The Legal Brief - 23rd November 2022

The Court heard the case during a two-days of legal arguments last month from both the UK and Scottish governments. Lord Reed is due to give his ruling on behalf of the court’s panel of senior judges this morning, in which they will decide whether the Scottish Government can legislate and hold a second referendum without the UK government’s formal approval.??

In September 2014, Alex Salmond (Scotland’s First Minister) led the Scottish National party into their first independence referendum, which they lost. 2,001,926 voted against independence and 1,617,989 voted in favour of independence (55% / 45% split). Due to this Salmond was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon who has called for another referendum.?

Rishi Sunak has described an independence referendum as a “quite frankly barmy idea”. However, Nicola Sturgeon said in her conference speech the day before the court hearing in October “If Westminster had any respect at all for Scottish Democracy, this court hearing wouldn’t be necessary. But Westminster has no such respect”?

Nicola Sturgeon sets out her economic vision for Scottish independence, which is titled “Building a New Scotland”. This will include re-joining the European Union, a redesigned energy market, retaining free movement of people, moving to the Scottish Pound, ￡20 billion in major infrastructure investments, improvement of pay and working conditions, a plan for better industrial relations and a migration police to boost the working population.?

In the most recent vote in relation to Brexit, Scotland rejected Brexit with a vote of 62% against Brexit and 38% in favour. Due to Scotland being a part of the United Kingdom, Scotland also had to leave the EU. If Scotland does leave the UK and joins the EU again, the UK government have warned this would lead to a hard border between the two countries. Therefore, the Minister’s goal of “free movement of the people” will be limited.?

This morning the Court will make a decision on whether this proposed bill is within a constitutional position or whether or not it is contrary to or within the provisions of the Scotland Act. Therefore, the Court will decide whether the Scottish government can hold a second independence referendum on the 23rd?November 2022.

Written by Gabrielle Coates

Amidst the chatter regarding the World Cup in Qatar, and the huge news yesterday that one of their biggest ever players, Cristian Ronaldo, is leaving the club with immediate effect, there was yet more news for those interested in Manchester United to take note of yesterday - the club’s owners, the Glazer family, are considering selling the club as they “explore strategic alternatives.”

This news might come as a bit of a welcome surprise to fans of the club, who have been protesting the ownership for years across multiple forums, including showing their distaste at games via the medium of banners.

So, who are the Glazers? The American family, who bought Manchester back in 2005 for ￡790m ($1.34bn), are led by brothers Joel and Avram, following the death of the family’s Patriarch, Malcolm, in 2014. Malcolm started in business by owning the watch repair concession at the Sampson Air Force Base, near Seneca Lake NY, before building his business through domestic and, later, retail real estate, right up to owning Banks and Medical Facilities. He then founded First Allied Corporation, which was a holding company for his various endeavours, including Manchester United, up until his death. The Corporation passed onto his Sons, and the family remain multi-team owners, also owning NFL side Tampa Bay Buccaneers (since 1995) - Avram also bought a side in the UAE Twenty20 Cricket league last year.

Regarding the potential sale of Manchester United, the Glazers have said, “As we seek to continue building on the club’s history of success, the board has authorised a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives. We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximises the significant growth opportunities available to the club today and in the future. Throughout this process we will remain fully focussed on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders”

Manchester United have appointed Raine Group, the American investment firm who handled Chelsea’s ￡4.25bn sale in May, as their sole financial advisors on the matter, and have said the following in response, “Manchester United does not intend to make further announcements regarding the review unless and until the board has approved a specific transaction or other course of action requiring a formal announcement.”

It sounds, from that statement, like we are unlikely to know any further until a sale (or not) is agreed and about to be finalised, but fans of the the club will likely be excited by the idea of new ownership, owing to the years of dissatisfaction with the Glazer family. The may not, however, be happy with the high likelihood of new ownership also coming from overseas. Manchester United is a Global money-making machine and, with the Pound currently still being very weak against other major global currencies, could represent a significant investment opportunity from overseas parties.

written by Duncan Balcon

The world’s biggest iPhone factory, managed by Foxconn in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, has seen protests break out in the part 24 hours - with many videos of the unrest making in online and being viewed worldwide.

In the videos, unhappy workers are shown, in their hundreds, marching and being confronted by riot police and other official wearing hazmat suits. Some of the people live-streaming the events as they unfold have also made statements claiming some workers had been beaten by police in attendance.

The disgruntlement of these employees seems to be entirely over working/living conditions, that they claim have been substandard since a surge in COVID cases at the site last month. The increase in cases caused Foxconn to lock down the campus, where workers have accommodation during their working week, in an attempt to restrict the spread of the disease on site. This lock down didn’t go down well though, with many workers breaking out of the site to return home to their families.

This drop in staff on site prompted Foxconn to recruit new workers to fill the void left by those who had “run away”, promising generous bonuses to anyone who helped fill the void in labour. This appears to be the root cause of these protests, as many of these workers are complaining that they are being quarantined, without receiving the bonuses that were promised, including the provision of food, according to one Foxconn worker on a live stream of the incident.

Foxconn has not yet commented on the matter, although will no doubt be worried by this news, and it’s publicity, as human rights issues could be a deterrent for any company wanting to partner with them. They are currently Apples largest sub-contractor, assembling more iPhones at this factory than anywhere else in the world. They have also being making moves into other industries, including EV production, over recent weeks, so this could be a major stumbling block for them, if they cannot bring it to a satisfactory resolution

written by Duncan Balcon

This week from LSP Host, Robert Hanna …

?? THE FUTURE FOR LAW IN THE METAVERSE ????

As we continue to move further into the age of digital information, more and more aspects of our lives are being transferred onto the internet.?

Virtual reality is evolving at pace, increasing the potential for it to be used in legal proceedings. Already, there have been a number of cases tried in VR, and as the technology improves, it is likely that this will become an increasingly common way to settle disputes.?

Some believe that the use of VR in law could eventually lead to the dissolution of traditional courtrooms and lawyers altogether ??

But, what does the FUTURE look like for transactional lawyers??

Well...

From being shortlisted for the Rising Star Innovation Award in 2020, to winning Best Fundraising Lawyer in 2021, to now offering meetings in his office in the Metaverse...

I welcomed the one and only 'The Cap Lawyer',?David Turneyto our?Legally Speaking Podcast ???powered by?Clio - Cloud-Based Legal Technology?????

David is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of specialist law firm,?Avery Law. He began his career at?Allen & Overyand David’s specialisms include, corporate, finance and fundraising in the tech sector.??

Aside from this, David is a keen Metaverse enthusiast and often talks about this on his?Twitter?account.?

I asked him about his approach to the Metaverse and what this has to offer for law and the industry in the future and it proved to be an interesting topic of conversation...

David & I also chatted about:?

?? The struggles of getting into law school in present times??

?? How to establish a successful law firm and how he did it #

?? Important advice to investors and start-ups around the world??

?? Fundraising and how this sector involves and integrates technology??

?? Why corporate culture is important and how to promote it in your business??

?? His interests in the metaverse and why this may be the future for the law industry??

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