Browne Jacobson

During the month of October, we celebrated Black History Month across the firm, looking at different ways we can experience and appreciate the theme of 'Reclaiming Narratives'. We had an exciting line-up of activities to engage, educate, and honour the remarkable contributions of the Black community. Highlights from the month included: - Insightful perspectives: Gracie Bradley, a proud Black feminist provided a powerful personal perspective on what “Reclaiming Narratives” means to her, fielding questions from our REACH community to tease out her deeper thoughts on issues from social media, the environment to her heroes. - Speed debating: Colleagues exchanged diverse perspectives in speed debating sessions, with topics ranging from diversity in leadership roles to appreciation vs appropriation. - Curated playlist: We shared our annual employee-curated Black History Month playlist, celebrating the richness of Black culture and history through music and inviting employees to contribute to it. - Inspiring reads: We displayed a range of books by Black authors across our offices, from Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments to Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider, encouraging everyone to delve into Black history and culture. - REACH Mentoring Programme: We celebrated and the spotlight shone on our 2024 REACH cohort, which included a day of mentee presentations and talks by I. Stephanie Boyce FKC, FRSA, Akil Hunte, and Tayyab Majeed Bupa who shared words of wisdom, insights into their journeys to success and tips for making It as a legal professional. - A night to remember: Our Black History Month celebration event in Nottingham was a vibrant tapestry of live African drummers, fusion cuisine, and a stirring keynote by Matt Burton from Barclays, who shared his journey as a Black professional in finance. It was a celebration of culture, music, food, achievement, and community. This month has shown the power of unity, learning, and celebrating the impact of the Black community. Thank you to everyone who joined us in honouring Black History Month. Bridget Tatham, Oliver Holmes, Caroline Green, Richard Medd, Shelley Sutton. #BlackHistoryMonth

We hope you can join us tomorrow for our 'Building social mobility in construction' event in partnership with Constructing Excellence in Wales. Meet our speakers here and learn a bit more about them below: Cat Griffith-Williams: As CEO of Constructing Excellence Wales, Cat Griffith-Williams champions the Welsh built environment sector. With a rich background in building services and communications, she has significantly influenced strategy and stakeholder relations across various roles, including a notable tenure at Grayling and a military officer career. Rosalind Goates: As Head of Advocacy and Campaigns at The Social Mobility Foundation, Rosalind Goates leads efforts to enhance UK social mobility. Her team’s impactful campaigns, like closing the Class Pay Gap and ending Laptop Poverty, showcase her commitment to breaking down educational and employment barriers. Tom Lyas: Heading Resourcing & Social Mobility at Browne Jacobson, Tom plays a key role in the firm’s talent strategy and social mobility efforts. With extensive experience across various sectors, he’s a driving force behind the firm’s top ranking in The Social Mobility Foundation’s Employer Index, advocating for inclusivity and diversity in the legal profession. Lawrence Beach: With 20 years in construction recruitment, Lawrence Beach, at Acorn by Synergie, focuses on social mobility through targeted recruitment for underrepresented groups. He’s instrumental in developing initiatives for prison leavers and chairs the Employer advisory board for HMP Bristol, aiming to share successful strategies broadly. Gemma Ellis: As the Senior Category Manager, Gemma oversees Cardiff Council's innovative procurement service, Ardal Procurement, where she oversees its collaborative procurement partnership with Monmouthshire County Council, Torfaen County Borough Council, and the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Register here if you haven't already: https://bit.ly/4fed5QQ #Construction #SocialMobility #Wales

We're excited to be exhibiting at the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) Annual Conference today. As a proud sponsor of this conference, we're committed and aligned with the CBI's goals to connect clients in the public and private sectors to tackle issues at the forefront of society. In this morning’s panel on confronting the future of public-private partnership, our Head of Energy & Infrastructure, Paul Hill, argues the case for a new partnership model to fuel vital public infrastructure projects. #PrivateSector #PublicSector #Corporate #CBI24

We're proud to announce that we've won a trio of awards at the inaugural East Midlands Rainmakers Awards. This follows a year of continued successes for our firm's expanding corporate team, including key partner appointments that have driven momentum on us advising on larger, more complex strategic transactions in addition to cross border deals. Our Partner and Head of our National Corporate Team, Richard Cox, comments below: "Our achievements tonight cap a transformative year delivered by our dedicated corporate and private equity teams. Through welcoming exceptional talent to fuel substantial growth, strengthening our directory rankings, and expanding our cross-border advisory work, we've strategically enhanced our market position.” Read more here: https://bit.ly/4fEFrUz #Award #Corporate #CrossBorder #PrivateEquity

The Coimisiún na Mean (Ireland's Media Commission), has announced their new Online Safety Code which ushers in a new, more intensely regulated era for online platforms. This Code deals with online safety and sets out clear obligations on video-sharing platforms headquartered in Ireland, including major names like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Our Partner and Associate, Jeanne Kelly and Raymond Sherry, provide more on this code and its implementation in our article below. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3ZftY88 #OnlineSafetyCode #Ireland #EU #TechLaw

We are pleased to announce that we will be at this year's CBI (Confederation of British Industry) annual conference. We are a proud sponsor of this event and share a common goal with the CBI of being a connector, bringing together clients to improve outcomes for every person, community and business we serve. One of the most prominent issues for businesses and public authorities right now is understanding how to drive more private sector investment in order to fuel the new government’s economic growth mission. Our Partner and Head of Energy and Infrastructure, Paul Hill, will address this by speaking at a panel titled 'It takes two: Confronting the future of public-private partnership', where a range of expert speakers will be discussing sustainable growth through public and private partnership. This is an event you don't want to miss out on. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/48XBKXm #PrivateSector #PublicSector #Governement #CBI24

The EU Cyber Resilience Act has recently been adopted by the Council of the EU, marking a significant advancement in cybersecurity measures for digital products. Its primary goal is to ensure that digital products, including home appliances like cameras, fridges, TVs, and even toys, are secure before they enter the market, ultimately enhancing consumer protections. Our Partner and Associate in our commercial team, Jeanne Kelly and Raymond Sherry outline the implementation of this act and what it means for consumers and manufacturers. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3USnklK #CyberSecurity #ConsumerSafety #EURegulations #CommercialLaw

We are pleased to announce that our corporate team has advised the company behind The Range and wilko retailers on its acquisition of the Homebase brand name, intellectual property, and up to 70 UK stores. The acquisition by CDS Superstores is expected to save up to 1,600 jobs amid Homebase falling into administration. Our Partner who leads the restructuring and insolvency team, Emma Taylor, said "This complex transaction showcases our firm's deep expertise across Restructuring & Insolvency, Corporate, and Real Estate - enabling us to support ambitious market leaders like The Range in their strategic ventures." Read more here: https://bit.ly/3ABu00J #CorporateLaw #Restructuring #Insolvency

At Browne Jacobson, we are proud to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion – and this extends to our approach to disabilities and conditions. Over the next month, we will be celebrating Disability History Month, reflecting on this year’s theme of Disability, Livelihood and Employment. Throughout the month, we will share insightful articles, engage in meaningful conversations with our people on key topics, celebrate our differences, and promote allyship both within our firm and in wider society. To kick off the month, our latest article by Thomas Mile explores how businesses can attract and retain disabled talent by fostering an inclusive culture and implementing simple but impactful strategies. We invite other organisations to join us in championing disability confidence this Disability History Month and to create workplaces that reflect the diverse communities we serve. Read the article here: https://bit.ly/4hOE5YC #DisabilityHistoryMonth #DHM2024 #Inclusion #DEI #Employment

We are pleased to announce that our multi-disciplinary team advised Obsequio Group Limited on its recent acquisition of Metro Safety Group and Dakro Air & Water. Obsequio is the UK’s leading ‘one-stop-shop' for all aspects of safety and compliance, making life easier for facilities managers and responsible persons across various sectors. Our team was led by our corporate Partner and head of our Birmingham office, Mike Jackson, who comments below. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4fpMLmB #CorporateLaw #Acquisition