Monthly Archives: August 2022

The Scale-up visa has launched – what do you need to know?

The brand-new Scale-up visa has finally come into force. Described as “the biggest visa improvement in a generation” by the Coalition for a Digital Economy, the Scale-up work visa is designed for the UK’s top high-growth businesses to attract exceptional talent, including scientists, engineers, programmers, and architects.   With the UK facing several challenges to its […]

Does inheritance tax have to be paid before probate is granted?

Probate is a topic which we have covered in some of our family law articles in the past. In many cases, people will only be granted probate if they have paid inheritance tax. However, many people in this situation may wish to be granted probate before they pay inheritance tax in order to know what […]

Is the Home Office responsible for an asylum seeker being attacked in their accommodation?

By Xijia Xie   In today’s article, we look at a recent case, R (on the application of MG) v Secretary of State for the Home Department. In this case, the claimant is an asylum seeker who was provided with private accommodation by the Secretary of State. He was attacked by a fellow asylum seeker […]

Court rules that Leave to Remain application under domestic violence route is not suitable for dependents of T2 visa holders

Written by Katherine Sun (Paralegal)   Leave to remain (LTR) applications under the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC) scheme can be treated differently but not discriminated against based on what kind of status applicants hold. Recently, an Indian citizen’s LTR application was refused on the grounds that she was not eligible for the DDVC route […]

Britain’s hot strike summer heats up as legal sector industrial action gathers steam

The British summer of 2022 may well go down as the summer of strikes. Workers across a wide range of sectors, including railway workers, bus workers, post office workers, airport workers, and barristers have all been on strike so far this summer, largely over disputes involving pay and conditions as inflation continues to increase and […]

Police registration enters the history books for foreign nationals

For those of you are foreign nationals, when you first arrive in the UK you will probably be familiar with the need to “register with the police station” after obtaining a new visa. Even if a foreign national’s personal circumstances change, they have also previously needed to report to the registered police station.   However, […]

Is Covid a viable defence by commercial tenants for rent arrears? No, says the Court of Appeal!

The Court of Appeal has recently found that a tenant cannot use Covid as a defence for rent arrears. The case acts as an important case study for rent arrears accrued during the pandemic as well as dispute resolution between commercial landlords and tenants.   The cases in question were as follows, Bank of New […]

Successful appeal on behalf of elderly Chinese national after Home Office’s unsympathetic refusal of leave to remain

  We have recently been successful in an appeal which has led to our client, aged 84, obtaining leave to remain on the basis of her family and private life. This follows an initial leave to remain refusal by the Home Office.   Our client made an application based on exceptional circumstances outside of the […]

What does it mean for a payment to be ‘subject to completion’? Judge rules in favour of law firm after client refused to pay legal fees!

Written by Paul Cheuk    The High Court of Justice has recently handed down an instructional judgment (Blacklion Law LLP v Amira Nature Foods Ltd [2022] EWHC 1500 (Ch)) in a lawsuit between a law firm and its client. The case involved a small London-based law firm suing a multinational rice distributor and its owner-director […]

Investigation launched into ASOS, Boohoo and Asda over ‘greenwashing’ claims

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into three fashion brands over their ‘green’ claims. The three fashion brands being investigated by the CMA for greenwashing include the supermarket Asda, as well as the online fashion brands, ASOS and Boohoo.   The CMA will look at the extent to which green claims […]