The Legal Brief - 7th September 2022

Liz Truss was appointed by Queen Elizabeth in Scotland on Tuesday after beating her rival, Rishi Sunak. She has now taken office as Britain’s new prime minister.

The community is concerned about the drastic price increase in Electricity and Gas. Many households and businesses are struggling to pay their own bills due to the nearly 80% price increase in Energy. Truss has promised to set out a plan for the energy crisis within the first week of becoming Prime Minister, particularly committing to the increase of oil and gas production. She seems to be dealing with the UK’s short-term problems, whilst also working towards the long-term market reforms. It has been suggested on Tuesday she will finalise a package that could cost more than ￡100 billion to address the UK energy crisis. Her plan is to cap household energy bills at ￡2,500. These plans cost money, however, rather than the taxpayer having to pay back, the government are planning to borrow the money. It has also been announced consumers will receive a one-off payment of ￡400 to help offset rises.

Truss has also made other promises, to focus on the cuts to personal and business taxes, to address the crisis in the NHS and to deal with the economic storm.

The recent issues have made it difficult for Britain to trust the Conservative Government. Some people believe the government giving Liz Truss leadership is an attempt to restore the society's trust in the Conservative Government, hence the quotation “In Liz we Truss”. It will be essential to see whether Truss can keep her promises and do what is necessary to help the UK get through the multiple crises we face.

Elizabeth Truss’s Career

Liz Truss, 47, is a British Politician. Truss attended Merton College, Oxford.

2010: She was elects to the House of Commons; she was elected as the MP for Southwest Norfolk.

2012 – 2014: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Childcare and Education.

2014: Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Supported remaining in the EU.

Supported BREXIT after the result.

2016: Appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in May.

2017: Appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury

2019: Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.

2021: Promoted to Foreign Secretary

December 2021: Promoted to the Government’s chief negotiator with the EU and UK chair of the EU-UK partnership council.?

Written by Gabrielle Coates

This is a piece of news that a lot of people will have seen coming however the timing, and potential implications, for both parents and subsidiary company, are interesting.

Volkswagen announced yesterday that they would be floating Porsche, with the IPO set to be one of the biggest in recent years - up to a value of €85bn according to analysts!

This news isn’t altogether surprising, as we have seen the success of separating off “luxury” brands from the main marque, with an obvious example being Fiat’s separation of Ferrari. What this allows investors to do is put their money in the areas of business that truly interest them, rather than having to back everything a single manufacturing group is involved with.

This IPO will also give VW a nice cash influx, at a time when developing EVs is a key priority for all manufacturers - and they will want to be a leading name in these developments going forwards.

The timing, as mentioned earlier, is quite interesting. This move has come before the energy and cost-of-living crises have had a major effect on manufacturing in Germany. Many commentators have been noting how a slow down in manufacturing is imminent, and always unavoidable, and it would seem that this IPO comes just in time to make sure this slowdown doesn’t knock value off he Porsche marque.

Investors are being consulted as we speak, and although it is believed the IPO location will be Frankfurt, VW are ensuring that investors are best placed before announcing full details at the end of the month. If this goes as well as the Fiat/Ferrari deal did, it could make for very bright futures for both marques - albeit separate from one another.

Written by Duncan Balcon

For many years, Klarna has been coming under scrutiny as a provider of Buy Now, Pay Later products. Up until recently, however, it has held off criticism and continued to offer their services to people seemingly unfazed.

However, a recent valuation has dropped Klarna down to $7bn, from a whopping (and arguably overinflated) €46bn last year. Coupled with the fact that many mainstream banks are now building, and beginning to offer, BNPL products to their customers, it would seem Klarna has reached a crossroads.

One of the institutions now offering BNPL products in Monzo, a company with a significant overlap of customer base with Klarna, due to their shared focus on younger demographics. The presence of a competitor with customer crossover might worry Klarna, as you would imagine customers are more likely to use BNPL products associated with the bank they already use.

With the falling company valuation, and the circling competitors eager to take market share, whilst also being financially regulated, it is foreseeable that the best way for Klarna to survive would be acquisition by one of these competitors. Ideally, a mainstream “brick and mortar” bank who may want to add this service to their offering for customers.

As people are highly unlikely to change banks, this kind of acquisition could future-proof Klarna, whilst offering higher levels of customer loyalty to the institution that hypothetically acquires it.

Written by Duncan Balcon

?????? IT’S SHOWTIME ??????

We are SUPER excited to announce that Season 6 of the?Legally Speaking Podcast ???powered by?Clio - Cloud-Based Legal Technology?is finally HERE. ??

Much like whoever gets the keys to Number 10 today to become UK prime minister; we are getting down to business right from the off with with a cracking first guest for you!

We welcomed the one and only?Dr. Sally Penni MBE?to the show! ?

Sally is a powerhouse in the legal community wearing many hats:

? Barrister at Law, Author,

? Master of the Bench at?Gray's Inn

? Master Penni MBE

? Barrister at Law,?Kenworthy's Chambers?Mcr

? Barrister Door tenant 4 Bream buildings Cham, London

As a barrister at Kenworthy’s Chambers, Sally practises criminal, GDPR, data protection and employment law.

Sally is also a radio broadcaster and diversity leader.

Additionally, Sally is the founder of?Women in the Law UK?– a non-organisation organisation, inspiring all women and men passionate about diversity in the law.

This episode comes particularly well-timed on our part this week as the coverage of the Members of?The Criminal Bar Association?strikes are happening from today - something in which Sally is taking part.

?? What can you learn from listening to this episode?

Sally & I cover:

?? The difference between each area of law and why it's important to know

?? Details on the daily life of an acting barrister

?? Sally's inspiration to build the successful Women in the Law UK organisation, championing diversity in law

?? Sally's MBE award and what this has meant for her and her career

?? The positive changes that should and could be implemented in the legal profession

?? Sally's experience as an author and why she was driven to write books and share her knowledge

?? Podcasting in the legal industry and why law firms should be considering it

?? OUT NOW ??

?? Accessible for FREE via our Legally Speaking Podcast website and ALL major audio platforms!

We have LOTS more videos, quotes, audiograms from Sally to share with you.

We we will be sharing these across our social media platforms this week and beyond.

Be sure to follow us on ALL our social media platforms and check out our TikTok account @legallyspeakingpodcast ????

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