(Bloomberg) — Uber Technologies Inc. said its U.K. drivers would face broad changes if required to be classified as employees with benefits, a sign the company is considering alternatives to its labor model amid tighter scrutiny from regulators.

Uber would become more like a private-hire car service that exerts more control over when and where drivers work, Andrew Byrne, the head of public policy for Uber in the U.K. told a parliamentary hearing Tuesday. 

The statement was a rare instance in which Uber said how it may adjust if a government implements new labor laws, a threat the company’s business is facing in cities around the world.

“It would change the nature of the relationship we would have with drivers,” he said, adding that classifying drivers as employees would add “tens of millions” in additional costs, including national health insurance taxes, and paying for covering minimum pay, sick and vacation time, and maternity and paternity leave.

The startup generated $1.75 billion in adjusted net revenue in the second quarter of this year, up 17 percent from the prior quarter. Uber narrowed losses by 9 percent to $645 million, based on financial results provided by the company.

Gig Economy

The worker debate goes to the heart of Uber’s business model. The company has relied on a network of workers who log-on through an app without much oversight from the company, arguing it shouldn’t have to classify drivers as workers because it’s a platform that connects drivers with people seeking a ride.

Presently, as long as a driver has a private-hire driver license and proof of insurance registered with Uber, they can log into the app to pick up passengers. Byrne indicated that flexibility would erode if drivers are classified as employees.

Byrne said drivers earn about 15 pounds ($19.8) per hour, though that doesn’t include the cost of fuel, insurance or car payments. The company said it couldn’t ensure drivers earn more than the minimum wage of 7.50 pounds an hour after those deductions are made.

U.K. policymakers are exploring new regulations for the so-called gig economy in which workers set their own hours at companies such as Uber, but are classified as self-employed contractors rather than staff members entitled to benefits. A U.K. government report published earlier this year concluded a better balance needed to ensure workers aren’t exploited, while also maintaining the flexibility many say they like about joining Uber and similar firms.

The report recommends more assurances for workers, including minimum pay and vacation time, as well as requiring companies to pay taxes for “dependent contractors” to cover government benefits.

Critics of the Uber model, including many taxi companies that have lost business as people have signed up to drive, say the companies are exploiting labor laws and other regulations to keep costs low and grow quickly. After hearing complaints from a group of Uber drivers, a U.K. employment tribunal also is deciding whether the company must provide more stable pay and benefits.

Driver Safety

Uber also faced questions about the safety risk of drivers on the road who are working long shifts. The company said it’s testing a function that would block drivers from using the app if they drove more than a maximum of driving 10 or 12 hours in a 24 hour period. Roughly a quarter of Uber drivers in the U.K. work more than 40 hours per week, the company said.

The hearing highlights the multiple ways Uber’s business is under scrutiny in the U.K. London transportation authorities revoked Uber’s license last month. The authorities said Uber hasn’t properly reported crimes or conducted adequate background checks, concluding the firm doesn’t pass the “fit and proper” test to operate.

The Independent Workers Union criticized regulators for not citing treatment of workers among the reason the city revoked Uber’s taxi license last month. A group of Uber drivers have been pushing the government to force the company to adopt more worker protections, including minimum wage and pay for vacation and sick time.

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.

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Woods Rogers PLC, the ninth largest law firm in Virginia, has switched to BigHand’s document template management solution, BigHand Create, following a firm-wide Microsoft Office 2016 upgrade.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) October 10, 2017

Woods Rogers, a law firm that appears on the 2017 BTI Law Firm Power Rankings list for “Best Client Relationships” and has been recognized by Corporate Counsel magazine for delivering “exceptional work”, has chosen to replace their template management solution with BigHand Create. The switch supports the firm’s ongoing commitment to innovation and utilizing technology to offer exceptional levels of customer service.

Prior to the switch, Woods Rogers’ document template solution experienced limitations in functionality. The firm’s template administrators were unable to create or update document templates without seeking external consultation and development. The software was slow and users experienced many glitches. In addition, following the firm’s upgrade to Microsoft Office 2016, their template solution became very slow and any efficiency benefits that the technology once offered were lost. Management decided to switch to a more robust solution that would not only allow them to continue offering high-quality, professional documents to their clients, but would save users time and reduce the firm’s document production overhead.

Jill Moomey, Applications & Training Specialist at Woods Rogers comments, “We started looking for a new template management solution in June of this year. We wanted a technology that would give us the freedom to create and edit templates when we needed to, without having to outsource the work or rely on third-party developers.”

Jill attended ILTACON in August 2017, with the intention of finding a new template solution. Jill comments, “It was crucial that we found a solution that was trusted in the market and easy for both our staff and template administrators to use. ILTACON gave us a great overview of the document automation solutions available, and for me, BigHand really stood out. I already knew that BigHand offered template and formatting tools, but it was a great opportunity to meet the team and see the technology in action.”

Within one month of meeting with BigHand at ILTACON, Woods Rogers moved to outfit the entire firm with BigHand Create licenses. Jill summarizes: “The whole process has been very slick. The BigHand team is extremely easy to work with, BigHand Create is a very clean product and overall, I’m thrilled with our decision.”

About Woods Rogers

Woods Rogers PLC is a Virginia-based, customer-centric law firm that’s been serving clients since 1893. The firm has over 75 attorneys, representing 19 practice areas and 100-plus related services. Woods Rogers supports the legal requirements of major corporations, small and mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals in matters of business and corporate law, emerging growth companies, intellectual property, labor and employment law, litigation, tax, and trusts and estates.

About BigHand Create

BigHand Create is a Microsoft Office 2016 (32 and 64-bit) and Windows 10 compatible template management software. The solution is widely-recognized in the legal technology market and is consistently ranked in the top 3 document automation solutions in the annual ILTA technology survey.

BigHand Create integrates with BigHand’s other productivity software, BigHand Voice, to enable law firms to automate much of the document production process and allow users to create legal documents from dictations in just a few clicks.

BigHand is a legal technology company based out of Chicago, Eindhoven, London, Sydney, Temecula and Toronto, currently supporting over 280,000 users in 2,550 global organizations. BigHand is ISO27001 certified. For more information, visit http://www.bighand.com or follow @BigHandNA on Twitter or BigHand North America on LinkedIn.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/10/prweb14775067.htm

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The University of Law has applied for planning and listed building consent for a 60-homes scheme on its Christleton campus to fund a relocation to Chester city centre .

It was recently announced the university (ULaw) would be moving to an undisclosed city centre site in September 2018.

ULaw, in partnership with Duchy Homes, intends to finance this move by redeveloping its existing rural base, set in 14 acres of grounds, into a ‘quality’ residential scheme.

The western half of the site – comprising a playing field and woodland – would be relatively untouched while the proposed development on the eastern side would include those areas currently occupied by existing buildings and hard standing as well as a screening bund next to the car park.

It would be necessary for the applicants to prove their scheme should be regarded as an exemption to green belt policy which applies to the entire campus.

ULaw wants to erect 46 new build houses (2-5 bed) and create 14 apartments by converting the grade II-listed Christleton Hall. A total of 30% of the housing (18 units) would be classed as ‘affordable’. The project would involve the demolition of some late 20th century buildings.

A document supporting the planning application states: “These proposals highlight a rare opportunity for the sustainable redevelopment of a brownfield site for high quality residential development, set within a historic context and attractive landscaped setting.”

Among the claimed benefits are:

■ Quality residential development on previously developed land at sustainable location

■ Enhancement of fabric and setting of listed Christleton Hall

■ Secures more spending power in local area

■ Facilitates investment so University of Law can relocate to city centre

■ Meets local housing needs

■ Creation of jobs during construction phase

ULaw is not divulging its new city centre location.

There were rumours it wanted to move into the new One City Place building, by Chester Railway Station , after change-of-use planning consent was granted to convert two storeys into a non-residential educational facility.

But The Chronicle understands those floors are now ‘under offer’ by another company.

A recent statement revealed students currently enrolled at ULaw in Chester and staff members will move to the new city centre location in September 2018.

Professor Andrea Nollent, vice chancellor and CEO at The University of Law, said: “For both our students and the law firms with whom we have close partnerships, our new location will bring them closer together in the city centre as part of Chester’s vibrant business community.

“Not only will this enhance our current offering but it will also create new opportunities, from which our students, staff and employers can benefit.”

The university operates from eight UK centres.

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More companies are facing the heat for having “disqualified directors” on their boards.

The MCA has disqualified over 100,000 individuals from taking directorship at listed companies for their alleged association with “suspected shell companies” or companies that have failed to comply with regulatory filing such as submitting financial statements or annual returns. Notices are being sent to companies which may have some of these individuals on their boards. 

Experts said regulatory action against individuals or companies is not unknown, particularly against scores of listed companies that are small or have now turned defunct. However, this time the list of those barred include a few marquee names. According to reports, Pawan Goenka of Mahindra & Mahindra, S Narayan of Apollo Tyres, Vinod Kumar Dasari of Ashok Leyland, S Sridhar of DCB Bank, and GV Krishna of Hindustan Petroleum, are also on the list.

Experts believe crackdown against errant individuals or companies is necessary but an abrupt decision to disqualify thousands of individuals could disturb the functioning of boards and hurt business sentiment.

“Such a move will disturb the composition of the board of directors prescribed under the Listing Regulations till a successor is appointed with the requisite eligibility criteria. If the disqualified director happens to be an independent one, then it will also have an impact on the performance evaluation of such a director who is also a requirement prescribed under the Listing Regulations,” said Yogesh Chande, partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas.

Experts said the MCA’s move to disqualify directors was similar to the one that barred 331 “suspected shell firms” without following principles of natural justice. “This could lead to large-scale legal implications. Being on defunct companies is not sufficient to disqualify a director as holding such a position doesn’t prove any wrongdoing. Such unilateral actions could create chaos,” said Sandeep Parekh, founder, Finsec Law Advisors.

According to the Companies Act, a disqualified director cannot serve on the board of any company for a period of five years. Legal experts said while the rules were clear on appointment or reappointment of such directors, there was uncertainty over removal of a functioning director. “The company law is ambiguous whilst dealing with the issue of automatic removal of a director of a disqualified company from his other directorships. Legally it is clear that such disqualified directors have to vacate directorship in the company concerned and also can’t seek a fresh directorship or re-appointment in any other firm. However, what it does not suggest is a cascading removal from boards of other firms,” said Tejesh Chitlangi, partner, IC Legal.

“The companies can keep such directors away from day-to-day board activities. They can be barred from accessing any board agenda or any important policy matters till the issue gets resolved. Meanwhile, the directors can challenge the decision, both in company law tribunal and high court,” says Parekh.

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WARSAW (Reuters) – When presidential aide Malgorzata Sadurska joined the board of Poland’s biggest and oldest insurance company this summer, her lack of business experience was no obstacle.

Her main qualification to help run state-owned Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU) was something else — loyalty to the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

What PZU needs is “a person who knows the PiS program and is a guarantee that it will be implemented,” parliamentary deputy Marek Suski told radio RMF FM as the conservative PiS took to the airwaves to explain her appointment in June.

Her task, he said, was “to implement the program of the government, which is to repair Poland.”

Sadurska, 41, is one of hundreds of loyalists brought in to state companies by PiS to tighten its grip on big business and help it implement its conservative, nationalist-minded policies since it returned to power in 2015 after an eight-year absence.

The aim is not only to ensure loyalty in major companies and give PiS a say in their personnel, investment and policy decisions.

It has also enabled PiS to use such firms as vehicles to buy out foreign interests in the banking and energy sectors, with a U.S.-owned news channel, TVN24, seen by some business leaders as a likely next target because it is critical of the government.

Opponents fear public procurement and financing rules are being blurred, giving PiS access to large advertising budgets which can be used to fund publicity campaigns or events that promote the party’s agenda.

This, they fear, will deepen the concerns of Poland’s European Union partners about what they see as an assault on the rule of law and democracy since PiS set its sights on asserting its power over the economy, the judiciary and the media.

Aleksander Laszek, chief economist at the Civil Development Forum (FOR), a Warsaw-based economic policy think tank known for its liberal view on the economy, said the PiS moves to assert control of big business were “exceptionally strong and brazen.”

“A VERY GOOD PROFESSIONAL”

Sadurska’s responsibilities at PZU include real estate, strategic partnership programs and bancassurance, under which an insurance company can sell its products to a bank’s client base, PZU said.

PZU officials gave no further details of what she has done since joining the board.

Before her appointment, she had no experience in insurance, finance or business beyond an MBA in business management from her native Lublin region in eastern Poland.

But she had won a reputation for dedication to the PiS cause since first being elected to the lower house of parliament in 2005. She has served as secretary of state responsible for labor and social policy and was chief of President Andrzej Duda’s chancellery for almost two years from August 2015.

Contacted by phone, Sadurska directed Reuters to the PZU press office, which declined to answer emailed questions about her appointment or PZU business policy.

Suski also declined to give any details to Reuters. Asked whether Sadurska had been appointed to PZU to implement PiS policy, he said: “She is a very good professional”.

PZU has not said how much Sadurska is paid. Her predecessor, according to PZU financial records, received the equivalent of just over 22,000 euros ($25,850) a month.

After a series of personnel changes in the past two years that appear to reward political loyalty, the government now has greater control of the more than 200-year-old firm than at any time since four decades of communist rule ended in 1989.

PZU’s chief executive officer, Pawel Surowka, is among the recent appointees. An experienced manager who also worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, he was named CEO in April and had been brought in to head PZU’s life insurance arm in 2016.

Surowka has said it is normal that a company such as his would “try to fit in” with government economic policy.

Government influence has not had any discernible impact on the price of PZU insurance, but PZU’s share price has risen by 39 percent this year.

PIVOTAL ROLE

The PiS’ business policy has attracted less attention than its overhaul of the judiciary but the heads of most big state firms have been replaced in the last two years, sweeping away officials appointed under the previous, centrist government.

Politics and business rarely act in isolation in any country, and it is not unusual for politicians to cross from parliament to boardroom. But the extent of political control over big state business in Poland alarms government critics.

PZU, with 27,000 employees and a market value of about $10.9 billion, has a pivotal role to play in the PiS plans.

Late last year, PZU teamed up with the state-run Polish Development Fund to buy back state control over Poland’s second-biggest bank, Bank Pekao SA, from Italian UniCredit.

Other state firms have also been used as buyout vehicles. In March, state-controlled utility Enea closed a deal to buy a power plant from French Engie and in May Poland’s biggest power producer, PGE, announced it would buy French group EDF’s local power and heating plants.

Some business leaders expect PiS, in tandem with Poland’s biggest bank, state-run PKO Bank Polski, to move soon to buy out TVN24 — and silence its criticism.

A PKO BP spokeswoman dismissed the speculation, saying: “There are no such plans … We don’t have this (buying media) in our statute.”

But a manager at PKO BP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such a move was likely.

“Most probably it will be PZU along with PKO that will buy TVN, though no decision has been made,” the manager said.

Discovery Communications Inc, which is acquiring TVN24-owner Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., said: “Our policy is to not comment on market speculation or rumors.”

PZU has also become a big sponsor of events and campaigns that dovetail with PiS policy.

When a publicity campaign began last month in support of the government’s planned judicial reform, it was launched by a foundation funded by state-controlled companies including PZU.

On Aug. 1, PZU’s Warsaw headquarters were illuminated with a symbol of Poland’s underground resistance to mark the anniversary of the failed 1944 Warsaw Uprising against occupation by Nazi Germany. PiS has put promotion of Polish wartime victimhood at the center of its appeal to nationalism.

Last month, PZU sponsored a picnic organized by an outspoken Catholic priest, Tadeusz Rydzyk, with whom PiS has built an increasingly close alliance.

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October 9, 2017 /AccessWire/ —

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / October 9, 2017 / Chambers USA, the leading global ranking directory of lawyers and law firms, has recognized the law firm Ifrah Law as a Recognized Practitioner in the national category of Gaming & Licensing Law. A. Jeff Ifrah, the firm’s founding partner, was again ranked in the categories of Gaming & Licensing and Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations in the directory’s 2017 Guide.

This marks the seventh year that Mr. Ifrah has been named in the category of White Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Washington, D.C.), and the third year he has been ranked nationally in the area of Gaming & Licensing Law.

“I am proud that Chambers recognizes the important place Ifrah Law holds in government investigations, white collar defense and online entertainment,” said Ifrah. “We represent many of the world’s largest iGaming companies and associations, and have been at the center of most of the important prosecutions and lawsuits in this rapidly growing industry.”

According to Chambers, “clients note that (Jeff Ifrah) is “very experienced, knowledgeable and well connected.'”

The Guide states that Ifrah “has a thriving trial practice….Clients speak highly of him, particularly his responsiveness and courtroom advocacy.”

“It is gratifying that both my own individual practice and that of my colleagues have been acknowledged by the peer review on which Chambers relies,” Jeff Ifrah continued. “Our lawyers have an in-depth understanding of the defense of government investigations, which is key to our ability to craft solutions that meet our clients’ goals.”

This is the first time that Chambers has listed the firm of Ifrah Law nationally.

The Chambers Guides have been ranking the leading law firms and lawyers since 1990. The qualities on which rankings are assessed include technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence and commitment. Chambers’ researchers conduct in-depth interviews with lawyers and clients, as well as information submitted by law firms, to develop a comprehensive view of the best attorneys and law firms in jurisdictions around the globe.

Ifrah Law is a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that specializes in Internet advertising, iGaming, government contracts, and healthcare. For more information, please visit www.ifrahlaw.com.

Jeff Ifrah – Widely Recognized White-Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer: http://jeffifrahnews.com

Jeff Ifrah – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jeffifrah

Jeff Ifrah Reviews – Recognized by Chambers USA and LexisNexis: http://jeffifrahreviews.com

Contact Information:

JeffIfrahNews.com
http://jeffifrahnews.com
contact@jeffifrahnews.com

SOURCE: Ifrah Law

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Source URL: https://marketersmedia.com/jeff-ifrah-of-ifrah-law-receives-national-recognition-by-chambers-usa/247489

Source: AccessWire

Release ID: 247489

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Shepard Mullin, an internationally recognized firm with 15 offices and over 750 attorneys across North America, Europe, and Asia, will replace its current DMS, iManage, with NetDocuments’ trusted cloud platform.

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) October 09, 2017

NetDocuments, the leading cloud-based document and email management (DMS) platform for law firms and corporate legal departments, announced today that Sheppard Mullin, a Global and Am Law 100 firm, has selected NetDocuments as a critical component of the firm’s ‘strategic cloud initiative’ to enhance security, usability, and adoption across its 15 international offices and 1,500 legal professionals.

Donna Paulson, CIO at Sheppard Mullin, commented, “At the end of the day, our cloud initiative is not just about solving our current DMS challenges, it’s about aligning with best-in-class technologies and service providers that have a proven track record of delivering world-class security solutions and continuous product innovation to take our firm into the future. The market’s trust in NetDocuments and the innovative approach to ‘cloud-first’ software development and delivery is something we don’t see with other legal DMS technology today. The move to NetDocuments will enable our firm to operate more efficiently, more securely, and better equipped with the ‘anywhere productivity’ tools our professionals need to continue providing exceptional service to our clients.”

NetDocuments’ single instance of software is deployed across all customer firms worldwide, bringing together a best-in-class technology stack, with continuous UI/UX and end-user functionality enhancements. Paulson continues, “NetDocuments’ security and technology infrastructure eliminates the complexity, management, and heavy desktop client required with on-premises or hosted on-premises environments, which solves a lot of challenges for our IT organization.”

“We’re excited to welcome Sheppard Mullin to our prestigious community of global customers,” Matt Duncan, CEO at NetDocuments, stated. “The trust and cloud maturity that NetDocuments has built over the years is attracting firms of all sizes, including prestigious Global 100 firms such as Sheppard Mullin. The needs across firms are similar in that they are focused on optimizing their practice, delivering exceptional client service, providing world-class security, and empowering legal professionals with modern, mobile, and innovative productivity tools. We’re certainly honored to be Sheppard Mullin’s trusted partner to deliver on exactly that.”

Talk to one of our experts to learn more about why firms are making the switch to NetDocuments trusted cloud platform.

About NetDocuments

Founded in 1999, NetDocuments is the document and email management platform built exclusively in the Cloud for law firms. With close to 20 years’ experience and offices globally, NetDocuments offers world-class, enterprise-level security, uptime reliability, and unmatched usability. Firms of all sizes leverage the power of a single service and version, benefiting from ubiquitous access to a modern application regardless of firm size or location. NetDocuments’ customers have reduced cost and increased productivity and efficiency with built-in business continuity, client and matter centricity, enterprise search, mobility and collaboration tools. The NetDocuments platform integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office, Adobe and many third-party applications for an enhanced user experience and increased user adoption. Cutting edge technology offers Entropic Cryptography, Object Store Redundancy, and Deep Learning Search so you can rely on NetDocuments; the trusted cloud platform.

For more information about NetDocuments, please visit http://www.netdocuments.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/10/prweb14776167.htm

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LHC admonishes CS over record of public sector firms

LAHORE :Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Naqvi of the Lahore High Court Monday came hard on chief secretary and admonished him for failing to present record of 60 public sector companies being run at the expense of public money.

During hearing of a petition against alleged irregularities in Punjab Saaf Pani Company, the court had sought record of all public sector companies operational in the province, their legal status, salaries and perks enjoyed by their heads.

As hearing started, Justice Naqvi addressed the chief secretary and said the court was not found of inviting him but he has been summoned only to explain why the details of these companies were not provided to the court. The chief secretary replied that these companies are being run independently. This further annoyed the judge who remarked that what is the use of chief secretary if 60 companies are being run independently.

At this moment, law officer Shan Gul intervened and handled the situation by saying that the chief secretary has a supervisory kind of role and he would explain it later. The law officer challenged the court jurisdiction to summon the record. He pointed out that under article 212 of the Constitution, the court could not seek record of public servants as it falls under the domain of service tribunal. However, the court did not seem convinced. The court went on to say that no one would be allowed to establish monarchy or law of jungle in Punjab. Each and every penny of this nation is precious for the court and it would not allow wasting public money.

Every newborn baby of Pakistan is indebted to Rs120,000 which has skyrocketed from Rs 35,000 in few years. The sole purpose of establishing such companies is to accommodate their blue-eyed at lucrative posts, the court said. 

Justice Naqvi expressed serious concern over establishment of public sector companies and huge salaries being given to their chief executive officers. The judge observed with regret that officers of BS-20 working in other government departments would be getting not more than Rs150,000 but in such companies they getting salaries of two millions to four millions.

Addressing the law officer Shan Gul, the court said instead of improving their performance and getting the court’s order enforced, the law officers went to chief justice to complain against judges. However, Shan Gul showed his ignorance about any such activity.

The law officer requested for 15 days time to provide the record which the court declined. The court granted 10 days and adjourned hearing till October 18. A female lawyer had filed a petition challenging alleged corruption in the Saaf Pani Company and process for the appointment of manager legal at the company. Being an eligible candidate, the petitioner had applied for the post but never called for an interview by the authority.

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