Blog Posts: May 2012

Guarantees by email? You might be wondering if I’m about to talk about another use of modern technology, a new app maybe? You may think that a guarantee has to be a formal document, signed and witnessed by all concerned - not necessarily with a big red wax seal to make it valid, but something along those lines. Well, welcome to the twenty-first century way of giving a guarantee. A recent case which went as far as the Court of Appeal has confirmed that a guarantee can be entered into as a r.... (read more...)

I know from my experience of talking to clients that for most small, family or owner managed businesses, the prospect of picking up the phone and first talking to a solicitor is not something they relish. You might expect that cost would be the main reason that they dread that call but, in fact, it’s often different factors that come into play: things like not knowing which lawyer to select, not knowing where to start in explaining their requirements, and dreading talking to some pompous, .... (read more...)

The failure of Greece to form a government following elections has led to many believing that a Greek default and exit from the Eurozone is now more likely than not. If this happens, then it is probable that other countries in difficulty, such as Portugal, Italy and Spain, will soon follow, and possibly other countries too. If you trade with any of these countries, then you should now be putting plans into effect to protect your business and minimise your exposure. What a Euro default will look .... (read more...)

We hear plenty about celebrity pre-nuptial agreements in the media. Whilst I’m not about to discuss the merits or otherwise of those, I do think there is plenty of merit in what could be called a business ‘pre-nup’. What I’m referring to is a shareholders’ agreement. A shareholders’ agreement is an agreement between all or some of the members of a limited company. In such an agreement the shareholders can deal with issues which either aren’t covered by t.... (read more...)