In today’s email:

• Prince Harry speaks in court

• India opens up its legal market

• See how well you know world flags

• Lloyds Bank is selling the Telegraph

• Coinbase gets in trouble with the US government

• Never again waste time trying to pick the perfect movie

… and more!

EDITOR'S RAMBLE 🗣

Sorry for the email coming later than usual this week.

My sister got married so I’ve been spending some time with family - here’s a pic of the wedding day! 👇️ 

Also, wanted to give a big shoutout to Zeno Capucci for sharing the LittleLaw newsletter.

Use your personal referral code below to invite people who you think would enjoy the newsletter - if you do, I’d love to give you a shoutout in future newsletters.

- Idin

FEATURED REPORT 📰

📰 Lloyds Bank is selling the Telegraph

What’s going on here?

The Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator are being put up for sale after Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) put the newspapers’ parent company into receivership.

What’s receivership?

It’s a legal process where a ‘receiver’ (in this case AlixPartners) is appointed by a court to sell a company’s assets to raise money to pay a creditor (a lender of the company).

It’s usually a last resort option for creditors to get their money back as they’d rather the business continues to operate, be profitable and pay them back as planned.

So, why’s this happened here?

LBG is owed £1.2bn from the Barclay family which has not been repaid. The Barclay family took out the loan which was secured against the assets of the Telegraph Media Group (which owns the newspapers being sold).

Who are the Barclay family?

They are a family of British billionaires, whose total wealth is estimated to be £6.4bn. They have different businesses which have included Yodel (a delivery firm), Littlewoods (a retailer) and the Ritz hotel.

In case you’re wondering (cause I was) they’re not related to Barclays Bank at all.

Will LBG get its money back after the sale?

It doesn’t look like it.

The newspapers are estimated to be worth between £500m and £700m in total.

So the sale probably won’t cover the £1.2bn that LBG is owed.

What’s the big picture effect?

• 🏦 Debt and over-borrowing: The story highlights the risks of borrowing too much money to expand a business. This business wasn’t profitable enough in the end to allow for it to make enough money to repay its debts.

• ⚔️ Creditors’ options: This situation shows one of the potential legal ‘weapons’ that a lender has against a borrower that hasn’t paid its debts. Going through a receivership process is never where either party wants to end up but, in this case, it seemed to be an effective choice for LBG.

• 📰 Legacy media: This story highlights the challenges faced by traditional media outlets like newspapers. The fall in the value of the Telegraph Media Group reflects the shifting dynamics in the world, with traditional newspapers struggling to remain profitable. Traditional media organisations are trying to adapt to stay relevant and explore new ways of getting money.

A BIT OF FUN 😄

LittleLaw was featured in City Law Bois (the elite insta meme page)!

IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• 🪙 The US is suing Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the country. It claims Coinbase has been operating illegally by acting as a broker without proper registration. Coinbase argues that the rules are unclear and calls for transparent legislation instead.

• 🇮🇳 The Bar Council of India has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Law Society and the Bar Council. This is to strengthen cooperation and legal exchange between the countries as India's legal services sector has been opened up to foreign lawyers.

• 👑 Prince Harry became the first member of the British royal family to give witness testimony in 130 years. This is in relation to his privacy lawsuit against the Daily Mirror which is taking place in London.

• 📈 Law firms are focusing on growing their own businesses instead of merging with other firms. This represents a shift from the position two years ago where firms were slightly more interested in growing through mergers.

AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• 🎥 Movie: Never waste one hour trying to find the right movie to watch - this site lets you find the right movie to match your mood (and you can also filter by streaming service so it only shows you those you have access to).

• 🎏 Fun: This quiz tests your knowledge of world flags by seeing if you can pick the right colour (it’s actually a really addicting game!).

• 💾 Throwback: Here’s a Windows 98 emulator for all your nostalgic needs (you can even play several “Doom” games on it.)

Credit: r/internetisbeautiful

STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

• 👥 Community for aspiring lawyers: If you're struggling with motivation for law firm applications, check out FlowHuddle - a supportive online community, hosting remote co-working sessions, expert office hours and in-person meet-ups.

• 📕Commercial awareness journal: Check out this journal that we've created alongside the team from The Lawyer Spot. It gives your a simple three-step structure to improve your commercial awareness in a high-quality physical notebook.

• 📣 Advertise with us: If you're looking to reach an engaged audience of over 6,700 aspiring lawyers, drop us an email.