Christmas without tiers? Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner 23 November 2020 Good morning, For residents of Scotland, conversations about Covid-19 protection levels have replaced, to some extent, small talk about the weather. This tiered existence has also brought out the competitive side in many people, who will perform impromptu tests …
Impasse after impasse Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner 18 November 2020 Good morning, In the history of the European Union, many issues have been deemed the last straw, the defining blow that would render it unworkable once and for all. If nothing else, European integration is an extraordinarily puzzling process, …
An injection of hope Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner12 November 2020 Good morning, I never imagined the day would come when my trypanophobia would give way to a deep yearning for a vaccine. I’ve submitted reluctantly to each one of the vaccination injections I’ve had to endure throughout my life, but now find …
Don’t stop the count Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Kevin Pringle, partner6 November 2020 Good morning, At the time of writing, Joe Biden is edging closer towards becoming the 46th president of the United States of America. However, millions of votes are still being counted, with all eyes on four key battleground states where projections remain …
A lesson from New Zealand Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Kevin Pringle, partner19 October 2020 Good morning, In an interview with The Telegraph last week, TV mathematician Hannah Fry suggested that female leaders have been better at tackling the coronavirus crisis because “women are, in general, more capable of intellectual humility”. Her words came only a few days before …
Our greatest mistake? Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner7 October 2020 Good morning, Few nature documentaries have captured my imagination like Sir David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet. The 93-year-old’s “witness statement”, now streaming on Netflix, is an emotional but factual telling of the human impact on the natural world during Attenborough’s …
A critical moment for clarity Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner1 October 2020 Good morning, Keeping track of all the Covid-19 restrictions currently in place across the UK has become a challenging endeavour, even for those responsible for introducing them. Rather than things becoming clearer with time, the recent uptick in cases …
All eyes on the chancellor, again Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Tom Gillingham, associate partner24 September 2020 Good morning, The UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was introduced in March on the principle that a balance between keeping people safe from the coronavirus pandemic and protecting the economy could only be struck with unprecedented …
The fault in our density Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner14 September 2020 Good morning, During the first world war, press in some western European countries refrained from reporting news of the devastating effects of the 1918 pandemic to avoid additional public alarm, with health authorities even refusing to reveal …
Closing ranks Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner8 September 2020 Good morning, Confusion and anger were widespread yesterday after an article in the Financial Times reported that the UK government was planning to override some of the provisions of the European Union’s 2019 withdrawal agreement on state aid and customs relating to …