The Motor Ombudsman and Radius Law, the provider of legal services to the motor industry, are coming together to host their Annual Automotive Business & Law Update event on Wednesday 14th May 2025.
The automotive sector is experiencing rapid transformation, driven by technological advancements, shifting market dynamics, and evolving finance, compliance, and consumer laws.
Against the backdrop of broader economic, legislative, and policy changes, this annual industry event will delve into these critical issues. Experts will explore their potential impact on automotive businesses, discuss the legal implications, and outline the key changes organizations should consider implementing to stay ahead in this evolving landscape.
Event details
The event will be held at The Motor Ombudsman’s London offices, 71 Great Peter Street,
London, SW1P 2BN on: Wednesday 14th May 2025, 9am-5.30pm.
Registration is from 9.00-9.40 am.
There’s a packed agenda with an address from legal and industry leaders.
A drinks reception following the event from 5pm.
Topics include:
The conference will be chaired by The Motor Ombudsman’s Managing Director and Chief Ombudsman, Bill Fennell. There’s a packed agenda with presentations from a range of industry experts.
Led by industry research, this event has been carefully curated to address the most important automotive issues and legal implications surrounding each:
• Economic Outlook 2025 and the impact on the automotive sector
• Consumer law changes and what it means for our sector
• Employment law update
• Modern slavery
• Finance compliance changes
• The changing automotive marketplace
• Dealing with the insolvency of your partners
• Introducing AI
• Creating an unstoppable culture of Good Governance
Who should attend
The event is designed for both legal and non-legal professionals, from car manufacturers / OEMs, dealers and independent businesses, including:
- In-house counsel;
- Senior managers in automotive businesses;
- Network, franchising and compliance professionals in automotive sector
Registration fees
Early bird tickets are availalbe until 14th February 2025.
Motor Ombudsman-accredited businesses and Radius Law clients benefit from a 20% discount (use discount code: MOTOR)
For Motor Ombudsman-accredited businesses
- General admission: £236 +VAT (Save £59)
Non Motor Ombudsman-accredited businesses
- General admission: £295 +VAT
Register today!
If you are interested in attending, please register below.
Agenda
|
Time |
Session |
Speaker |
| 9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
9.45 – 10.15 |
Arrival and refreshments
Chair’s Welcome |
Bill Fennell, The Motor Ombudsman |
| 9:45 AM – 10:00 AM | Conference Opening
A ‘whistle-stop’ tour of the most important business and legal challenges for the automotive sector. |
Iain Larkins, Director, Radius Law |
| 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM |
Economic Outlook 2025 – for the Automotive sector |
Rob Elder, Bank of England |
| 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM | Break Coffee & Refreshments |
|
| Stream 1 | Stream 2 | |
| 11:00 AM – 11:45 PM |
BREAKOUT 1 Zeynep D, Lead Adjudicator,
|
BREAK OUT 2 We all know that, like it or not, we must embrace AI to survive.
Peter Bury, PaoloAlto Networks |
| 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM | BREAKOUT 3 Modern Slavery The UN estimates that 50 million people are trapped in slavery. That’s more than ever before. New laws are coming – increasing responsibility on corporates to do more. This session will provide insights into slavery risks and provide guidance on reporting obligations.
Zoë Warren, Philanthropy Lead, IJM UK |
BREAKOUT 4 The FCA Discretionary Commission review and the shock Court of Appeal decision on commission in October has provided a turbulent year in Auto finance. We’ll be reviewing the latest status and, as always, providing practical advice. Jerry Page, Radius Law |
| 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM | Lunch | |
| 13:15 PM – 2.00 PM |
The changing automotive marketplace The automotive marketplace is in turmoil. Retailers are consolidating, manufacturers are multiplying, the Government has changed and, of course, we are shifting away from ICE. How will the next 10 years shape this sector? |
Richard Aucock, Auto Market Insight
Bill Fennell, The Motor Ombudsman Perran Moon, MP Marc Palmer, Head of Strategy & Insights, Auto Trader Vicky Read, CEO, Charge UK |
| 2 PM – 2:45 PM | BREAKOUT 5 Consumer law changes – impact on Auto Sector The Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024 – is being implemented throughout 2025 and 2026. This session will focus on the three issues that we think will have the most impact on the Automotive Sector: • Reforms to Melanie Wiseman, Head of Legal, SMMT |
BREAKOUT 6 Patrick Ayad, Hogan Lovells |
| 2:45 PM – 3:30 PM | BREAKOUT 7 Help! My business partner is insolvent The Automotive supply chain is closely interdependent on others. When one business in the chain fails, the effect is often expensive to the reputation and finances of others. New law in 2020 materially changed the rights on insolvency events to provide more ‘breathing space’ to insolvent businesses, but potentially causes more costs to other businesses.This session will explore the risks and recommended protections. Ben Hargraves, Radius Law Edward Crossley, Barrister, 4 Stone Buildings. |
BREAKOUT 8 The change in Government has provided a swing to employee friendly laws. This session will provide an update on the recent employment law changes and the consultations for future developments.
Sandra Martins, Radius Law |
|
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM
|
Creating an unstoppable culture of Good Governance
Corporate Governance is vast and getting everyone to do the right thing all the time is challenging, probably impossible. This session will provide an overview of the challenge and provide practical insights on developing an unstoppable culture of Good Governance.
|
Gail Harrison, Sewells
Iain Larkins, Radius Law |
| 4.15-4.30 PM | Closing remarks | |
| Drinks reception |
Speakers
Bill Fennell
Bill FennellManaging Director and Chief Ombudsman, The Motor Ombudsman
Bill has worked in the motor industry for almost three decades, and has held senior roles at JLR, BMW and Rover, amongst other vehicle manufacturers. Bill has a first class reputation of enhancing consumer satisfaction. His knowledge and experience of the issues surrounding the sector bring invaluable insight and expertise to the Motor Ombudsman.
Iain Larkins
Iain LarkinsDirector, Radius Law
Iain founded Radius Law in 2013 and leads its automotive practice – one of the largest dedicated automotive law teams in the UK representing automotive manufacturers, retailers, parts suppliers and trade associations.
Before establishing Radius, Iain was the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer for the Mercedes-Benz UK Group.
Peter Bury
Consultant, Palo Alto Networks
Peter BuryPeter Bury has over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, working with customers in highly regulated industries to meet complex information security requirements. His background includes positions in industry-leading companies from professional services and consultancy to education and advocacy. He is now the UK AI Domain Consultant at Palo Alto Networks, where he brings his experience to advise organisations on the secure adoption of AI technologies.
Edward Crossley
Edward CrossleyBarrister, 4 Stone Buildings
Edward is an insolvency specialist with a busy practice of commercial and company litigation, insolvency and arbitration, often with an offshore or international element.
He regularly advises and appears on all matters of insolvency, advising and acting for petitioners, insolvency practitioners, creditors and debtors.
Notable recent insolvency cases include: Re Link Fund Solutions Limited (2024) (acting as sole counsel for several thousand retail investors opposing a scheme of arrangement for the collapsed Woodford Equity Income Fund); London Capital & Finance Plc & Ors (In Administration) v Michael Thomson & Ors (2023) (claims by administrators over alleged misappropriation of funds raised by the sale of mini-bonds to retail customers); Re Maud (2020) (opposing bankruptcy petition for alleged debt of £51 million presented by petitioners associated with a Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and Robert Tchenguiz
Rob Elder
Rob ElderBank of England
Rob joined the Bank of England in 1998, and for twelve years supported the Monetary Policy Committee as an economist and then senior manager.
Between 2010 and 2012 he represented the UK on the board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. When he returned, he worked in the Bank of England’s press office, and most recently, supported their Financial Policy Committee by running a team monitoring developments in the UK banking sector. Rob became the Agent for Greater London in May 2018.
Ben Hargraves
Ben HargravesSenior Lawyer, Radius Law
Rob joined the Bank of England in 1998, and for twelve years supported the Monetary Policy Committee as an economist and then senior manager.
Between 2010 and 2012 he represented the UK on the board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. When he returned, he worked in the Bank of England’s press office, and most recently, supported their Financial Policy Committee by running a team monitoring developments in the UK banking sector. Rob became the Agent for Greater London in May 2018.
Gail Harrison
Gail HarrisonSewells
Gail Harrison is MD & Owner of Sewells, Leadership and Culture Specialists who helps develop inspiring successful leaders, create positive cultures and embed sustainable performance improvements in organisations.
Gail is an extremely experienced presenter, consultant, facilitator, and coach across diverse industries with a background originally in the Travel and Legal Sector. Her passion lies in nurturing talent, fostering positive change, and building vibrant, high-performing teams.
Sewells focus is supporting individuals and organisations to lead with purpose, empowering organisations to align with their core values and actually live them while achieving their bottom-line results. Developing the right mindset and attitude to help individuals lead successfully so that they always create a positive legacy and culture.
Peter Hood
Peter HoodKing & Spalding
Peter is counsel in King & Spalding’s London office, specialising in public international law, ESG, sanctions and business and human rights. He has represented states and businesses in some of the leading cases in his field, in the UK and internationally. In addition to his disputes practice, Peter also advises multinationals on human rights and environmental issues in their operations and supply chains and issues related to greenwashing
Sandra Martins
Sandra MartinsHead of Employment, Radius Law
Sandra Martins is the head of the employment department at Radius Law. Sandra has particular experience advising businesses on IR35, TUPE, corporate transactions, business restructures, redundancies, executive exits and settlement negotiations.
Sandra works closely with HR departments and senior management and provides practical legal guidance on all employment-related issues.
Lucy McCormick
Lucy McCormickBarrister, Henderson Chambers
Lucy McCormick is a commercial barrister at Henderson Chambers. She undertakes a variety of product liability and property damage work, and is particularly known for her expertise in relation to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs). She also contributed to the 1st and 2nd editions of The Law and Artificial Intelligence (Sweet & Maxwell, 2020; 2024), having previously co-authored The Law and Autonomous Vehicles (Routledge, 2019). In 2023 Lucy won the CogX ‘Outstanding Achievements & Research’ award for her work on Tech Regulation.
Perran Moon
Perran MoonMP
Perran is the MP for the furthest southerly Labour constituency in the UK. One of 4 Cornish Labour MPs.
Perran has also been a director of a company which installs electric vehicle charging points and has regularly spoken at sustainable energy events and conferences.
He has liaised daily with local and national government, encouraging the rollout of electric charging infrastructure.
Jerry Page
Jerry PageCompliance Consultant, Radius Law
Jerry has worked in financial services for 35+ years, within the automotive-related field for 25+ years and in a compliance, risk and governance role for 10 years or so. He often compares compliance to visiting the dentist – nobody wants the pain or cost, but they do want to keep their teeth.
Jerry’s five areas of interest are FCA compliance in consumer credit and general insurance; Enterprise Risk Management; KYC, money laundering and financial crime; data protection and corporate governance
Marc Palmer
Marc PalmerHead of Strategy & Insights, Auto Trader
With over 20 years in the car industry, Marc has rich experience of buyers, their activities, motivations and experiences. From the brands they consider to how they choose to research and buy, he uses this data to help the auto sector and policy makers understand the car market. Marc has a particular focus on the digitalisation of car buying and the automotive industry, and on accelerating electric car adoption.
Vicky Read
Vicky ReadCEO of Charge UK
Vicky was appointed CEO of ChargeUK, the voice of the UK’s EV charging infrastructure industry, in May 2024, after serving as the organisation’s inaugural Vice-Chair for Policy and Communications. With over 20 years of experience in policy and communications leadership, she has held key roles, including Head of Policy and Public Affairs at broadband infrastructure provider CityFibre, Head of Government Affairs at social network Bebo, and Executive Director of the Commercial Broadcasters Association. She has also advised organisations across the mobile, publishing, and sharing economy sectors. Vicky joined the EV charging industry in 2021, working with Dutch charge point operator Fastned before joining UK-based Connected Kerb in 2023. Passionate about driving the growth of innovative industries, she is committed to scaling sustainable solutions and motivated by the urgent need to decarbonise our economy.
Zoë Warren
Zoë WarrenPhilanthropy Lead, IJM UK
Zoë Warren is the Corporate Partnerships & Philanthropy Lead at International Justice Mission (IJM UK), leading a dynamic team working across the UK to engage corporations and individuals with IJM’s global work to stop slavery and violence. IJM works with local authorities to: bring people to safety; support survivors with trauma-informed care; hold perpetrators to account; and strengthen justice systems so that people are protected in the first place. IJM has seen slavery decrease by up to 86% in places where they work.
Tim Wilson
Tim WilsonPatent Attorney, Dehns
Tim works principally in the fields of computer systems, software, electronics, physics, signal processing, advanced medical technology and mechanical engineering. With a strong background in mathematics and physics, he is especially well equipped to handle highly-mathematical inventions in areas such as cryptography, statistics, artificial intelligence, data analysis and signal processing. In addition to drafting new patent applications, he has considerable experience in seeing patent applications through to grant before patent offices around the world, as well as advising on questions of infringement and validity. He also handles patent oppositions at the European Patent Office, and has been involved in patent litigation in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Melanie Wiseman
Melanie WisemanSMMT
Melanie is Head of Legal at The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd, having moved into the automotive sector from City private practice more than 25 years ago. As well as providing internal legal services for SMMT and its subsidiaries, Melanie engages with the member in-house legal community to deliver horizon scanning insights and provide sector analysis and positions on the breadth of regulatory and legal/policy issues that affect the automotive supply chain in the UK. This entails working with members, stakeholders, government and regulators to highlight key legal and compliance issues – in an ever-changing environment encompassing new technologies, the post-Brexit landscape and the decarbonisation programme.
Zeynep D
Zeynep DLead Adjudicator, The Motor Ombudsman
Zee graduated with a first class degree in commercial law in 2013. Since that date, has been working in the legal sector the UK and abroad. She has worked in a variety of legal sectors from the more academic probate disputes to the fast-paced, facts based criminal law. Zee’s main area of focus has been in commercial law – whether that be in real estate, franchising, finance, insurance or the technical difficulties of construction law.
She joined The Motor Ombudsman in 2023 as an Adjudicator. Zee was promoted to a Lead Adjudicator within a year and is now managing a team of 8. Zee has a deep interest in seeing how the law works in the real world and is enthusiastic about translating ‘legalese’ into plain English.
Additional speakers and biographies to be added in due course.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about the event, please contact our Business Services Team.
Register here
If you are interested in attending, register below.
