Insolvency Curry Club by David Bowman, Dispute Resolution Department

A further gathering of curry-loving junior insolvency professionals and Royds lawyers took place on 31st March 2011 at the Bengal Tiger – which is just a few yards from the Royds offices in Carter Lane, near St Paul’s. The revellers included members of the Royds litigation and property teams along with guests from leading accountants and insolvency practitioner firms. It was another great social event and our thanks to all those who came along.

We have great ambitions for the Curry Club (particularly as there are so many great places to eat in the City) and hope that it will become a quarterly event for juniors working in the insolvency, accountancy and legal sectors in the South East to meet socially. An obsessive love of Eastern cuisine and Cobra beer is not compulsory but is an advantage!

Club membership is free but on an invitation basis but anyone working in the insolvency sector is encouraged to express an interest to come along to the next session due to take place in June/July. Anyone who is interested should contact David Bowman on dab@royds.com. And please don’t worry if you can’t persuade a colleague to come along, we’ll make sure you have several people to chat to.

Data Protection – Will you be fine or fined? By John North, Commercial Department

As there have been numerous press reports about private and public sector organisations being fined for problems with Data Protection, we were recently asked by a client to present a short, practical workshop for its senior managers on the Data Protection Act. Our talk covered the following:

• Overview of the Data Protection principles
• The new fines regime
• Possible issues for all businesses
• The Information Commissioner – powers and actions
• How to protect your business

Amongst the case studies we used to illustrate the potential issues were: misdirected faxes and letters, loss of memory sticks and laptops, the lack of encryption on sensitive data where laptops had been stolen, furniture sold containing files and where papers were found at a recycling centre. We considered both the policy and systems that need to be in place as well as the responsibilities and actions of all employees.

If you would like us to present a similar short session at your business, please get in touch.

Olympic Volunteering by Christopher Hall

HRH Duke of Edinburgh is shown on Christopher Hall's boat Casamajor at the 150th Anniversary celebrations of London Rowing Club on the Thames in June 2006.




As Olympic fever approaches, James Millar Craig and I are waiting with interest to see if we have made it to the interview stage of the volunteer programme. James has highlighted his efficient administrative and car parking skills in the hope of making it to the next phase, while I am sticking closer to my watery habitat by volunteering for work on the rowing lake.

Whilst it is easy to denigrate such a huge amount of investment for a four week sporting event but we can see from the huge anticipation already building up for the one day event at the end of April, how commercially important these games will be for Great Britain. The early completion of the Olympic Stadium has highlighted one of Britain’s main strengths, which is recognised world wide, that we cannot be beaten for organisation and attention to detail.

What is also clear is that in the build up to the games this year, and during the main event the focus of the world will be on London and Great Britain, and more importantly all competing countries will bring large delegations of senior politicians and businessmen who will be looking for opportunities of investment in the United Kingdom.

As part of this process I have also volunteered for the test event at the rowing lake which is the Junior World Championships, which dovetails well with my main hobby of coaching young rowers. I am also involved in the Regatta for the Disabled on 3 September 2011, which allows disabled people to experience rowing for themselves.

Royds LLP, have since its bid stage been an active supporter of the Olympics and Paralympics coming to London. We welcome all queries from investors, participants and spectators for the London 2012 Games.

For further information please contact Christopher Hall on cdh@royds.com or
James Millar Craig on jmc@royds.com or telephone 020 7583 2222

The Bribery Act, corporate hospitality and Olympic tickets by Emma Boulter, Corporate Department

As tickets for the London 2012 Olympics went on sale two weeks ago the general public now has less than a few weeks to place bids for a total of 6.6 million seats. In light of the extensive press coverage that the newly implemented Bribery Act has received, many businesses will no doubt be wondering if they are allowed to place bids for corporate hospitality purposes or if doing so will leave them enjoying the games from behind bars.

The Bribery Act applies to all everyday business trading activities however large or small operating within the UK, whether the organisations are incorporated in the UK or not and whether in the public or private sector. Over the course of and in the run up to the games the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will be monitoring business activities for suspicious transactions but Richard Alderman, director of the SFO, has said, "Sensible and proportionate expenditure on hospitality will remain perfectly lawful under the Bribery Act."

Corporate hospitality will inevitably create big business opportunities throughout the games, but any organisation intending to use the Olympics as an opportunity for entertaining must ensure they have adequate procedures in place beforehand in order to avoid criminal liability. Things to be aware of when planning an event include ensuring there is a substantial business element with a legitimate goal, be transparent and document proposed events carefully, be aware of the value and the associated expenses of this sort of entertainment and ensure these are proportionate to the proposed business.

Implement good procedures, be aware of the restrictions and place your bids! The bidding closes at 11.59pm on 26 April 2011.

There are now 482 days until the games begin! Olympics begin on July 25, 2012.