Partner Dr John McMullen has been appointed a trustee of Halifax Opportunities Trust. This is an example of...


News | Employment Law
Posted: 24 Feb 2022



A Culture of Community

Raquel Valle Sánchez, ESG Intern at Spencer-West, comes from a Spanish town with a strong community culture, so her commitment...


News | ESG | General
Posted: 23 Feb 2022



Emma Gross comments on HR and legal implications of career breaks

Career breaks are in the news after Jo Whitfield, the CEO of Co-op Food confirmed she was taking a career break this year to...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 21 Feb 2022



Sonya Bedford MBE interview – championing solar and wind energy

Spencer West Partner Sonya Bedford MBE has been flying the flag for sustainable energy for more than twenty years. She tells...


News | Energy & Natural Resources | ESG
Posted: 16 Feb 2022



Employment law partner Dr John McMullen’s new book on Redundancy Law and Practice receives a rave review from HR Director Magazine:

Our Employment law partner Dr John McMullen’s new book on Redundancy Law and Practice (now in its 4th edition) has received a...


News | Employment Law
Posted: 15 Feb 2022



Samar Shams offers advice to French speakers interested in UK visas

French speakers interested in UK visas will appreciate Immigration and Global Mobility Partner Samar Shams’s contributions to...


Press | Immigration & Global Mobility
Posted: 14 Feb 2022



Samar Shams writes for People Management on labour shortages and immigration

The UK’s labour shortages were a major issue in 2021, affecting employers across many sectors. The shortages were caused by...


Press | Immigration & Global Mobility
Posted: 10 Feb 2022



Amanda Lennon writes for People Management on alcohol at work following government ‘partygate’ scandal

Following comments in Sue Gray’s report about Westminster’s culture of excessive drinking, our employment partner Amanda...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 9 Feb 2022



Free Covid 19 Vaccination Policy

Is your business at risk?  January is over and restrictions to businesses are melting away, but no doubt you are still...


Article | Employment Law
Posted: 7 Feb 2022



Press Release | South West hub expansion for international law firm Spencer West

Four leading lawyers have joined the impressive South West team of international law firm Spencer West in the latest stage of...


News | General
Posted: 7 Feb 2022



What financial orders can a court make on divorce?

If you ask the court to make a financial award in a divorce case, it has a number of options open to it. In reaching a...


Article | Family Law
Posted: 7 Feb 2022



Carers finally included in Health and Care visa route

From 15 February 2022, care workers and home carers will be eligible for sponsorship. The Government is expanding the Health...


Article | Immigration & Global Mobility
Posted: 31 Jan 2022



Jowanna Conboye discusses implications of European data breach case with Compliance Week

A recent decision by the Austrian Data Protection Authority against food retailer REWE International underlines the fact parent...


Press | Commercial | Intellectual Property | Technology
Posted: 28 Jan 2022



Is it possible to get a divorce without going to court?

It is often possible to divorce without the need to attend court, but it is essential that related issues such as a financial...


Article | Family Law
Posted: 28 Jan 2022



The Observer features Fudia Smartt on unvaccinated employees

UK companies large and small are debating the vaccine question, and whether to differentiate between vaccinated and...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 26 Jan 2022



Amanda Lennon outlines the legal issues around transferring construction staff

When a business is bought, or a new contract starts, often employees transfer across. This transfer is governed by the TUPE...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 26 Jan 2022



Digital News Bytes January 2022

In Brief: Welcome to our first edition of the New Year! Protecting the UK’s full fibre rollout – policymakers safeguard critical nationa...


Article | Technology | Technology, Media, Telecoms
Posted: 21 Jan 2022



Family mediation scheme to help thousands more parents

 Thousands more separating parents will avoid stressful courtroom battles as the Government boosts its landmark family mediation scheme with an a...


Article | Family Law
Posted: 20 Jan 2022



Amanda Lennon comments on Ikea’s approach to unvaccinated staff and sick leave

Ikea’s policy of cutting sick pay for unvaccinated staff who have to isolate after coming into contact with someone with...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 12 Jan 2022



Pam Dosanjh Phillips calls for greater inclusion and diversity in business

Business Leader magazine sought views from a variety of experts for an article on diversity and inclusion in business. Pam...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 12 Jan 2022



Edmund Probert comments on IT Pro story about Europol’s unlawful data storage

Leading technology news site IT Pro has covered a story about crime fighting agency Europol being accused of unlawfully storing...


Press | Commercial | Intellectual Property | Information Technology
Posted: 12 Jan 2022



Dhana Doobay discusses the use of AI in the legal profession

Artificial intelligence is transforming many roles and in the legal profession AI is being used for functions including...


Press | Technology | Technology, Media, Telecoms
Posted: 11 Jan 2022



Jowanna Conboye comments on Europe’s approach to data protection

Compliance Week has reported on the failure of Europe’s wide-reaching data privacy rules to curb Big Tech’s use and abuse...


Press | Commercial | Intellectual Property | Technology
Posted: 11 Jan 2022



Are you ‘Procedure and Policy ready’ for 2022?

With 2021 fresh in our memories, and all the possibilities of 2022 ahead – now is a great time to review your employment contracts, workplace po...


News | Employment Law
Posted: 11 Jan 2022



How the Courts deal with finances within divorce proceedings

If parties are unable to reach an agreement on how to divide their finances through solicitors on a voluntary basis or the case...


Article | Family Law
Posted: 10 Jan 2022



All I want for Christmas is... to leave you

Divorce over the festive season – should you wait until January?  The first Monday of January sees family law solicitors...


Article | Family Law
Posted: 21 Dec 2021



Emma Gross shares tips on what to do when your boss follows you on social media

Social media can be a great way to build rapport with your boss and co-workers, but it can bring challenges. Emma Gross,...


Press | Employment Law
Posted: 21 Dec 2021



All About Agency Workers

Agency workers are sometimes referred to as atypical workers or contingent workers.   An agency worker’s contract...


Article | Employment Law
Posted: 20 Dec 2021



Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation

The European Commission (the "Commission") has recently published a draft revision of the Vertical Agreements Block Exemption...


Article | Commercial | Competition & Trade
Posted: 15 Dec 2021