Protecting your position
Principal and agent should have a win:win relationship. But sometimes that’s not how it works out. It’s important therefore to know what rights the agent has, and how to deal with the situation.
Our panel of experts will address:
• A case of give and take: what rights have really been given to the agent and can the principal take them back.
• The parting of the ways: management of an underperforming agent.
• Calculating compensation on termination after Lonsdale: valuation methodologies, the issues that impact on maintainable earnings, and the concept of the notional third party purchaser
Date: Tuesday 25th November 2008
Time: Registration 6.00pm
Presentations & Q&A: from 6.30 - 7.30pm
Reception: 7.30 - 8.30pm
Venue: Ten Dominion Street, London, EC2M 2EE
rsvp: koliver@foxwilliams.com; 020 7614 2545
Chair: Stephen Sidkin Head of Fox Williams Agentlaw team
Speakers: Jane Elliot, Senior Associate, Agentlaw team at Foxwilliams
Rachel Cook, Associate, Agentlaw team at Fox Williams
Andy Cottle, Director, BDO Stoy Hayward
Speaker Biographies
Stephen Sidkin – Head of Fox Williams Agent Law Team
From the earliest days of the firm, he has advised on distributorship and agency agreements and has been publicly recognised as a leading authority on this area of the law and, in particular, the Commercial Agents Regulations. He is head of the Commerce & Technology department of Fox Williams.
Recent cases involve:
- advising on how principals can ringfence their exposure to agents
- the wholesale restructuring of a network of European agents
- advising on a claim for compensation from an agent who had retired
Stephen has written and spoken widely on agency and distributorship agreements in general, and commercial law issues, in particular. He is a regular commentator on radio (BBC Radio 5 Live) and television where his appearances include Watchdog (going head to head with Anne Robinson), GMTV and Newsroom South-East.
Stephen has for many years been a member of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA). Since 2007, he has been President of the Contract Law Commission. Prior to joining the UIA, he was a long standing member of Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (AIJA). Stephen has served for many years on the Commercial Law Sub-Committee of the London Law Society and is currently in his second term as its Deputy Chairman.
Jane Elliot – Senior Associate, Commerce & Technology Fox Williams
Jane graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1997 with an honours degree in Law with French. She spent a year in France and gained a Diplôme d’Études Juridiques Françaises from the University of Limoges. She completed the Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School in London. Jane trained at Fox Williams and remained with the firm following her qualification as a solicitor in 2000.
Since joining Fox Williams, she has specialised in advising clients on the Commercial Agents Regulations. She acts for both principals and agents based in the UK and abroad and operating in a variety of industries. Also a member of the Fox Williams Fashion Law Group, her recent projects involve assisting DAKS-Simpson Group PLC in respect of its international network of agents and the revising of agreements with agents for each of the Mambo and Firetrap brands.
Rachel Cook – Associate, Dispute Resolution Group Fox Williams
Rachel graduated from the University of Durham with an honours degree in 2001. Having spent a couple of years working for a leading legal recruitment consultancy she completed the LPC at BPP Law School London obtaining a Distinction and the highest mark in her year for Litigation. She works closely with members of the Commerce & Technology department, advising both principals and agents in many different fields on agency law and in particular the effect of the Commercial Agents Regulations.
Recent cases include advising
- a principal, which had terminated its agent on the grounds of a conflict of interest;
- on the assessment of compensation under Regulation 17 following the decision of the House of Lords in Lonsdale v Howard & Hallam; and
- a principal on the assessment of the amount of indemnity payable to an agent under Regulation 17.
Rachel offers practical and pragmatic advice to make the litigation process as painless as possible.
Andy Cottle – Director, BDO Stoy Hayward
Andy joined BDO Stoy Hayward in 2008. Prior to that he was with Grant Thornton. He focuses on litigation support work with an emphasis on disputes arising from the breakdown of commercial and shareholder relationships, contractual performance and professional negligence. He has been involved in a wide range of cases, these have included long running multi party litigation down to single issue accounting determinations. He has given expert evidence in Arbitration hearings and in Court. He has acted as a single joint expert on a number of occasions.
Register your place now by calling 020 7614 2545 or email koliver@foxwilliams.com
