The Legal Brief - 30th November 2022

Not content with causing a stir within his own company, new Twitter owner, Elon Musk, is now having a bit of a shot at Apple, over both its App store, and the ads it chooses to place (or not place as the case may be.)

In a series of Tweets on Monday of this week, he accused Apple of "censorship" and criticised the Tech giant's policies, including the charge it levies on purchases made on its app store. The bluntest message simply read, "Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?" If Musk's statement here is right, and Apple are now withholding advertising on Twitter, this would be pretty bad news for him, and Twitter, as he tries to rebuild the platform to the value he paid for it - a challenge which is already difficult as companies worldwide are trying to reduce on their spending. The company has already seen a "massive" drop in ad revenue - a fall Musk has blamed on activists for "pressuring advertisers." In reality, Musk's plan for the moderation (or not!) of content on the site appears to be putting off a lot of companies from spending on advertising currently.

Apple's potential withdrawal of advertising funds, however, would hit Twitter harder than most companies, as The Washington Post has stated that Apple is currently the top advertiser on Twitter, spending $48m on ads on the social network in the first quarter of 2022. Other large companies, such as Cheerios maker, General Mills, and car manufacturer, Volkswagen, are among the firms that have halted their spending in recent weeks.

In another tweet, Musk also claimed Apple had threatened to withhold Twitter from its app store, but did not say why, or provide any evidence that this is the case. This is a risky statement to make, as other companies have found out recently that when it comes to the App store, Apple holds all the power. Should this be true, either now or in the future, the removal of Twitter from the store, and its inability therefore to run on iPhones around the world, could ruin the company for good. You would think Elon Musk would tread more carefully around a company with the power to do this much damage to Twitter, and his personal wealth and status, rather than taking pot-shots at them.

Written by Duncan Balcon

In a brief, and pleasantly positive, story from the hospitality industry today, there is news of a boom in sales around the World Cup in Qatar.

Pub chain, Marton's, who show the games on big screens in many of their venues, have announced that they are seeing like-for-like sales on days when England are playing rise by 30%. This is coupled with a 50% increase in drinks sales overall, taking into account games when England aren't playing too.

This is great news from within an industry that has been hard-hit by the pandemic and is still very much struggling to get back on its feet. It must be noted, however, that the World Cup is not on for long, and so the true test will be whether these pubs (and others like them who have seen similar increases in footfall) can convert this into higher numbers for next year and beyond. You would imagine the festive season will also draw people in, with work parties, family outings and events, such as quizzes, being more prevalent at this time of year. All hospitality venues at the moment will likely be putting in place schemes and offers to try and reduce the drop-off in the New Year.

As for Marston's, they were due to publish results yesterday, but have said they have been delayed due to audit procedures. They did say, however, that their end of year guidance would not be changing. Obviously, they don't see the World Cup uplift as changing the overall outlook for the company, and industry, and the true test will be whether momentum from a prosperous month or so can be carried into the coming months,

Written by Duncan Balcon

Rolls Royce, with the assistance of EasyJet, have been testing a new airline engine - one that runs on Hydrogen power, with the firm saying that the trial is a ‘major step’ towards proving hydrogen could be zero-carbon aviation fuel of the future.

This is a theory that many commentators have been speculating about for a few years, with many in the automotive industry also believing hydrogen fuel cells are a more efficient, and likely, alternative to EVs for the long-term future.

Rolls Royce may be known to many as a car company, but in reality, the FTSE100 company are an engineering giant, responsible for making anything from the (relatively) small Phantom, Wraith and other luxury vehicles, up to the diesel engines for mainline trains, and the building and maintaining of jet engines - which is actually their main business line.

The test, which Rolls Royce are saying was a “major step towards proving that hydrogen could be a zero-carbon aviation fuel of the future”, took place at Boscombe Down (a Wiltshire based military facility) and used a converted regional aircraft engine that is generally used to power turboprop planes.?These kinds of engines are propeller driven and are generally used?on slower-speed short-haul flights, rather than driving the fan required for faster speeds in jet engines.?This is clearly just the beginning, then, as this test does not prove the adequacy of the engines for long-haul, international, flights. However, as the Aviation industry faces one of the sternest tests of any industry to decarbonise as the world seeks to move to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it will be seen as a very strong step in the right direction by many within the industry.

Written by Duncan Balcon

This week from LSP host, Robert Hanna :

"?? TRANSFORMING THE LEGAL EXPERIENCE FOR ALL ??

Tired of the same old, outdated systems? ??

Are you looking for more efficient & innovative ways to manage your workload? ??

Did you know that creating an excellent experience for your clients doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming? ??

Luckily, there is another way…??

Meet?Jack Newton?the CEO and Founder of?Clio - Cloud-Based Legal Technology?and a pioneer in all things legal tech??

Jack is building a 100-year, enduring technology company with the best team around and has set a mission to transform the legal experience for all.

Jack has ''spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community on the security, ethics, and privacy issues surrounding cloud computing, and has become a nationally recognised author and speaker on these topics''.

Jack’s tremendous vision has already made a deep impact on one of the world’s oldest professions. The Clio platform offers a fresh take on an industry that is in need of modernisation. With so many legal practice management software options on the market, it's clear that Clio is the top choice for legal professionals who want to focus on their clients and their firms.

I had an absolute blast chatting IN PERSON with our sponsor's CEO, for the latest?Legally Speaking Podcast ???SPECIAL episode ???

Jack & I chatted about:

?? His entrepreneurial spirit & impressive career journey to day

?? The beginning of Clio and how it's evolved into what it is today

?? Why you should always check your Junk email :)

?? Clio's strategy in being the first cloud-based legal practice management software in the market

?? Solutions that Clio offers to legal firms and why it's important

?? The significance of client-centered technology and what this means for the sector

?? What 'transforming the legal experience for all' means to Jack

?? Jack's motivations behind writing his best-selling 'The Client-Centered Law Firm' book

?? The 3 foundations required for building an ‘antifragile’ law firm: connection, creativity, and technology

?? This episode which is a MASTERCLASS in entrepreneurship is OUT NOW. Just click on the link on the image below or go to our Legally Speaking Podcast website (or wherever you get your podcasts)

As Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”

I love Clio’s HUGE mission and support it all the way!"

Banking Lawyers?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 0 - 7?PQE (London, Manchester, Leeds )

Capital Markets Associate?- Top US Law Firm?- 2 - 4??PQE (London)

Commercial Life Sciences Associate?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 3 - 7?PQE (London)

Competition Associate?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 2+ PQE (London)

Crypto Lawyers?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 2+?PQE (London )

Disputes Associate?- Top US Law Firm?- 4 - 5?PQE (London )

Finance Associate?- Top US Law Firm?- 3 - 4?PQE (London)

Financial Regulatory Associate?- Top US Law Firm?- 3 - 5?PQE (London)

ICE Dispute Associate?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 3 - 7?PQE (London )

IP Litigation Associate?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 2+ PQE (London)

IP/IT/Commercial and Data Protection Associate?- Top US Law Firm?- 4 - 5 PQE (London)

M&A Associate?- Top US Law Firm?- 2 - 4 PQE (London)

Powers/Networks Associate / Senior Associate?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 5+ PQE (London )

Real Estate Associate?- Top 10 UK International Law Firm?- 0-2?PQE (London )

For further information, or to get your questions answered, please send a message to?Robert Hanna.

If you cannot see a job suitable for you, but are interested to hear about more jobs at KC Partners, please send your CV to?[email protected]?to be considered.

At KC Partners we are committed to promoting diversity and equality of opportunities across organisations and we welcome applications from suitable candidates regardless of race or racial group, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender re-assignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity.