The UK government and regulators have taken several steps to implement a 10-year strategy published last year outlining the government’s pro-innovation national approach to AI.

By Deborah J. Kirk, Laura Holden, Nara Yoo, and Amy Smyth

The UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published its 10-year National AI Strategy for the regulation and promotion of artificial intelligence (AI) in the UK (Report). DCMS seeks to build “the most pro-innovation regulatory environment in the world” 

The forecast for the English scheme and plan looks set fair despite concerns around Brexit turbulence.

The restructuring market’s appetite for Part 26 schemes of arrangement and Part 26A restructuring plans shows no signs of diminishing, with some debtors (Smile Telecoms and ED&F Man) even taking a second bite of the cherry. In this article, we explore recurring themes identified in the market throughout the past 18 months.

The CMA’s efforts to make dynamic, forward-looking assessments of parties’ overlaps will only increase post-Brexit.

By John Colahan, Tom Evans, David Little, Jonathan ParkerDavid WalkerGreg Bonné, Anuj Ghai, and Catherine Campbell

Dealmakers must be alert to the increasingly interventionist approach of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), including on transactions with a limited nexus to the UK. Until now, the European Commission has acted as a “one-stop shop” for large-cap transactions. But the end of the Brexit transition period means that from the start of 2021, acquirers may face parallel EU and UK investigations — with the effect that the CMA will play a more prominent role in reviewing global deals.

The UK has taken steps to accede to the Lugano Convention 2007, as maintaining the status quo under the Brussels Recast Regulation 1215/2012 will no longer be an option once the transition period expires.

By Oliver Browne, Sebastian Seelmann-Eggebert, and Tom Watret

The UK has recently requested to join the Lugano Convention 2007, which is the UK’s preferred regime for governing questions of jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments with EU countries post-Brexit. These rules will be critically important for all parties when they consider which jurisdiction clauses to include in their contracts.

This blog post explains what the Lugano Convention is, provides an update on recent developments in the accession process, and highlights some important differences between the Lugano Convention and the current regime.

Ofgem’s recently announced goals and developments and changes to the post-Brexit state aid regime will have important implications for market players.

By John D Colahan, Stephanie Adams, and Anuj Ghai

2020 is set to be a an important year for competition law-related enforcement in the UK energy sector not least as it waits for the final contours including any material changes post Brexit. We explore in this post two areas that we consider to be of particular importance:

  • The implementation of Ofgem’s goals flagged in its 2019 Energy Market Report
  • The implications for the energy sector of post-Brexit state aid enforcement in the UK

European Commission confirms SCA measures should apply to EU consumers purchasing from UK websites in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

By Christian F. McDermott, Jagveen S. Tyndall, and Amy Smyth

Complex payment processing chains comprise multiple entities operating behind the scenes to support everyday transactions.

The strong customer authentication (SCA) requirements introduced by the revised EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) aim to reduce fraud and make online payments more secure (as described in previous posts of June and August 2019). SCA requires that a customer provide two forms of identification that meet the following criteria: