All businesses come across legal issues, usually when things have gone wrong and lawyers are appointed or consulted.

Our courses focus on risk-management and seek to prevent problems arising, maintaining good relations with customers and others.

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Our courses for business

We have set out below some of our courses designed for businesses.  We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your training requirements. If we do not feel that we can provide first class training to meet your specific needs, then we have many years of experience and contacts and may be able to help you source the required training.  Please call Michael Twomey direct on 07957559299 or by email using the Contact page.

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Contract Law Risk Management

Our Contract Law Risk Management course has been delivered successfully to clients ranging from the senior managers of a large multinational oil company to the sales staff of a regional electrical distributor.

The presenter will use practical case studies, usually based on the actual work, products and terms and conditions seen by the delegates.  We will then examine the legal pitfalls and analyse ways of mitigating those risks.

Employment Law: disciplinary matters

All employers face problems regarding disciplinary issues.  Making mistakes in this area can prove very costly. The course designer will liaise with you to identify your specific concerns and will deliver a training session to help deal with disciplinary matters correctly, effectively and efficiently.

Writing Skills Training

If you believe that the quality of your writing really matters, then we can help.  Our writing skills course and one-to-one sessions can be tailored to meet your needs.  With extensive experience in delivering skills training to businesses and public organisations, we are confident that we can produce a course that works for you.

Commercial Leases

A commercial lease can be a highly significant, costly and long-term agreement for most businesses.  It is clearly important to make sure that you understand key provisions of a lease.  This course is delivered by our in-house property expert and highlights the key issues that need to be considered when entering into a commercial lease. It will address some of the most common issues of concern and conflict, as well as the core areas for negotiation that should be specifically addressed between a commercial landlord and a tenant prior to a lease being signed.

The course will explain practical tips on how to obtain the best deal.  Issues covered will range from security of tenure to responsibility for the building’s operating and repair costs.  It will also deal with the specific issues of sub-letting, rent review, early termination and liability in the case of accidental damage to the property.

The Companies Act and how it affects businesses

The Companies Act 2006 is the largest piece of legislation ever to hit the statute books in the UK. Everyone who either controls, manages, works for or advises a private company must have an informed practical grasp of the changes introduced by the Act and how they impact on the way private companies are run.

This course aims at providing highly practical training that explains the Act to directors, company secretaries, accountants, actuaries and other professionals. This would be an extremely useful and practical course for owner-managers who want to ensure that they are able to comply fully with the new Act. The course is also suitable for senior business managers and in-house lawyers who wish to ensure that they are fully aware of the implications of the new Act for their company.

Consumer Law for Businesses

Any business that sells to consumers must be aware of the wide range of legal regulations with which they must comply.  Consumer law is constantly evolving and there have been several recent pieces of major legislation with far reaching effects. This course will help ensure that you have a practical grasp of consumer law, as well as providing your business with a useful checklist to consider . This course will help your business avoid the legal and publicity consequences of getting it wrong. For instance, are you aware of the Distance Selling Regulations? Do you realise that the consequences of a breach of these regulations may be that you cannot enforce the agreement and that you may be fined for a criminal offence? If this is not enough, we now have the new Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 to go with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.   If you are concerned that your business is not up to speed with all the changes in the law in this area, then this course is specifically designed to demystify the legal jargon and help ensure that you are fully protected when trading.

Contract Law: Buying and Selling in the Current Economic Climate

Businesses enter contracts all the time, often without knowing the full extent of their rights and obligations.  Over the years, both practice and court cases have shown that contracts can be entered into, varied, and important rights waived without the parties to the contract realising it!

This course focuses on the practical aspects of Contract Law so as to ensure that your business can benefit from the full protection of the law, without unwittingly leaving yourself open to risk or exposure.  The training is particularly relevant in the current economic climate as it provides a checklist to help ensure that your business is covered in the unfortunate event of a contractor going into administration.  It also helps prevent you or your staff from unwittingly entering into or altering contracts.

Our experienced presenter will explain Contract Law through a range of examples and case studies, demystifying legal concepts and providing the essential knowledge to enable businesses to effectively manage their various contracts.

Importantly, the course will help your business protect itself against the likelihood of costly litigation involved in contract disputes, which can demand significant management time and result in much negative publicity – affecting both direct and indirect costs, as well as future sales.

Debt Recovery Management

Successful debt management is essential for a business to stay profitable. Sometimes it is necessary to consider using the courts to enforce your rights as a debtor. Therefore it is important that you and your business understand how the debt recovery process works in the court system and how to use it to your best advantage. This course will give you the confidence to use the courts process to recover your business debts and to know which legal route to take in order to win your case and enforce judgments effectively.

Anyone involved in credit control and management or debt recovery in businesses will benefit from this course

Company Director?  Your duties and liabilities.

Your company has limited liability, but what is your liability as a director? The Companies Act 2006 is the largest Act ever implemented in the UK and makes significant changes to company law.  This course focuses on the impact of the Act on directors’ duties and liabilities.  Directors owe a very wide range of duties, now codified in the Act. The course also concentrates on the potential liability of directors in the current economic climate.  The presenter will provide an explanation of the range of traps for unwary directors, such as liability to contribute to the assets of the company in an insolvency situation.  Methods of avoiding these traps are analysed and explained in a highly practical step-by-step manner. We will also deal, importantly, with the possibility of insurance and indemnities.

The course is relevant for anyone who is or is contemplating becoming a director of a company, whether an executive or a non-executive director.  It is also useful for company secretaries or anyone, such as accountants or other professionals, who might be called upon to advise directors.

Distributorship and Agency Agreements

There are various marketing agreements available to businesses who wish to enter into arrangements with trading partners.  You may be considering using a distributor or appointing an agent. We know from our experience teaching delegates that it can be very difficult to assess properly the legal and commercial advantages and disadvantages of appointing an agent or distributor  without a good practical understanding of this area of law.  This course will consider the key issues of these agreements and explain the law and regulation, identifying the pitfalls and the consequences of failing to comply.

Many distributorship agreements are in fact invalid as they have not been amended to comply with recent changes in the law.  Not only are these contracts unenforceable, but they also leave the parties liable to a fine and action by third parties in the courts.

Our presenter will deal with areas that could cause problems and confusion, as well as those that can prove highly expensive if the contract is terminated. It will also help you to understand the extensive rights of agents under the Commercial Agents Regulations

The course is relevant for anyone involved in the consideration, negotiation, implementation and operation of a distributorship or agency arrangement.

Employment Law: the Essentials

With employment law, businesses should be asking:  “what are the costs of not training?”

Employment law is constantly changing and evolving. Businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to keep abreast of developments so as to avoid costly and time-consuming claims, such as wrongful dismissal and unfair discrimination.  Today’s employees are more informed than ever of their rights, thanks to the help of free advisers, which has led to an increasing number seeking legal action. This course deals with the essential knowledge that all businesses should and must know so as to minimise costly legal action.

Our presenter will take delegates through the various legal issues concerning the “cradle to grave” cycle for employees.  This will start with issues such as the wording required when advertising for employees through to the duration of employment contracts, and end with a look at the various scenarios concerned with the termination of employment.  At each step, delegates will focus on the most practical ways to comply with the relevant law and regulation, as well as learning from past case studies.

The course is relevant for owner-managers, line managers, HR personnel and anyone involved in recruitment or in dealing with employees on employment-related matters. This training session is particularly relevant for those wanting to acquire a good working knowledge of essential areas of employment law.

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