Sarah Marten
For many employers, the Employment Rights Act 2025 can feel like a moving target. Just as businesses have got to grips with the changes introduced earlier this year, another wave of reforms is now on the horizon.
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Freya Wright
Freya Wright joined Bermans in February 2024 and is a solicitor in our Property team. We spoke to her to learn more about her and her work.
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Katia Douglas
For many business owners and finance professionals, intellectual property (IP) is often viewed as something relevant only to large corporates, tech companies, or highly innovative sectors. In reality, IP sits at the heart of most businesses, whether recognised or not. It can be one of your most valuable assets, capable of protecting market position, supporting valuation, and creating new revenue opportunities.
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Mike Carter
The recent High Court decision requiring Prince Harry and six other claimants to make an interim payment of approximately £9.5 million towards the defendant’s legal costs has brought into sharp focus an important aspect of litigation: costs.
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Elizabeth Wilkinson
Many business owners start companies with friends, family members or long-time colleagues. While those relationships may provide a strong foundation, they offer little protection when disagreements arise, responsibilities become unequal or the business comes under financial pressure. We regularly advise business owners whose working relationships have broken down, often because important legal and financial safeguards were never put in place.
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Rob Eakins
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) creates a risk-based framework for the development, supply and use of artificial intelligence. Although it is an EU law, it may apply to UK businesses that develop or supply AI systems to EU customers, place AI systems on the EU market, or provide AI-powered services whose outputs are used in the EU. This article explains the EU AI Act’s rules on prohibited AI practices, transparency obligations, high-risk AI systems and copyright-related requirements for certain AI models, before considering the UK’s current regulatory approach and the practical implications for data protection, automated decision-making, consumer protection and commercial contracts.
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James Thornton
Supreme Court Clarifies the Scope of Contractual Compensation Clauses: Implications for Commercial Contracts
The UK Supreme Court’s decision in Great Asia Maritime Ltd v Orion Shipping and Trading LLC [2026] UKSC 23 provides important guidance on the relationship between contractual remedies and common law rights. Although the dispute arose from a ship sale agreement, the judgment has wider significance for businesses entering into commercial contracts across all sectors.
Continue ReadingNorth west law firm Bermans has strengthened its litigation team with the appointment of James Thornton as a senior associate.
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John-Paul Dennis
For many years, pensions have been one of the most effective tools for IHT planning, allowing individuals (particularly business owners and senior professionals) to pass on substantial wealth outside of their taxable estate. However, significant legislative changes coming into force from 6 April 2027 will fundamentally alter this position.
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Chris Brain (pictured), joined Bermans in September 2020 and is a Solicitor in our Insolvency team. We spoke to him to learn more about him and his work.
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