Happy New Year 2025 from TRW law firm

From our London office at Holborn Gate, 330 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QH, England, we wish clients, partners and colleagues a prosperous and resilient 2025. As firms and organisations set plans for the year ahead, a small number of legal and regulatory themes are likely to shape commercial decision-making in England & Wales.

Key legal developments to watch in 2025

• Data protection and AI: Continued regulatory focus on responsible AI use, data governance and security expectations from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
• Employment and workforce: Developments in flexible working, pay frameworks and immigration policy affecting talent mobility.
• Corporate reporting and ESG: Broader disclosure expectations and supply-chain due diligence for environmental, social and governance risks.
• Tax and incentives: Changes to reliefs and compliance requirements that affect cross-border investment structuring.
• Sanctions, export controls and AML: Ongoing geopolitical risks mean compliance programmes and screening remain business-critical.

Practical steps for businesses and in-house counsel

Early planning and proportionate risk management will reduce the need for reactive measures later in the year. Consider these priorities:

• Map and document material legal risks arising from new products, markets or technologies.
• Update data protection impact assessments for projects that use personal data or new analytics tools.
• Review employment policies for hybrid working and related health and safety obligations.
• Test contract templates and escalation clauses for supply-chain resilience.
• Refresh sanctions and AML screening processes and train front-line teams on red flags.

Checklist: quick actions to take this quarter

• Confirm board-level oversight of regulatory change and assign accountable owners.
• Run an internal audit of high-risk contracts and key counterparties.
• Perform a tabletop exercise for cyber incident response and notification obligations.
• Validate cross-border data transfers and contractual safeguards.
• Update whistleblowing and grievance procedures to reflect hybrid work arrangements.

Jurisdiction and sources

Primary sources and official guidance on the matters above include:

• Gov.uk (government guidance and policy announcements)
• Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (data protection and privacy)
• HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) (tax and customs)
• Companies House (company filings and corporate information)
• legislation.gov.uk (statutes and statutory instruments)
• The Law Society (England and Wales) (professional guidance)

Our London team at Holborn Gate is available to discuss how these priorities affect particular sectors or transactions in 2025. General information only; not legal advice and not a substitute for advice on a particular matter.