Elliot Tayler’s Post

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as In-house Solicitor at Marubeni Europe!🎉 After cumulative 6 years working in various roles in the legal industry, I'm excited to embark on this new chapter with a global leader in trading and investment. In my new role, I'll be providing legal counsel on a wide range of commercial/corporate matters, supporting the company's diverse business operations across Europe. I'm looking forward to collaborating with talented colleagues and contributing to Marubeni's continued success. I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me on my journey so far. I'm grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have led me to this point. #NewJob #InHouseLegal #Marubeni #Solicitor

Law firm mergers and acquisitions activity has greatly increased in Q2 following a relatively slow start to the year. Appetite for deal-making is growing from both buying/selling practices and from third-party investment firms. Please see my article below for more detail on the factors driving this trend and how AJ Chambers ® can assist you with your future business plans. #LegalPractice #MergersAndAcquisitions #Business #PrivateEquity

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed the Compensation Fund levy paid by Law Firms that handle client monies will rise from £660 to £2,220. This follows the complete decimation of the fund following “exceptional levels of intervention costs and compensation claims over the previous financial year”. #SRA #LegalPractice #Compensation #Law

The Law Society Gazette has summarised the key proposals from the manifestos of the three main political parties regarding reforms to the legal system: 🔵 Conservatives - European Court of Human Rights: Prioritise security over jurisdiction of foreign courts, including the ECtHR, especially in the context of Rwanda deportations. - New Police Recruitment: Plan to recruit 8,000 new police officers. - Anti-Social Behaviour: Implement 'intensive hot spot policing' to reduce anti-social behaviour. - Protecting Women and Girls: Guarantee single-sex spaces by amending the Equality Act to define sex as biological sex. - Asylum Seekers: End legal challenges to removals. - Legal Services: Support the legal sector through an Arbitration Bill and third-party funding of litigation. - Judicial Review: Amend laws to end 'frivolous legal challenges' to infrastructure projects. - Court Backlog: Address the Covid court backlog by maintaining Nightingale courts, funding sitting days, investing in court maintenance, and increasing criminal law pupillages. - Legal Aid: Continue ensuring access to justice through legal aid provision. 🔴 Labour - Court Backlog: Expand the role of associate prosecutors to tackle the court backlog. - Sentencing Review: Update court sentencing powers. - Rape Cases: Fast-track rape cases with specialist courts in every Crown court location. - Legal Support for Rape Survivors: Allocate £5m for advocates providing free legal advice and support to rape survivors. - Spiking Drinks: Introduce a new criminal offence for spiking drinks. - Hillsborough Law: Place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities. - Disaster Victims Legal Aid: Reallocate £30m to legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths by closing a carried interest tax loophole. - Planning Reform: Reform planning regime to boost economic growth, simplify major project processes, and ensure community benefits. - European Convention on Human Rights: Commit to remaining a member. 🔶 Liberal Democrats - Offence to Sentencing Time: Halve the time from offence to sentencing. - Data and Workforce Strategy: Implement a data strategy and workforce strategy to meet criminal justice system demand. - Victim Support: Allow crime victims to request court transcripts free of charge. - Race Equality: Develop a comprehensive race equality strategy for criminal justice. - Scandal Victims: Provide full and fair compensation to victims of the Horizon Post Office and infected blood scandals. - Hillsborough Law: Introduce a statutory duty of candour for police officers and public officials. - Housing: Ban no-fault evictions, make three-year tenancies default, and create a national register of licensed landlords. - Legal Aid: Establish a right to affordable, reasonable legal assistance and simplify the legal aid system. #GeneralElection #Law #UK #Conservatives #Labour #LiberalDemocrats

To those who aren't already across this, Manchester City are engaged in a legal battle with the Premier League that revolves around rules on associated party transactions (APTs), which require clubs to ensure deals with related businesses are made at fair market value. The arbitration is set to take place this week in London. City argue these rules violate UK competition law and claims they unfairly target clubs with owners from Gulf states and multi-club ownership groups. City's legal challenge seeks to overturn the APT rules and demands damages for affected deals that were affected or lost as a consequence. Those damages would have to be paid by the league, whose shareholders are the 20 member clubs. This dispute raises questions about the Premier League's ability to regulate itself and maintain its collective ethos. The League is already understood to be stretched thin by ongoing regulation and legal battles. The outcome of this claim - and the outstanding 115 charges brought by the Premier League in reverse - will no doubt have a material impact on the landscape and business of football in England going forward. #SportsLaw #Business #Law

As an M&A intermediary specialising in the legal sector, I am seeing a surge in mergers and acquisitions activity. Law firms are seeking to expand their reach, strengthen their capabilities, and tap into new opportunities. Whether it's a strategic merger to combine complementary practices or an acquisition to acquire new revenue streams, there are many drivers behind activity. Firms are taking advantage of favourable market conditions to increase their scale and competitiveness. As a result, the legal market is becoming more consolidated - creating opportunities for lawyers and law firms to expand their careers and businesses, and interestingly, for private equity investors to benefit from the growth potential of the sector. If you're a legal practice owner or partner looking to grow your business or explore your options, now is the time to act. As a trusted M&A intermediary with expertise in the legal market, I would be happy to discuss your needs and help you navigate the opportunities available to you. #business #legal #growth #privateequity #mergersandacquisitions

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reported a 20% increase in complaints to law firms between 2019 and 2023, with an average of four complaints per practice. Smaller firms receive more complaints relative to their workload than very large firms, which receive fewer complaints despite representing 59% of the profession’s revenue. This is likely because large firms' corporate clients have alternative means of addressing poor service. In 2023, 36,887 complaints were filed, a nearly 10% increase from 2022 and 20% more than in 2019. This rise may be due to an increase in practicing solicitors and greater consumer comfort in lodging complaints, partly due to the SRA’s 2018 transparency rules. The number of resolved complaints also increased, from 24,776 in 2019 to 29,835 in 2023, with the resolution rate improving from 71% in 2013 to 81% in 2023. Very large firms had a 98% resolution rate, medium and large firms 79%, and small firms 68%. Small firms' lower resolution rate is attributed to their lack of dedicated complaint-handling resources. Delay was the most common complaint (20%), followed by failure to keep informed (17%), failure to progress, failure to advise, and excessive costs. Complaints about excessive costs and failure to keep informed had the lowest resolution rates at 74%. Is this a sign of worsening standards in the profession, a likely fallout from COVID-19 or a symptom of consumerism? #Law #SRA #LegalPractice

The Briefing Legal Frontiers Report 2024 delves into law firm strategy and the likely changes/market influences this year, particularly highlighting generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as a major focus for 2024. Here's a summary of the key findings: 1. 𝑨𝑰 𝑨𝒅𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: GenAI has entered the spotlight in law firm transformation, emphasising the need for productivity and efficiency improvements. However, firms face challenges in integrating AI into their business models due to balancing risk and commercial considerations. 2. 𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔: Law firms are optimistic about growth despite macroeconomic volatility, rising interest rates, and cost pressures post-COVID-19. Cyber risk and cost recovery are significant concerns, with many firms seeing innovation as essential to compete and meet client expectations. 3. 𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚: Firms are investing more in technology, with a consistent median spend of 5% of revenue. The focus is on efficiency, collaboration, and risk/compliance. Many firms have increased funding for innovation, though challenges remain in securing personnel buy-in and managing change fatigue. 4. 𝑯𝒚𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆: Hybrid working is entrenched, with firms regularly reviewing their policies. Many are reconfiguring office spaces for better collaboration and efficiency, with a trend towards reducing overall office footprint. 5. 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑶𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌: Talent attraction and retention remain critical, but the economic outlook may stabilise hiring plans. There is a growing need for diverse skill sets, including customer success and account management, to support innovation. 6. 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: Effective AI implementation requires cloud enabled, integrated systems and structured data. Many firms lack these foundational elements, which could impede their ability to leverage AI fully. Overall, the report underscores that while law firms are increasingly embracing AI and other technologies, they must address structural and cultural barriers to realise their full potential. The balance between technological enthusiasm and practical, risk-aware implementation is crucial for future success. #LegalPractice #AI #GenAI #Law