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03 March 2011 / Eleanor Baxter
Issue: 7455 / Categories: Features , Costs
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Corporate governance 2011

Eleanor Baxter reviews the evolving corporate governance environment

As listed public companies prepare for their 2011 AGMs, they will need to take stock of the many recent and ongoing developments in the field of corporate governance.

2010 saw the revision of the Combined Code following its review by the Financial Reporting Council (the FRC). The renamed UK Corporate Governance Code (the Code) applies to companies with financial years beginning on or after 29 June 2010, so will soon universally apply to listed companies. While the Code did not mark a complete overhaul of the recommended governance framework under the Combined Code, which was found to be largely fit for purpose, there have been a number of key, and some controversial, changes including:

  • the recommendation of the annual re-election of all directors of FTSE 350 companies;
  • the requirement to give due regard to the benefits of diversity on the board, including gender;
  • the emphasis throughout the Code on the need for links between remuneration, individual performance
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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