The Motor Ombudsman and Radius Law are coming together to host their Annual Automotive Business & Law Update event on Wednesday 15th May 2024.
The automotive sector is undergoing rapid change, with developments around the future of cars (electrified, autonomous, shared & connected), as well as the new business and retail models being adopted by the industry.
Whether it be enforced by legal changes, policy implementation or the demands of the consumer, change is inevitable. Therefore, preparation is required to optimise our transition towards an era of automotive that we have not seen before.
This annual industry event will unpack these issues, explaining how they are likely to impact the automotive businesses, their legal implications, and the changes that businesses may wish to consider implementing.
Event details
The event will be held at The Motor Ombudsman’s London offices, 71 Great Peter Street,
London, SW1P 2BN on: Wednesday 15th May 2024, 9am-5.30pm.
Registration is from 9.00-9.45 am.
There’s a packed agenda with an address from legal and industry leaders.
A drinks reception following the event from 4.30pm.
Topics to include
Led by industry research, this event has been carefully curated to address the most important automotive issues and legal implications surrounding each:
• Automotive law round-up
• FCA Consumer Duty
• Buying and selling of automotive businesses
• New consumer laws
• Autonomous vehicles and product safety
• Employment law
• Preparing for the future car: connected & automated
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
Attendance is available for: £275 +VAT
For Motor Ombudsman and Radius Law clients: £195 + VAT (with an exclusive 30% discount of £80). Use discount code: MOTOR at the checkout.
Register today!
If you are interested in attending, please register below.
Agenda
|
Time |
Session |
Speaker |
| 9:00 AM – 9:45 AM | Welcome Arrival and refreshments |
|
| 9:45 AM – 10:00 AM | Conference opens Chair and keynote address |
Tony Whitehorn, Former President and CEO Hyundai Motor UK |
| 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM |
Automotive Law Round-Up A fast-paced summary of key automotive law changes from the past year and a look ahead. |
Iain Larkins, Director, Radius Law |
| 10:50 AM – 11:10 AM | Fireside Chat | Bill Fennell, MD, The Motor Ombudsman
Tony Whitehorn, T Whitehorn Consultancy |
| 11:10 AM – 11:25 AM | Coffee & Refreshments | |
| 11:25 AM – 12:10 PM |
BREAK OUT 1 The Consumer Duty was implemented on the 31st July 2023. What’s happened since then? Have business practices changed? Are automotive finance complaints rising? Are there new compliance concerns being raised by the regulator? The session will unpack these questions and more. |
Jerry Page, Compliance Consultant, Radius Law
|
| 11:25 AM – 12:10 PM | BREAK OUT 2 Buying & Selling of Automotive Businesses The rapid change in the sector is leading to lots of M&A activity. This session will cover our top 10 issues to consider. |
Jason Cranswick, Managing Director at Norton Way Motors
Laurence Slattery, Senior Lawyer at Radius Law Owen Edwards, Head of UK Automotive at Grant Thornton |
| 12:10 PM – 12:55 PM | BREAK OUT 3 New Consumer Laws Get ready – new enforcement powers and stricter requirements (including fines of 10% of turnover) are on the horizon. |
|
| 12:10 PM – 12:55 PM |
BREAK OUT 4 Ironically, more safety features inevitably equal more product safety claims. This session will explore how we manage product safety risks. |
Simon Castley, Partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP |
| 12:55 PM – 1:45 PM | Lunch | |
| 1:45 PM – 2:25 PM | The Automotive Players
Twenty years ago, motor manufacturers were consolidating, and most industry commentators expected the industry to soon be dominated by just five manufacturers. Meanwhile, retailing had a healthy mix of PLC and small family-owned businesses. Now, everything has changed. The session will unpack the industry experts’ views on what the future holds. |
Alison Ashley, Partner at RSM
Ian Leedham, European Legal Director at LKQ Europe Tony Whitehorn of T Whitehorn Consultancy |
| 2:25 PM – 3:10 PM
|
BREAK OUT 5 Employment Tricky employment law issues to navigate for the automotive sector, including worker status, monitoring employees at work, and IR35. |
Sandra Martins, Senior Lawyer at Radius Law |
| 2:25 PM – 3:10 PM | BREAK OUT 6 Economic Outlook 2024
|
Rob Elder, Agent for Greater London at Bank of England |
| 3:10 PM – 3:30 PM | Coffee & Refreshments | |
| 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM | Preparing for the Future Car: Connected & Automated
The Automated Vehicles draft bill was published on the 8th November 2023 providing more clarity for how the law will develop. This panel of experts will consider future developments of the law, other legal risks and consumer acceptance. |
Alistair McCrindle, Operations Director, Autotech Training
Dr Andrew Tongue, Research Director at ICDP Jakub Krupa, Senior Correspondent at MLex Lucy McCormick, Barrister at Henderson Chambers |
| 4:15 PM – 4:30 PM | Fair Justice
The automotive industry is awash with ‘no win, no fee’ claims. At first glance, this appears as no bad thing, but dig deeper and we find that the winners are the claimant lawyers and the litigation funders, not the consumers. Have changes to UK law unlocked a litigation culture similar to the US or can we control it? |
Seema Kennedy, Executive Director at Fair Civil Justice |
The event will be followed by networking drinks and key note closing from 4.30pm
Speakers
Tony Whitehorn, Consultant at T Whitehorn Consultancy Ltd, Former President and CEO Hyundai Motor UK
Tony has been in the automotive industry for more than 30 years holding senior roles at Renault, Toyota and most recently as President and CEO of Hyundai Motor UK. Tony stepped down in 2019 to head up his own consultancy where he advises OEMs, retailers and many other partners in the rapidly growing Mobility arena. He is a lecturer at Business Schools as well as being a Non-Executive Director and Executive Advisor to a few companies in the Automotive Industry.
Iain Larkins, Director, 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.
Prior to establishing Radius, Iain was the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer for the Mercedes-Benz UK
Bill Fennell
Bill FennellManaging Director, 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.
Jerry Page, Compliance 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.
Jason Cranswick
Jason CranswickManaging Director, Norton Way Motors
Laurence Slattery
Laurence SlatterySenior Lawyer, Radius Law
Owen Edwards
Owen EdwardsHead of UK Automotive, Grant Thornton
Owen is a member of the Grant Thornton Automotive Advisory practice, with responsibility for Automotive Retail Business Consulting
He worked for seven years at Inchcape Plc, the world’s largest independent motor retailer and distributor. For four years, he was the Director of Business Development, undertaking acquisitions and focusing on the strategic positioning of the business across the globe. Prior to this, as Group Strategy Manager, his projects included introducing new brands into emerging markets, restructuring a number of the groups overseas underperforming operations, and compiling the group’s five-year strategy plan.
Prior to joining Grant Thornton he recently advised Marshall Motor Holdings Plc on their floatation on the London Stock Exchange.
Owen has a large range of experience in automotive distribution and retail; global composite, dashboard and KPI analysis; company and financial analysis; strategic 5 year planning.
Simon Castley
Simon CastleyPartner, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Simon is the Managing Partner for Shook’s London office, which acts as the firm’s hub for global product liability litigation and client counselling work.
Simon focuses his practice in the area of product liability with an emphasis on marketing issues that affect clients’ brands and businesses in the U.K., U.S. and Europe. His experience includes international mass claims, litigation on corporate and commercial matters as well as corporate and general business liability.
Simon’s client base includes major automotive manufacturers, consumer products and medical device manufacturers. He has worked extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and he has gained considerable experience of litigation in civil law jurisdictions. He frequently supports client representatives in other jurisdictions with strategic input, also supporting them in relation to the litigation impact of new regulations.
Simon is also Shook’s delegate to the Product Liability Forum, which is run by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and he frequently participates in conferences that cover tort and mass claims issues.
Alison Ashley
Alison AshleyPartner, RSM
Ian Leedham
Ian LeedhamEuropean Legal Director, LKQ Europe
Sandra Martins, Head of Employment, Radius Law
Sandra Martins is the head of the employment department at Radius Law. Sandra has particular experience of advising businesses on IR35, TUPE (including in an insolvency context), corporate transactions, business restructures, redundancies, executive exits and settlement negotiations.
She works closely with HR departments and senior management and provides practical legal guidance on all employment-related issues
Rob Elder
Rob ElderAgent for Greater London, Bank of England
Alistair McCrindle
Operations Director, Autotech Training
With 28 years of experience in the automotive industry, Ali brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to his role as Head of Operations at Autotech Training. A car enthusiast since he was a child, Ali began his career in the motor industry as an apprentice at age 16. Since then, he has gone on to successfully complete multiple qualifications, including MIMI CAE, CertEd, Level 4 EQA, Level 4 LIQA, Level 3 Assessor, and achieving multiple motor vehicle diplomas.
Prior to joining Autotech Training in 2023, he had worked in different sectors of the automotive industry, most recently as an EQA for The IMI and Deputy Head of Curriculum. Experience gained whilst supporting students to achieve their goals and secure employment at leading automotive/motorsport companies means Ali has a keen eye for high-quality education in the automotive industry.
Dr Andrew Tongue
Research Director, ICDP
Dr Andrew Tongue is Research Director of ICDP, an international research-based organisation focused on automotive distribution, including the supply and retailing of new and used vehicles, after sales, network structures and operations. Through its collaborative programmes, consultancy, data services, and events, ICDP works with vehicle makers, dealers, suppliers, and related organisations to improve the quality and effectiveness of the distribution model.
Andrew has over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry since he completed a Doctoral study looking at the evolution of distribution channel structures across the European car market. He also leads ICDP’s regulatory work, advising clients and other key industry actors on developments in the legislative environment governing the selling, marketing and use of vehicles.
Passionate about early motoring and motorsport in particular, he enjoys running a collection of vintage and classic cars, and is a Clerk of the Course at race circuits and hill-climbs around the UK.
Jakub Krupa
Jakub KrupaSenior correspondent at MLex
Jakub is an award-winning communications advisor and experienced journalist covering UK politics, London and regulatory affairs. Jakub has a proven track record in public affairs & corporate campaigns and is also a dedicated community activist working with migrant communities in London and across the UK.
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.
Seema Kennedy OBE
Seema Kennedy OBEExecutive Director, Fair Civil Justice
Seema Kennedy was a Government Minister under Theresa May’s Premiership, serving as Immigration Minister and Public Health Minister. Before that she was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister between 2017 and 2019, responsible for relations between MPs and Downing Street during the Brexit negotiations.
While Member of Parliament for South Ribble in Lancashire, Seema co-chaired the Jo Cox Loneliness Commission and was Vice-Chair of the Conservative Middle East Council.
Prior to her election to Parliament she worked as a lawyer in the City with involvement on projects including the Emirates Stadium and St Bart’s Hospital before becoming Director of a commercial property business in the North West of England.
Since leaving frontline politics Seema has combined an executive role running a legal advocacy group with non executive positions at the water regulator OFWAT where she chairs the People Committee, and as the Chair of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network. She also sits on the Nominations Committee of St Albans Cathedral and as acting Chair of a family art foundation.
Seema is a graduate of Pembroke College, Cambridge and the Sorbonne.
Register here
If you are interested in attending, register below.
