Your QM Law For All Society Newsletter
Welcome to the fifth issue of our newsletter, Unorthodox
Our final edition of the year! Thank you to everyone who's been reading over the last 2 months, we look forward to bringing you more content in the new year. Have a well-deserved break this holiday!
Now onto your favourite fortnightly legal updates brought to you by the LFA newsletter team.
We're proud to present our final event of the year
It's open to everyone, members and non-members are welcome. Bring your friends, your family, your enemies, your loved ones... it's time for our FAMILY FORTUNES REMATCH, let's go!
Stay tuned until the end of the event because we've got a surprise for you ;)
What's going on in the world?
1) Brexit deal negotiations continue, but will we reach an agreement in time for the new year?
The deadline for trade deal talks was meant to be the 13th December but have once again been extended until Christmas at the absolute latest. This is all in hopes of reaching a resolution in time for the UK’s departure from the EU in the new year, despites Boris Johnson’s statement saying a No-Deal Brexit was very likely. The talks have been making slow but necessary progress according to representatives on both ends of the deal, with only one main outstanding issue left to negotiate.
What does this mean?
The main issue that remains to be resolved is how fair competition will be ensured post-Brexit, with UK representatives arguing that the mechanisms proposed so far by the EU would essentially keep the UK tethered to the EU and undermine departure. The EU wants widespread level playing field provisions to cover workers’ rights, taxation, environmental protection and state aid. The EU’s position on fishing rights has also been a big contention during talks but one that the EU is gradually shifting on. If the talks fail, the UK would have to trade with the EU on the terms of the World Trade Organisation, which would result in UK farmers being subjected to detrimental tariffs on their exports and EU fishermen could potentially be sent away from their usual territories in British waters.
Why is this important?
It's obvious that Brexit is important, but a mechanism regarding fair competition is fundamental to trade between the UK and EU and directly impacts the advice that lawyers will be giving to businesses.
To hear more about some of the other recent developments on the Brexit negotiations, such as Ireland closing off its backdoor for England and Wales based solicitors, check our LittleLaw's article here.
2) Facebook sued by the Federal Commission
Last week Facebook was sued by 48 state attorneys and the Federal Trade Commission with accusations of anti-competitive practices. Two acquisitions have been questioned in the suit: the acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. The suit was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, claiming ‘the company has and continues today to illegally stifle competition to protect its monopoly power’, and this prevents smaller competitors from being able to reach users and give users the benefits of competition.
What does this mean?
This case, along with a series of other competition suits that have been made against tech companies in the last few months, demonstrate the changing attitudes of regulators towards big tech. This change in attitude can be attributed to a better understanding of big tech business models, and the realisation that what may have once been considered separate markets - social networking, photo sharing, messaging etc – are in actually now strongly connected.
Why is this important?
Debates about whether the big tech companies should be split up or made to adhere to stricter rules have been ongoing for a while now. With Facebook undoubtedly having a lot of impact on our daily lives already, will this just be another case where a big tech company pays a fine and continues dominating markets by any means? Or will there finally be more measures put in place to ensure future acquisitions by big tech don't prohibit competition? And how will this patter of anti-competitive practice contribute to discussions about breaking up big tech companies?
3) The RCEP was signed in November 2020 by 15 Asian-Pacific nations After almost a decade of negotiations, the partnership was signed, sealing a deal that covers goods and services, cross-border investments, e-commerce and intellectual properties. The Deal still needs to be ratified by all signatories which could be a slow process. What does this mean? If approved, individual Asian countries will be brought a step closer to becoming a trading zone comparable to the EU and US, giving them more of a voice when establishing trading rules. It will generally link Northeast and SouthEast Asian economies closer together including those such as Vietnam and Malaysia which have already attracted growing investment as multinationals. Not only that, but it will join together several of the largest world economies such as China, Japan and South Korea. Why is this important? The deal covers a market of 2.2 billion people and 30% of the world's GDP. It is predicted that the deal may add $200bn a year to the global economy by 2030. The deal will most definitely affect and possibly narrow down US influence in the regions involved, giving Beijing more power to set standards for regional trade. Furthermore, it is important to think about the pressure on these countries to further establish standards on labour, agriculture and the environment itself.
ATTENTION: First year insight scheme applications are about to open in January. They are a great way to gain an insight into various commercial law firms and its culture. Many of them run over two days. Make sure to double check the websites of the firms you are interested in to ensure you don't miss the deadlines!
Our top podcasts to tune in to:
1) Bright Network Thinking Commercially:The second episode of Chris Stoakes and Ben Triggs new podcast is out! They discuss competition law and big tech firms, the role of interest rates in the economy, and the rise of hobbies in 2020.
2) LawNext: Bob Ambrogi, publisher of LawSites, hosts weekly interviews with innovators and entrepreneurs who are leading innovation in the legal industry. This podcast explores the future of law and legal practice through discussions about new law firm business models, legal tech startups, and improving access to justice. 3) Think Commercial: a podcast created by the makers of the website The Business Update (TBU) which delves into carefully chosen stories that vary from business to legal tech to law.
Now I know what you're all thinking, where are our TCLA top tips?! TCLA's events have ended for the year but rest assured they'll be back next year and we suggest you keep an eye on TCLA's social media! In the meantime, the team at NLALS have been busy interviewing a family lawyer Sabrina Bailey from Allard Bailey in Holborn.
This week, two of our committee members, Xanthe and Ela, have become Brand Ambassadors for LittleLaw! LittleLaw is a student-led website that aims to make commercial law easier to understand for students.
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