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Regulatory Radar: quick takes May 2025

Published on 12 May 2025. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

Welcome to the latest edition of our bi-monthly Regulatory Radar: quick takes update, which collates the latest developments from across the UK’s regulators.

The November 2023 AI safety summit and the UK's direction of travel

Published on 29 Aug 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Charles Buckworth, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

The government has confirmed that the UK AI safety summit will be held at Bletchley Park on 1 and 2 November 2023.

Telecoms supply agreement excludes "loss of profit" claim under "anticipated profits" liability exclusion (EE v Virgin Mobile)

Published on 25 Aug 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

In line with a number of recent cases, in EE Limited v Virgin Mobile Telecoms Limited [2023] EWHC 1989 (TCC) the courts have shown that parties generally cannot avoid clear wording contained in exclusion clauses in order to recover losses that have been expressly excluded (in this case, loss of profits).

Rolls-Royce entitled to hit the brakes in dispute over termination of a software services agreement (Topalsson v Rolls-Royce)

Published on 14 Aug 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

In Topalsson GmbH v Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited [2023] EWHC 1765 (TCC), the High Court has provided useful guidance on how to determine whether a software implementation timeline agreed by the parties is binding, when implementation is considered complete and in what circumstances failing to complete implementation by the contractual deadlines entitles the customer to terminate the contract.

A narrow escape – software services provider entitled to rely on single aggregate liability cap (Drax v Wipro)

Published on 25 Jul 2023. By Helen Armstrong, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer

When it comes to bespoke software development projects, a lot can go wrong. There's risk for the customer such as project delays, software defects, functionality issues and a lack of meeting of minds in terms of project requirements.

Reproduction of infringing content online: who's liable?

Published on 21 Jul 2020. By Ciara Cullen, Partner, Retail & Consumer Sector Lead and Louise Morgan, Senior Associate

Keyword advertising, search engine optimisation and liability for infringement via online marketplaces: In recent years, there has been a plethora of cases concerning the various ways that trade marks may be infringed, through use on the internet.

The Times recognises RPC among Best Law Firms 2024

Published on 30 Oct 2023.

International law firm, RPC, has been recognised by The Times in its Best Law Firms 2024 report, an annual ranking of the top 250 law firms in England and Wales.

All is not (necessarily) lost: Crypto crime recovery

Published on 30 Jun 2022. By Adam Craggs, Partner

With over 2 million people in the UK now holding and using cryptocurrency, and the Chancellor announcing that a government backed non-fungible token ("NFT") is to be issued by the Royal Mint this summer, the market for crypto-assets is expected to continue to grow in the coming months and years; so much so that legislation is planned to implement a new regulatory regime for the crypto market.

FTT prevents HMRC from having two bites of the cherry!

Published on 22 Oct 2014. By Dan Wyatt, Partner

In Lady Henrietta Pearson v HMRC [2014] UKFTT 890 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) ('FTT') concluded that HMRC had "ignored" its previous decision by seeking to reduce the amount of a VAT refund which it had ordered HMRC make to Lady Henrietta Pearson ('the taxpayer').

Snapshots Spring 2025

Published on 09 May 2025. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Snapshots Winter 2024

Published on 10 Dec 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Snapshots Autumn 2024

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Snapshots Summer 2024

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Parliamentary 'wash up' – which Bills made it through?

Published on 31 May 2024. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Shahil Goodka, Trainee Solicitor

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that a General Election will take place on 4 July 2024. Parliament was then prorogued on 24 May 2024 which allowed a mere 2 days for 'wash up' - the process by which outstanding bills may be rushed through the parliamentary process.

Snapshots Spring 2024

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Ofcom's 'Roadmap to Regulation' underway with its consultation on illegal harms duties under the Online Safety Act

Published on 12 Jan 2024.

In November, Ofcom, as new online safety regulator, published the first of four major consultations under the Online Safety Act ("OSA"), which sets out its proposals for how "user-to-user" ("U2U") services (essentially any online website or app that allows users to interact with each other) and online search services (i.e. Google, Bing and similar) should approach their illegal content duties under the new legislation. The consultation provides guidance in a number of areas including governance, content moderation, reporting and complaints mechanisms, terms of service, supporting child users, and user empowerment.

Snapshots Winter 2023

Published on 12 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Snapshots Autumn 2023

Published on 25 Oct 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

The Online Safety Bill is set to become law

Published on 21 Sep 2023. By Rupert Cowper-Coles , Partner, Media

The Online Safety Bill will shortly become law in the UK as soon as it receives Royal Assent. The legislation will introduce a new regulatory regime for online platforms and search engines which target the UK, imposing wide-ranging obligations on in-scope services with serious consequences for non-compliance.

Snapshots Summer 2023

Published on 07 Jul 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Snapshots Spring 2023

Published on 31 Mar 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Snapshots Winter 2022

Published on 23 Dec 2022. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner, Technology, Media & Telecoms Sector Lead and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

CAT Collective Proceedings - Summer 2025 update

Published on 28 May 2025. By Chris Ross, Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes and Zoe Mernick-Levene, Partner

Developments in the UK’s competition collective proceedings regime continue apace with new claims recently issued in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

CAT Collective Proceedings - Summer 2024 update

Published on 24 Jul 2024. By Chris Ross, Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of Disputes and Zoe Mernick-Levene, Partner

Developments in the UK’s competition collective proceedings regime continue apace with new claims recently issued in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

The CAT's new approach: I can't afford a carriage (dispute)

Published on 02 Jun 2023. By Chris Ross, Partner

Since the collective proceedings regime in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) kicked off, a number of carriage disputes have arisen. So-called 'carriage disputes' arise when there are two or more competing proposed class representatives (PCRs) seeking certification (and therefore 'carriage') of overlapping class actions.

RPC traces the trends for LIDW25

Published on 30 Jun 2025. By Jonathan Cary, Partner

With London International Disputes Week 2025 now wrapped up, we are reflecting on what it might tell us about the evolution of the disputes landscape.

Court of Appeal decision allows litigation funders to be paid first in collective proceedings

Published on 13 May 2025. By Zoe Mernick-Levene, Partner

ISDA Master Agreements

Published on 13 Jan 2025. By Jake Hardy, Partner and Simon Hart, Partner, Financial Services Sector Lead

Banking litigation partners Simon Hart and Jake Hardy discuss the world of ISDA Master Agreements, close out mechanics and a rather opaque investment bank wheeze involving counter hedging strategies, which counterparties miss at their financial peril.

Restructuring Plans – A Sea Change?

Published on 26 Oct 2022. By Paul Bagon, Partner and Will Beck, Of Counsel and Knowledge Lawyer

Full and frank disclosure means more than just putting relevant matters in evidence – a new year warning in UKIP v Braine & Others

Published on 24 Jan 2020. By Geraldine Elliott, Partner

New year, new reminder of the obligation to make full and frank disclosure in without notice applications, this time in the context of a falling out within the UKIP party. The obligation can only be satisfied by drawing the court's attention to legal or factual matters which could undermine the applicant's own application; it is not enough to simply put relevant matters in evidence before the court (UKIP v Braine & Others). Injunction, confidential, publication and non-disclosure.

Tribunal accepts taxpayers' Ramsay argument and allows their appeals

Published on 10 Jul 2025. By Alexis Armitage, Senior Associate

In The Vaccine Research Ltd Partnership & Anor v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 402 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) allowed the taxpayers' appeal, concluding that under the Ramsay principle of statutory interpretation, licence fees received as part of a tax-planning scheme, were neither annual payments nor income not otherwise charged of the partners, within sections 683 or 687 of Income Tax (Trading & Other Income) Act 2005.

HMRC directed by tribunal to issue closure notices

Published on 03 Jul 2025. By Tom Holden, Associate

In Refinitiv Ltd and others v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 415 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal directed HMRC to issue closure notices on the basis it had failed to meet the burden to keep the relevant enquiries open as ongoing judicial review proceedings do not constitute "reasonable grounds" for not issuing a closure notice.

Tax Bites - July 2025

Published on 01 Jul 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.

Taxing Matters: When tax advice goes wrong: professional negligence in tax disputes

Published on 26 Jun 2025.

In this episode, our host and Senior Associate at RPC, Alexis Armitage, is joined by colleagues Helen Kerr and Tom Wild from RPC's Professional Liability team to explore how professional negligence claims can arise during the lifecycle of a tax dispute.

Upper Tribunal dismisses IR 35 challenge

Published on 26 Jun 2025. By Jasprit Singh, Senior Associate

In George Mantides Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 00124 (TCC), the Upper Tribunal dismissed the company's appeal against an income tax determination and national insurance decision. Whilst the UT set aside the earlier decision of the First-tier Tribunal on the basis that there were errors in the assessment of the hypothetical contract, ultimately it came to the same conclusion that the hypothetical contract was one of employment for the purposes of IR35.

Improving HMRC’s Approach to Dispute Resolution

Published on 19 Jun 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Liam McKay, Of Counsel

This article considers the recently launched consultation aimed at modernising HMRC’s approach to resolving tax disputes.

No Retreat on UK Digital Services Tax – For Now

Published on 12 Jun 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Liam McKay, Of Counsel

This blog considers recent speculation concerning the future of the UK's Digital Services Tax in the context of trade negotiations between the UK and the USA.

Court of Appeal confirms pre-construction costs qualify for capital allowances

Published on 05 Jun 2025. By Daniel Williams, Associate

In Orsted West of Duddon Sands (UK) Ltd and others v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 279, the Court of Appeal held that expenditure incurred in designing windfarms and on studies informing the installation could qualify for capital allowances.

Tax Bites - June 2025

Published on 03 Jun 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.

Blowing the whistle!

Published on 29 May 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Tom Holden, Associate

Adam Craggs and Tom Holden consider the US and Canadian 'whistleblower' models in light of the government's plans for a new reward scheme inspired by these, as well as the existing HMRC rewards scheme this initiative will complement.

Contentious Tax Quarterly Review – Spring 2025

Published on 22 May 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Liam McKay, Of Counsel

This Contentious Tax Review provides an update on a number of recent important decisions in the tax disputes arena.

Former England captain's IR35 battle with HMRC ends in a score draw

Published on 15 May 2025. By Alexis Armitage, Senior Associate

In Bryan Robson Ltd v HMRC [2025] TC09408, the First-tier Tribunal considered the IR35 legislation in relation to ex-England footballer Bryan Robson. It found payments made for his ambassadorial role at Manchester United fell within the scope of the IR35 legislation, while payments made to him in respect of his image rights did not.

Taxing Matters: Mental Health Awareness Week: breaking down mental barriers in the mind with Jo Maughan

Published on 13 May 2025.

In this special Mental Health Awareness Week episode of Taxing Matters, host Alexis Armitage welcomes Jo Maughan, career coach and former tax director, to discuss how professionals can manage their critical inner voice and break down mental barriers in their mind.

Challenging HMRC's Debt Management Actions - Lessons Learned from Local Fuel Ltd

Published on 08 May 2025. By Michelle Sloane, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Michelle Sloane and Daniel Williams consider when a private law action, rather than judicial review, is appropriate to challenge a decision taken by HMRC's debt management team.

Tax Bites - May 2025

Published on 01 May 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.