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Aspiring Lawyers - Interviews & Vacation Schemes
Commercial Awareness Discussion
Commercial Awareness Update - January 2020
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<blockquote data-quote="Rachel S" data-source="post: 20881" data-attributes="member: 3442"><p><u>Coronavirus: Commercial Impact (Ayah)</u></p><p><u>The Story</u></p><p>What was supposed to be a Lunar New Year like any other, turned into a nightmare for the Chinese government. The Chinese New Year marks the largest annual human migration. Accordingly, drastic measures were put into place to contain the spread of the virus. Travel between cities is now heavily restricted, and the national holiday has been extended by a week. What was initially dismissed as just a few cases in Wuhan, has now completely disrupted the world second largest economy. </p><p></p><p><u>Impact on Businesses and Law Firms</u></p><p>Acting on government advice, most people in China are avoiding all but necessary travel outside their homes. The Chinese economy is dependent on strong consumer spending, particularly during the New Year period. It is expected that the spread of the virus and the consequent withdrawal from public life will hurt China’s already slowing down economy.</p><p></p><p>But what about the global impact? Apple is just one of the companies that will need to prepare in the event that its supply chain becomes seriously disrupted. Despite the assembly factories being located 500km away from Wuhan, the spread of the virus means further delays to returning to work are likely, which will effect the global supply chain.</p><p></p><p>Many foreign companies including international law firms have offices in Shanghai, and will be affected by the Shanghai government’s extension of the New Year holiday to 9th February. Depending on how this story develops, the longer employees are unable to work the more seriously firms may start to reconsider their presence in the region.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>Rolls-Royce invests in nuclear energy (Rachel Strickland)</u></p><p><u>The story</u></p><p>Rolls-Royce will be leading a UK consortium to develop 10-15 Small Modular Reactors (‘SMRs’) by 2029, in what the company describes as “national endeavour” to meet global energy demand. SMRs work as mini nuclear stations which can be transported to sites for large-scale projects without the cost of on-site manufacture and access to a steady supply of low-carbon energy.</p><p></p><p>SMRs have been supported by Prime Minister, Boris Johnson who previously called for a “nuclear renaissance” in July. Rolls-Royce has subsequently secured government investment of £18 million. This is due to the need for more technologies to meet energy demand and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Also, the project will hopefully encourage inward investment from international organisations, lead to cross-collaboration of industry associations and research centres and, create 40,000 jobs in a boost to the UK economy.</p><p></p><p>However, nuclear energy remains controversial with concerns over the risk of radioactive waste, the expensive nature of projects and the desire to limit investment to purely renewable energy. Similarly, major nuclear projects have previously been abandoned through lack of appropriate funding.</p><p></p><p><u>Impact on businesses and law firms</u></p><p>For businesses, SMRs present a commercial opportunity as they do not require large, complex financing arrangements and time-consuming construction. For Rolls-Royce, diversifying from high-end luxury vehicles and promoting open innovation is also likely to restore some confidence in Rolls-Royce’s devalued share price.</p><p></p><p>For law firms, SMRs also present opportunities. The smaller size may of SMRs may reduce the time planning & construction lawyers need to spend on environmental impact assessments and challenges to development proposals, however, nuclear energy is a highly regulated sphere. Employment lawyers will look at contracts that incorporate training provisions for nuclear safety and radiation protection. Corporate teams will draft consortium agreements between businesses, governments and research institutes. Waste management comes with high reputational costs for businesses; therefore lawyers will need to draft contracts with third-parties for disposal of radioactive waste or in preparing bids for government funded decommissioning programmes. Lastly, considering the increasingly activist stance on ESG concerns, the risk of litigation may also increase and businesses will want to mitigate environmental liabilities.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rachel S, post: 20881, member: 3442"] [U]Coronavirus: Commercial Impact (Ayah) The Story[/U] What was supposed to be a Lunar New Year like any other, turned into a nightmare for the Chinese government. The Chinese New Year marks the largest annual human migration. Accordingly, drastic measures were put into place to contain the spread of the virus. Travel between cities is now heavily restricted, and the national holiday has been extended by a week. What was initially dismissed as just a few cases in Wuhan, has now completely disrupted the world second largest economy. [U]Impact on Businesses and Law Firms[/U] Acting on government advice, most people in China are avoiding all but necessary travel outside their homes. The Chinese economy is dependent on strong consumer spending, particularly during the New Year period. It is expected that the spread of the virus and the consequent withdrawal from public life will hurt China’s already slowing down economy. But what about the global impact? Apple is just one of the companies that will need to prepare in the event that its supply chain becomes seriously disrupted. Despite the assembly factories being located 500km away from Wuhan, the spread of the virus means further delays to returning to work are likely, which will effect the global supply chain. Many foreign companies including international law firms have offices in Shanghai, and will be affected by the Shanghai government’s extension of the New Year holiday to 9th February. Depending on how this story develops, the longer employees are unable to work the more seriously firms may start to reconsider their presence in the region. [U]Rolls-Royce invests in nuclear energy (Rachel Strickland) The story[/U] Rolls-Royce will be leading a UK consortium to develop 10-15 Small Modular Reactors (‘SMRs’) by 2029, in what the company describes as “national endeavour” to meet global energy demand. SMRs work as mini nuclear stations which can be transported to sites for large-scale projects without the cost of on-site manufacture and access to a steady supply of low-carbon energy. SMRs have been supported by Prime Minister, Boris Johnson who previously called for a “nuclear renaissance” in July. Rolls-Royce has subsequently secured government investment of £18 million. This is due to the need for more technologies to meet energy demand and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Also, the project will hopefully encourage inward investment from international organisations, lead to cross-collaboration of industry associations and research centres and, create 40,000 jobs in a boost to the UK economy. However, nuclear energy remains controversial with concerns over the risk of radioactive waste, the expensive nature of projects and the desire to limit investment to purely renewable energy. Similarly, major nuclear projects have previously been abandoned through lack of appropriate funding. [U]Impact on businesses and law firms[/U] For businesses, SMRs present a commercial opportunity as they do not require large, complex financing arrangements and time-consuming construction. For Rolls-Royce, diversifying from high-end luxury vehicles and promoting open innovation is also likely to restore some confidence in Rolls-Royce’s devalued share price. For law firms, SMRs also present opportunities. The smaller size may of SMRs may reduce the time planning & construction lawyers need to spend on environmental impact assessments and challenges to development proposals, however, nuclear energy is a highly regulated sphere. Employment lawyers will look at contracts that incorporate training provisions for nuclear safety and radiation protection. Corporate teams will draft consortium agreements between businesses, governments and research institutes. Waste management comes with high reputational costs for businesses; therefore lawyers will need to draft contracts with third-parties for disposal of radioactive waste or in preparing bids for government funded decommissioning programmes. Lastly, considering the increasingly activist stance on ESG concerns, the risk of litigation may also increase and businesses will want to mitigate environmental liabilities. [/QUOTE]
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Commercial Awareness Update - January 2020
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