13 February 2018
Getting Personal – Key Terms of a Personal Guarantee, What is it and When Should You Sign One?
A personal guarantee is an agreement by a third party individual (the “guarantor”) to satisfy the contractual obligations of another party, in the event that party fails to do so.
5 February 2018
Cryptocurrencies - tread carefully before trading
Bitcoin, Ehtereum, Litecoin... cryptocurrencies are all over the press. Most of us are now broadly aware that cryptocurrencies are digital currencies which use blockchain technology. But how many people actually understand how the underlying technology works, what it means to ‘invest’ in a cryptocurrency, and appreciate the risks behind them? For anyone thinking about investing in cryptocurrencies, set out below is a summary of the main concerns, which should hopefully encourage you to stop and think before jumping on the crypto band wagon.
24 January 2018
The £17 million Question - What will the ICO’s enforcement powers be under the GDPR, and how will they be used?
The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) coming into force in May 2018 empowers national supervisory authorities to issue fines of up to €20 million, or 4% of an organisation’s annual global turnover for certain data protection infringements. These figures have generated headlines and news stories around the globe, many of them misleading. The Information Commissioner, in her post of December last year, warned of ‘scaremongering because of misconceptions’. We seek to put the headline grabbing figures in context, by examining the range of administrative sanctions available to national supervisory authorities for dealing with infringements of GDPR and the criteria they will use when selecting them. In doing so we shed light on how organisations can prepare for, and react to, any data protection infringements to reduce the risk of a heavy fine.
17 January 2018
Articles of Association, Shareholders’ Agreements and Investors’ Agreements – what’s the difference?
Company jargon can be intimidating and confusing. However, once you get to terms with the key terminology and concepts of company law, it all becomes a lot more digestible. If you’re planning to set up your own company, or considering investing for the first time, this blog should help you get your head around some of the main company documents you’re likely to come across during the process.
11 January 2018
Social Media Giants vs Children – the truth behind social media contracts
Increasingly, facts and figures about the negative effects of social media are being reported in the press. Recent statistics have shown that three-quarters of children aged 10-12 already have social media accounts, and that the amount of time children aged 12-15 spend online has more than doubled in a decade. Just last week, the Children’s Commissioner announced that schools should be playing a bigger role in preparing children for social media’s “emotional demands”. Such reports are understandably very concerning, and raise questions about the morality of social media giants benefiting at the expense of the emotional wellbeing of children. However, thought should also be given to the legal aspect of these relationships, and in particular, the terms and conditions that children are signing up to when creating social media accounts.