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Clarity for Business Summer 2019 Welcome to our newly relaunched corporate newsletter. We hope you find the contents both useful and stimulating. Our intention is to distribute this newsletter on a quarterly basis. Accordingly, if there is anything you would like to see us comment on in a future edition then do please let me know by dropping me an email. One of the biggest challenges facing businesses at the present time is the huge political and economic uncertainty deriving from not just Brexit but other more global issues, such as the USA and China trade skirmishes and the problems associated with global warming. I recently read an interesting article which suggested that if you were to look at a graphical snapshot of the UK economy over the last 200 years and took away the dates then it would not be immediately apparent when the periods of war had occurred. Although our focus tends to be more on the immediate it does pay from time to time to consider a more holistic bigger picture approach. One thing that is very clear, however, is that we cannot control a lot of what goes on in our business lives and the challenge is to focus on what we can control whilst trying to win new business and clients. That is very much the approach we adopt at Morton Fraser and hopefully it shines through in the articles below. Best wishes, Iain Young
Brexit: News & Views from Morton Fraser
We invite you to regularly visit our Brexit timeline for the lowdown on the most recent developments. Check out our most recent podcast covering: Using Brexit down time wisely
Protect your intellectual property - an investment and not cost There are various stories (some of them probably apocryphal) about small businesses receiving letters from Disney's lawyers threatening all kinds of dreadful legal consequences if the business keeps infringing Disney's IP. There was a story a few years ago about a small boutique selling baby clothes somewhere in the Highlands receiving such a letter. The problem was that the shop was called 'Tinker Bell,' and 'Tinker Bell' is one of Disney's trade marks. Read More
Roan of FreeAgent talks business opportunity Roan, co-founder of Free Agent is a Scottish success story. He's successful in his field and seems to have everything together, (well done Roan). But for how many people does this actually happen? No-one really sets off with a great idea for a business and plans for it to fail right? Read More
What are the obstacles preventing Scottish small and early-stage businesses from fulfilling their growth ambitions? It is estimated that there are approximately 365,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating currently in Scotland, providing around 1.2 million jobs. Many of those businesses have been established in the last 10 years as a direct consequence of former employees being made redundant as a result of the recession and reinvesting their redundancy money in new ventures.
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The power of Chambers of Commerce and Interlaw
One of the best things about my job is that I enjoy the privilege of advising a wide range of businesses, from manufacturing to software development, from property investment to publishing, from homecare services to advertising. Read More
What I've learned from speaking to employers about Brexit In recent months, We have been speaking with employers about Brexit, and specifically what they can do to make sure their staff register with the Home Office to protect their right to work after Brexit, but along the way I've been surprised by some of the things I've learned.
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The shareholder dispute that never was (but should have been) Over the years I've seen more than my fair share of shareholder disputes and I've often been evangelical about how to avoid them (put simply, make sure you have a proper shareholders’ agreement if you have a company that has two or more shareholders). A shareholders' agreement can be quite straightforward, but if you have a 50/50 company it needs to contain a mechanism for resolving deadlocks. The simplest mechanism is to agree that a third party will impose a binding solution on the warring factions, and I’ve seen such clauses used successfully on a number of occasions. Read More
Can you pay men on shared parental leave less than woman on maternity leave? One of the most anticipated employment law judgements of 2019 has been handed down. Read More
WELCOME TO CLARITY Clear legal advice for businesses, public sector, individuals and families. Edinburgh: 0131 247 1000 Glasgow: 0141 274 1100 info@morton-fraser.com
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