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NLJ this week: Policing business deals that could threaten national security

07 March 2025
Issue: 8107 / Categories: Legal News , National security , International
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The UK government has the power to review and potentially stop any business transactions that could threaten national security, courtesy of legislation that came into effect at the start of 2022. In this week’s NLJ, Ludovica Pizzetti, counsel, Arnold & Porter, looks at the operation to date of this legislation, the UK National Investment and Security Act 2021 (NSIA 2021).

Pizzetti sets out key trends that have emerged in relation to NSIA 2021 as well as anticipated developments in the year ahead. She notes that ‘the UK regime is, at least to a certain extent, country agnostic. There are several examples—including in the last 12 months—where UK acquirers have been subject to an in-depth review and cleared subject to conditions. Acquirers from other “friendly” nations such as the US, Canada, and various EU member states have also undergone close scrutiny and even been made subject to remedy decisions.’

Pizzetti also provides a brief overview of the ‘increasing array’ of US trade and investment regulation that may affect cross-Atlantic deals. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
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