Corporate Governance Legal Services

Companies are facing increasing regulatory burden, with greater focus by boards, investors and regulators on sound corporate governance, compliance and risk management, and a continuing flow of new rules and regulations in this area.

To support you in dealing with these issues, whether at board level, General Counsel or as part of the Company Secretarial team, we provide a full suite of corporate governance and compliance services. We can support you in areas not covered by in house-teams, or where internal resources may be stretched - specialising in particularly complex areas.

We provide the following corporate governance services:

• compliance with UK Listing Rules, AIM Rules, Disclosure and Transparency Rules, Companies Act 2006, Takeover Code and regulatory announcements, institutional guidelines and the UK Corporate Governance Code;
• insider dealing protocols and share dealing codes;
• board and committee structures and terms of reference, board and NED independence and changes in board composition, appointment letters and contracts, participation in boardroom induction and training programmes;
• directors’ duties and conflicts of interest;
• constitutional document reviews;
• independent advice on remuneration, audit, nominations and other committees and individual executives who may require independent advice;
• annual reports and accounts – including ensuring compliance with both statutory requirements and non-statutory guidance;
• AGMs and investor/shareholder issues – our advisory team provide comprehensive specialist advice on the day-to-day issues affecting companies, including shareholder ownership issues and disputes;
• company secretarial support;
• risk management issues ranging from the adequacy, amendment and establishment of risk management and controls to share ownership issues, including the use of internal markets to incentivise and enfranchise employees and provisions to regulate control and ownership;
• implementation, management and tax treatment of share incentive schemes; and
• EU competition law, data protection, anti-bribery and investigations.

To help you stay up-to-date with the latest developments and the impact on your business, we also provide seminars and training workshops via webinar or by tailored e-briefings. These services are a key part of our aim to build a long-term relationship with you and support you as your trusted adviser. Our team is led by experienced specialists who bring their knowledge of current and future developments to bear, often informed by their participation in legal and industry committees.