Travers Smith

The Autumn Budget 2024 was a historic event. The first to be given by a female Chancellor, the first from a Labour government for 14 years and, as it turned out, a Budget that is set to raise the UK tax take to a historic high. Read our full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/eCb-6Xr4 #AutumnBudget2024

Throughout October, our firm ran a series of events and activities for staff and partners to mark Black History Month. These included a Black History Month Quiz, which was open to all colleagues. The quiz featured rounds on on music, movies and major milestones, amongst others. Attendees enjoyed canapes of Caribbean and African origin and we raised funds for HOPE not hate. Next, Stephanie Lee, partner in our Dispute Resolution team, sat down with Raphael Mokades from Rare Recruitment to record a podcast looking at Black recruitment in the legal sector. The conversation covered Travers Smith's journey on racial equality, how Rare Recruitment have advised the firm, as well as what Raph hopes law firms will do more of in future. You can listen to their conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eg8CY-ri We were also lucky to have some special guest cooks in our staff canteen, Braithwaite's. First, our long-standing Kitchen Porter, Mani Ola, became Head Chef and cooked Nigerian Assorted Meat Stew.   Then, our Commis Chef Terrick Thompson, cooked a Caribbean lunch along with special guests Helen Brathwaite, Tanya Simpson, and Curtis Greenidge.   Find out more about inclusivity at Travers Smith here: https://lnkd.in/e2jkV7N

This week marks Pro Bono Week and we are delighted to have been shortlisted at LawWorks 2024 Pro Bono Awards for "Best Contribution by a Large Firm" for our work tackling violence against women and girls. Pro Bono plays an integral role at Travers Smith and we have a thriving pro bono programme, made up of four key pillars: Climate, Environment and Sustainability; Vulnerable Groups; Rule of Law; and Diversity, Inclusion and Social Mobility. Read the full shortlist here: https://lnkd.in/eWvivSZd

Travers Smith is delighted to be sponsoring this year's Legal 500 Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit, which will take place on Thursday 14 November in London. Two of our partners, John Lee and Joseph Wren, will be joined on a panel by Catherine Gibaud KC from 3 Verulam Buildings and Alex Tinawi from Alvarez & Marsal to talk about the trends and risks in financial markets disputes – "Financial markets disputes: a horizon scan". For more information about the Summit, including the latest programme and details of how to register, please visit the event website: https://lnkd.in/dZ5K4P-t #Legal500events #FinancialRegulatoryandDisputes #FinancialMarkets

During COP29, we are expecting a number of countries to announce new emissions reduction targets (NDCs) – including the UK. The more ambitious these NDCs are, the more likely there is to be greater focus on net zero investment and the green transition for business over the coming few years. Read on for an overview of what else is on the radar. https://lnkd.in/eAZ8A7v2 #COP29

The ninth episode of our AI Insights podcast series is now live. In this episode, partners James Longster and Louisa Chambers from our Technology & Commercial Transactions department provide an update on the UK's regulatory outlook for AI under the Labour Government.    The pair discuss Labour's change of approach, the UK's signature of the first international legally binding AI treaty, as well as plans for data protection reform and the Government's ambition to address the impasse over the use of copyrighted materials for AI training.   Listen on our website: https://lnkd.in/ebtu6quM   #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #DataUseandAccessBill

Last week saw Travers Smith host 20 talented 16- and 17-year-old students for its annual Thrive mentoring programme. Thrive is a paid work experience programme for students to gain an insight into our business and the work we undertake for clients. This year, our students had a packed itinerary in which they met lawyers and business services professionals from across our business, met our clients (HSBC and Investec) and learned about the skills required to excel in a career in commercial law. This year's programme was arranged by Trainees Sara Grey-Elsharif, Sam Simkins, Veer S., Hattie Rawlings and Jacob Miller and Associates Will Legood, Reece Morgan and Lora Abagero, and managed by Partner Danny Riding.   Thrive is an extremely important part of our CSR programme, designed to champion social mobility in law, and we are very proud to create opportunities for young people to learn and develop.

We are delighted to have advised network solutions provider, Optinet, on its new agreement with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to install their full fibre network in both the Westfield London & Westfield Stratford shopping centres. The installation of the Optinet full fibre network will bring a futureproof connectivity solution to the 950+ retail, dining and entertainment units at both Westfield sites in London. The Travers Smith team was led by Technology & Commercial Transactions partner Richard Brown, supported by Senior Counsel Richard Offord and Associate Isabel Cridland. Real Estate advice was provided by Senior Associate Claire Parker. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ehFYhQUx

In the first Article 22 EUMR referral since the controversial Illumina/Grail case, the Italian competition authority has referred the proposed acquisition of Run:ai by Nvidia to the European Commission for merger control review. This case raises some interesting points. First, it is a practical example of the Commission working with national competition authorities with below-threshold call-in powers in order to review transactions via Article 22. This approach has been expected since the Court of Justice's curtailing of the referral power in Illumina/Grail (which led to the withdrawal of referral requests back in September over the Microsoft/Inflection AI deal – see https://lnkd.in/etcb6HYW Second, it is an example of the Commission's interest in deals in the AI field and, in particular, its interest in access to key inputs for the development of AI models (a concern that has been expressed by a number of key authorities). Key contacts: Stephen Whitfield, Nigel Seay, Chloe Budd, Rosamund Browne #MergerControl #Competition #AI

We are pleased to have contributed the United Kingdom section of the latest edition of the Chambers & Partners Technology & Outsourcing Global Practice Guide, authored by Richard Brown, Louisa Chambers, Adam Wyman and Michael Ross.   The UK section of the guide is available to view on the Chambers & Partners website: https://lnkd.in/gBh4DbEz   The guide provides the latest legal insights across a range of jurisdictions, allowing cross-country comparisons to be made. It provides an overview of the local regulatory landscape, covering: - IT outsourcing - Business process outsourcing - Legal and regulatory restrictions on outsourcing - Industry-specific restrictions - Legal or regulatory restrictions on data processing or data security - Contract models - Contract terms, including customer protections and liability - HR issues - Asset transfer terms   #Tech #Outsourcing #UKLegalUpdate