Every budget has its fair share of nasty surprises and this was no exception. Press release BN 25 had the innocuous sounding title "Aligning The Inheritance Tax Treatment For Trusts". Innocuous it certainly isn't. It announces fundamental changes to the taxation of trusts, which are arguably retrospective, as they will apply to both new and existing settlements.

When it comes to fundraising, not seeking advice or receiving advice lacking in expertise invariably results in the same outcome: all will be slower, less certain and more expensive in the longer term.

Selling up and moving on is never easy, especially for entrepreneurs who have devoted so much time, energy and passion in building their business.

Simon Leaf, Managing Associate (Technology & Sport), looks at the implications that the recent ground-breaking decision by the Supreme Court will have on commercial contracts going forwards.

Amid news that the European commission is to push for quotas for women on boards to address the slow progress of gender equality, we take a fresh look at diversity in the boardroom.

The Serious Fraud Office has intimated it will now routinely expect companies to hand over written notes from any interviews carried out as part of an internal investigation.

Work-related stress may have seemed a distant memory during the summer holidays but with most people now firmly back at work, we report this month on two Court of Appeal cases on stress in the workplace. We also give an overview of employment law developments taking effect next month.

Two recent cases have dealt with the status of agency workers and whether a contract of employment can be implied between the agency worker and the end user (the client). In both cases, James v London Borough of Greenwich and Craigie v London Borough of Haringey, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that a contract should not be implied.

They will not make for happy reading for the unions.

Over the last 18 months or so the AIM Rules have seen many changes, and more are about to come. There was the 2005 spring clean of "investment companies" when the Rules were changed so that cash shells that had not effected a reverse transaction by April 2006 were to have their listings suspended and then cancelled - and 30 companies were duly de-listed for this reason in October 2006.

The FCA has fined Tejoori Limited the sum of £70,000, after discount of 30% for early settlement. Tejoori was at the time an AIM listed company.

Following a joint FCA and PRA investigation, James Staley the CEO of Barclays Group has been fined a total of £642,430 for failing to act with due skill ...

The recent FCA Final Notice against Foreman Financial Services Ltd (FFSL) is a timely demonstration of why firms should take decisions ...

On 13 December 2017, the FCA published consultation papers (CP17/40-42) that set out proposed transitional arrangements for the wider roll-out of the Senior Management and Certification Regime (SMCR).

A pre-pack sale has long been a staple of newspaper headlines and invariably alludes to creditors being "stitched up" by the insolvency process.

The recent judgment of the High Court in AL v. SFO & Ors includes discussion of some significant privilege issues of relevance to white collar crime and regulatory practitioners.

As we begin to realise just how profoundly online misconduct is impacting society, calls are growing for the internet to be brought under real-world controls.

I suspect everyone is now fed up to the back teeth of emails from long-forgotten and sometimes never-known businesses and organisations claiming they need us to renew our consent ...

Mishcon de Reya has taken legal steps against the CRS and the Beneficial Ownership registers to call into question the wider repercussions for fundamental rights and the relationship...

Shortly before Christmas the government issued its response to the consultation on unfair practices in the residential leasehold market.