David Murray, a lawyer and insolvency specialist discusses the impact of the continuing harsh economic conditions on high street retailers.

Prepared by Neil Forsyth, team leader of our Credit Hire team, this guide is intended to assist insurers to handle and negotiate credit hire claims.

The EU Commission issued, just before Christmas, a press release and a set of frequently asked questions on the content of its proposed modernisation of the procurement directives. Whilst the proof of this particular pudding will no doubt be in the eating, the early signs, like the smell of flaming brandy, are hopeful.

The Judicial Review of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Consultation on Feed-in Tariffs offers the prospect of a temporary reprieve for Solar PV developers and their customers, although, with DECC having lodged an application for leave to appeal against the decision, the sector remains dogged by uncertainty. DECC’s application, together with the appeal itself, if DECC is granted leave to appeal, will be heard on 13 January 2012.

EPB bulletin 47-New year resolutions may be broken already, the weather unpredictable and the economic climate difficult to predict but one thing at least is certain. There will be no let up in the pace of employment law changes in the year ahead.

With Fuel Poverty at its highest level since 1996, social landlords are looking for ways to reduce their tenants’ energy consumption and costs. Current and forthcoming Government measures to address the problem offer a wealth of opportunities to social landlords, but also risks and threats. Morgan Cole is proud to have played a prominent role in the implementation of measures to tackle fuel poverty measures, whilst helping to manage the risk of clients in the social housing sector.

Where an Insolvency Administration Order is granted over a deceased’s estate, it is often viewed as an estate that is unlikely to return any significant value to creditors. This bulletin highlights the opportunity to improve realisations in an insolvent deceased’s estate by avoiding the effects of ‘survivorship’ on property owned as joint tenants.

A retention of title clause represents contractual protection used by a supplier of goods to protect themselves against the buyer’s default on payment or the buyer’s insolvency.

EPB bulletin 46-The Bribery Act 2010, came into force on 1 July 2011 and we have now had the first prosecution and conviction under the Act. Munir Patel, a court clerk, has now been sentenced to three years imprisonment for bribery and six years for misconduct in a public office to be served concurrently. It is thought his misconduct lasted for over a year and involved at least 53 cases.

The First Minster announced on the 7 October that the Welsh Government will launch a public debate early in 2012 to explore the views of interested parties as to whether Wales should proceed to the establishment of a separate legal jurisdiction.