CMA Pricing Guide Signals Shift In UK Consumer Protection

The Competition and Markets Authority’s recent draft price transparency guide, as part of a wider reform introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, represents a significant change in U.K. consumer protection by targeting unfair trading practices and strengthening enforcement mechanisms, says Felicity Forward at Shoosmiths.

8 Compliance Team Strategies To Support Business Agility

Amid new regulatory requirements across the globe, compliance functions must design thoughtful guardrails that help business leaders achieve their commercial objectives lawfully — from repurposing existing tools to using technology thoughtfully — instead of defaulting to cumbersome protocols that hinder legitimate business, says Theodore Edelman at GCE Advisors.

What To Note From FCA, Gov't Financial Growth Proposals

Recent Financial Conduct Authority and government proposals for financial services reform are positive developments for firms, signaling a drive to push forward growth and a willingness to be flexible in areas of regulation that the industry has long raised as barriers, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.

How Accessibility Act Is Reshaping EU Digital Compliance

In adding binding requirements to digital spaces, the recently enacted European Accessibility Act aims to harmonize rules and promote digital inclusion across the EU, a departure from earlier frameworks that relied on voluntary standards for businesses, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.

Opinion

Managers' Expanded Corp. Liability Proposal Is Too Vague

The Crime and Policing Bill 2025, currently under consideration by the House of Lords, implements a dramatic expansion of managers’ corporate liability in ambiguous provisions that may lead only to cumbersome and unintended consequences for companies, says Vanessa Reid at Corker Binning.

What Gov't Report Tells Lawyers About Continuing AML Risks

The U.K. government’s recent national money laundering risk assessment maintains conveyancing, company service work and misuse of client accounts as key threats, underscoring that law firms should expect renewed scrutiny and higher expectations in these high-risk areas, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.

Russia Sanctions Spotlight: Strengthening Enforcement

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s proposed changes to its enforcement process by increasing monetary penalties, and introducing schemes to encourage cooperation, suggest that businesses should expect an expansion of financial sanctions enforcement, says Alexandra Melia at Steptoe.

What EU GPAI Compliance Code Will Mean For Developers

The European Union recently released a code of practice to guide compliance for general purpose artificial intelligence models, offering early adopters regulatory deference, but posing timing concerns and significant costs burdens that may discourage smaller developers, say lawyers at Perkins Coie.

How Top Court Ruling Limits Scope Of Motor Finance Claims

The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in a landmark case concerning car finance commissions clarifies when and how a dealership’s fiduciary duties arise, considerably narrowing that path for mass consumer litigation and highlighting how an upcoming Financial Conduct Authority redress scheme will seek to balance consumer, lender and market interests, say lawyers at Cadwalader.

FCA Misconduct Guide Will Expand Firms' Duty To Investigate

The Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on workplace nonfinancial misconduct will place a greater onus on compliance and investigations teams, clarifying that the question to ascertain is whether the behavior is justifiable and proportionate, say lawyers at Ashurst.

Lessons From Landmark UK Supreme Court Libor Ruling

The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent quashing of former traders Hayes and Palombo’s interest rate rigging convictions on the ground of jury misdirection raises concerns about failings in the criminal appeal process, and whether encouraging institutions to accept regulatory settlements can create conditions for miscarriages of justice, says Ellen Gallagher at Vardags.

The Int'l Compliance View: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Changes to the enforcement landscape in the U.S. and abroad shift the risks and incentives for global compliance programs, creating a race against the clock for companies to deploy investigative resources across worldwide operations, say attorneys at Dentons.

Why Leveson Review Is Significant For UK Court System

Brian Leveson’s recent review into the U.K. criminal justice system calls for judge-only trials in serious and complex fraud cases, a controversial recommendation that is sparking debate over the future of jury trials, says Louise Hodges at Kingsley Napley.

23andMe Fine Signals ICO's New GDPR Enforcement Focus

Many of the cybersecurity failures identified by the Information Commissioner’s Office in its investigation of 23andMe, recently resulting in a £2.3 million fine, were basic lapses, but the ICO's focus on several new U.K. General Data Protection Regulation considerations will likely carry into the future, say lawyers at Womble Bond.

What New UK Stub Equity Rules Will Mean For PE Bidders

The U.K. Takeover Panel’s recent guide to making stub equity offers, for the first time formally harmonizing the approach to be taken, should be helpful for both private equity bidders and practitioners, and not unduly restrictive, say lawyers at Davis Polk.