Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jaysen" data-source="post: 11536" data-attributes="member: 1">Philip Green and Arcadia (by [USER=1160]@Alice G[/USER])The storySir Philip Green, Chairman of the Arcadia Group, is desperately trying to salvage his retail empire with a complex restructuring that includes seven interlinked insolvency procedures known as Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs). CVAs allow businesses to reach agreements with their creditors to pay off part or all of their debt.The proposal by Green is to close 50 of his 570 stores in the UK and for the landlords of his stores to take rent cuts, which has caused a great deal of controversy. Green has had to revise the percentage of the rent cuts he originally demanded in the hope of securing approval in a vote on 12th June. The Pensions Regulator and Pensions Protection Fund have already backed Green’s restructuring plans after the Greens committed to adding a further £100 million to Arcadia’s pension fund to protect their employees.Impact on businesses and law firms:The landlords involved in the restructuring are hesitant largely due to fears that if they accept the rent cuts proposed in the Arcadia CVA then other retail tenants will start demanding the same treatment. The retail industry as a whole is under significant strain, especially since online retailing began to boom; Landlords can hardly afford to accommodate all of the demands and are also anxious of setting a dangerous precedent.Law firms are integral to the restructuring process involved in businesses. Lawyers acting for the Arcadia Group will be there to ensure the CVA is a success and that all the relevant documents are in order for the revised terms that may result from CVA approvals.Law firms are also heavily involved when it comes to pensions and employment. Lawyers will have been drafted in to to ensure that employees are protected and to ensure compliance with the rules of the UK’s Pensions Regulator.YouTube’s Crackdown on Hate Speech (by [USER=1]@Jaysen[/USER])The storyLast Wednesday, YouTube said it was updating its hate speech policy by banning videos that promote one group as superior to another to “justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion based on qualities like age, gender, race, caste, religion, sexual orientation or veteran status”.The video-sharing website, which is owned by Google, will also remove videos that deny “well-documented violent events” such as the Holocaust.Impact on businesses and law firms:For many years, Facebook and Google have evaded the law, arguing they are neutral platforms to deflect responsibility for the content posted on their sites. However, recent privacy scandals, and the spread of fake news and violent content, has led to a global push to regulate social media companies.Earlier this year, Australia passed laws that could lead to fines and prison sentences for social media companies if they do not quickly remove “abhorrent violent material”. In addition, Singapore introduced legislation designed to tackle fake news, while new rules in India allows the government to order platforms to remove posts within 24 hours.  Both the UK and French governments also proposed establishing an independent body with powers to regulate social media companies.The recent crackdowns on hateful content may be attempts by Facebook, Google and Twitter to get ahead before more onerous regulations are imposed. However, as these companies take a more active role in banning content, they have also been heavily criticised for censoring free speech.  As the law tries to catch up with the rise of Big Tech, it will be up to commercial law firms to help social media companies navigate this grey area.</blockquote>

Verification: Our company is called, "The Corporate ___ Academy". What is the missing word here?

Top Bottom

Search

Search

Reply to thread