Your QM Law For All Society Newsletter
Welcome to the fourth issue of our newsletter, Unorthodox
We're getting closer and closer to Christmas and the end of 2020... let's just hope we don't end the year in tiers.
Enough bad jokes (for now) and onto the juicy legal bits brought to you by the LFAS newsletter team!
What's going on in the world?
These are our top interesting stories in the legal and commercial world that you may want to follow up on!
1) France is chasing up US tech groups on digital tax payments
The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have been supervising talks regarding digital taxation of US tech companies such as Google and Facebook, but there has been a lot of objection from Washington. The OECD has been trying to resolve the issue of whether digital firms should pay tax where they are headquartered or whether they should pay more into national coffers. But this has been going on for the last two years and patience is wearing thin, particularly with the massive profits that tech firms such as Amazon are making during the pandemic. On November 25th, French tax authorities started demanding millions of euros from US tech groups as a result of no progress being made since the suspension of OECD talks by the US in June, as well as previous warnings about tax collection in the event of no resolution being found. What does this mean? Washington has said the digital tax could rekindle transatlantic trade tensions and provoke new retaliatory tariffs on Europe because the taxes have been ruled an unfair trade practice that excessively targets US companies. Furthermore, France obviously isn't the only country looking to consolidate their digital taxing rules, with other countries such as Italy, Austria and the UK having implemented their own tax rules in recent months. These national initiatives will only be stopped in the event of a international compromise via the OECD. What questions should you be asking? How will these taxes impact firms with tech clients, and how will the work of lawyers in Tax change? 2) Arcadia Group is on the Brink of collapse Arcadia Group has gone into administration, the equivalent of bankruptcy. Its brands include Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and more, putting 13,000 jobs at risk. Like much of the High Street, Arcadia Group's brands have been battered by lockdown measures during the pandemic. Meanwhile, online retailers such as ASOS have seen their profits quadruple as shoppers moved online this year. What does this mean? The challenges at Arcadia have extended beyond the UK. In 2019, it filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and announced it would close 11 Topshop and Topman stores in the country. Its collapse could potentially lead to a selloff of its brands to its competitors such as ASOS, Next or Boohoo. Currently, it is seeking buyers for all or some of its assets, threatening as many as 27,000 jobs across both Topshop and Debenhams alone. What questions should you be asking? If Arcadia decided to keep its assets, what departments will be involved on the case? However, if is sold off, how will this affect the works of lawyers in the transaction departments such as banking? 3) Australia’s hydrogen road to Japan The southern state of Victoria has been powered by the fuel that lignite mines in Australia’s Latrobe Valley have been providing for over a century. But with climate policy becoming increasingly important, Australia is undergoing its first phase of an energy transition after the shutting down of a lignite mine and two coal plants in the valley. The main companies involved are J-Power, Shell Japan and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, who have partnered with AGL Energy from Australia and numerous other international partners on this process. The projected in also being co-funded by both the Australian and Japanese Government. What does this mean? If the Latrobe project goes ahead successfully, it could become the foundation and push for a global hydrogen economy, with the Paris agreement on climate change really driving investment in hydrogen. From Saudi Arabia to Spain and China, numerous hydrogen megaprojects are in the planning or development stages, so this is definitely a development to keep a close eye on! In terms of the personal benefits for Japan and Australia, this project would help Japan towards its decarbonisation target set for 2050, and would help Canberra diversify its heavily fossil-fuel dependent economy. What questions should you be asking? Whilst this project does look promising, what problems does Australia face in the development of hydrogen infrastructure? Linklaters highlights three main points in its Insights article on the project, which are; regulatory changes, developing a nationally consistent approach, and creating global advantage. Hogan Lovells expands on these issues in their September update paper, highlighting specific legal issues such as environmental and planning approvals, project financing, competition and foreign investment concerns and more.
Opportunities
Here are some great events to learn more about the legal industry, and interact with people in the legal profession:
Bright Network Internship Experience UK On Demand
All about barrister's chambers: We explored the different types of law firms so we can't forget about barrister chambers... they are just as important! Hopefully this explains the difference in chamber sets and what to expect. Commercial Sets: (Keating Chambers, Atkin Chambers) The 'Magic Circle' of the commercial barrister world. They handle matters for commercial clients with multiple areas of specialisation e.g. banking, international trade, civil fraud etc. Little time is spent in court, but this is where big money is made. Public Law Sets: (Blackstone Chambers, Landmark Chambers, Matrix Chambers) Here it is possible to lead cases at the highest level before the Supreme Court or even the European Court of Justice or of Human Rights. You can be presented with many forms of cases from conflicts over EU legislation to planning appeals. Just like commercial sets, little time is spent in the court here too. Common Law Sets: (Crown Office Chambers, Hailsham Chambers) Personal-injury claims are very common here. However, subject matters vary considerably and can range from small commercial disputes or possibly even criminal cases. Schedules may become unpredictable and flexibility is essential. Pupillage awards vary hugely, but top players can even match those paid by commercial sets. Crime Sets: (St John's Chambers, Matrix Chambers) They handle every kind of violation imaginable like gruesome murders, child abuse, terrorism or white-collar crime. Some chambers have an emphasis on defence or a particular type of crime so make sure to check when applying. If money is your motivation to be a barrister, just look elsewhere. You wont find it here. However, you will find a lot of court visits across the country so be prepared to travel. Regional Bar-Supersets and Beyond: (No5 Chambers, St Phillips Chambers, Trinity Chambers) These make up the over half of the 750 or so chambers located outside of London in England and Wales. They are less likely to specialise in the same degree as in London, therefore all shades of legal practise and a wider variety of different types of law can be found here. You may earn less here with the minimum being around £15k (however it wont matter since outer regions are cheaper to live in than London). Some chambers do pay more. Public Sector Sets: (Old Square Chambers, Trowers & Hamlins Chambers) This type deals with public sectors (duh!) such as education, financial services, healthcare, retail and consumer, sports (the list goes on). It is basically the field of law that covers the government's relationship with its citizens. Therefore, it covers a broad range of legal sectors such as criminal, tax and human rights law too!
Our top podcasts to tune in to:
1) Law Pod UK: This podcast looks at public and civil law
2) Serial: A podcast looking at the murder of Hae Min Lee in 1999. It blends together crime and law 3) RightsUp: Looks at human rights from a global perspective Don't forget to check out podcasts from the law firms you're interested in! For example, Clifford Chance and Simmons & Simmons have a podcast, and Herbert Smith Freehills is on Soundcloud!
We would like to dedicate a section of our newsletter to our members. We want to celebrate all our members' achievements so please us know, and we'll include it in our upcoming issues. Achievements like obtaining work experience, vacation schemes, mini pupillage, or just anything you are proud of that you may want to share!
We hope to see you all achieve great things :)
If you haven't already, please join our WhatsApp group chat to be connected with other non law students in a similar position to you. We frequently share cool events to attend, advice and anything we think our members will find useful therefore don't miss out on being part of this community!
Our next issue will include
Our top commercial news stories
Upcoming legal events to sign up to
More application deadline reminders
Top podcasts to be listening to
Upcoming society events
Advice of the day
Look out for our next issue as there's plenty more cool stuff coming!
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