Commercial and Litigation

• Review and advice of regulatory compliance of agreements, corporate entities, business transactions, market conditions, and the commercialization of goods and services
• Cross-border issues including jurisdiction, EU law competition, cross-border trade, conflict national laws, human rights.
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating and enforcing contracts, agreements, terms of trade, settlement of disputes.
• Advocacy (both written and oral) before the higher courts of England & Wales and Ireland and regulatory bodies

Examples of past work - commercial 

• Business transactions, mergers and acquisitions
• Corporate formation, structures and due diligence
• Contracts and commercial transactions
• Joint ventures and collaboration
• Intellectual property rights protection and enforcement
• E-commerce and ICT
• commercialisation of goods and services

Example of past work - regulatory

• Compliance in regulated markets
• Business models, polices and contracts
• Self-regulation of markets and reseller/distribution networks
• Consumer and employment protection.
• EU, Irish and UK competition law
• Access to markets, barriers to entry, and dominance
• Access, residency and free movement
• Agency Distribution and vertical arrangements

Supporting Disciplines

• Company Law, Mergers and Takeovers
• Consumer and Product liability
• Commercial Contracts
• Agency and distribution
• Employment and equality
• Banking and Financial Services
• Intellectual Property and Data Protection
• Competition, State Aid and Public contracts
• Property, Trusts and Succession
• Environmental protection
• Custom duties, import/export
• Litigation, injunctions and judicial review
• Jurisdiction and Choice of law

International

• technical assistance to transitional economies.
• analyzing and advising on international, European and national constitutions, legislation, case law, policies, contracts, business practices and transactions, and disputes.
• Origination and drafting of legislation, regulatory powers and procedures, contracts, best practice statements, company statutes, guidelines, manuals and other documentation.
• concept elaboration, research and analysis, document origination and development, solution-finding, and dispute resolution
• Training and educating professionals, decision-makers and administrators according to syllabus, or by way of bespoke workshops and on-the-job training

Niche Areas

Drone Law

“Drone” is the informal term commonly used in place of a variety of terms also in common use, of which “remotely piloted aircraft system” or RPAS is the term used for regulatory purposes to denote an civilian un-crewed aircraft that is flown under power (usually electric) and controlled remotely. Other terms are unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV*), and unmanned aerial system (UAS). Future regulation of the commercial and residential use of drones is likely as with all aviation, to coordinated at an international and European level. It is also juxtaposes with other disciplines including property rights, privacy and data protection, intellectual property, criminal and civil liability, etc.

Joseph Dalby is a qualified RPAS pilot, and has co-authored several articles and spoken at events in UK and Ireland. Two articles on Lexis Nexis are imminen. Separately he is founder of consultancy firm FlightPath Consulting – although it is not actively managed presently. 

Irish Law

Brexit has turned the focus on Ireland and Irish law as the remedy for all legal imponderables and complications, which might arise from the UK’s departure from the European Union, and which may not be addressed by the UK-EU trade treaty that replaces membership. Even taking into account common law and European traditions, Irish statutes and caselaw amount to a whole body of law to acquire an appreciation of.

Joseph has practised in Irish law for 18 years, and before the Irish courts for 8. He range of practice complements his practice in England & Wales.

In addition to advising on Irish law, and representing UK and international clients before the Irish courts, Joseph also offers seminiars to provide English practitioners with an introduction to Irish law, and then in some particular disciplines. A more general seminar can cover, Irish Constitutional, European and International legal traditions, Common law comparisons, Legal practice in Ireland and Advising on European Law Through Irish Law.

Procurement and Government Commerce

Fundamentally an extensive practice in public procurement exposes the practitioner to both public law (regulatory) and commercial legal issues. The field of public procurement is represented by a large and varied but identifiable and separate user market, involving both public and private sector participants. Procurement law was originally and is now substantially a product of European Union law, and combines the rules of competition, free movement as well as touching on underlying rules on health and safety, environment and employment. Separately, there is now a significant body of procurement law in the form of directives, national law and case law.  In parallel, procurement is a regulated commercial activity carried on my state entities using public funds. Thus to properly advise on public procurement matters requires a mix of commercial acumen and regulatory compliance skills. Joseph has been advising on government commerce since the mid-1990s, and is available to advise both buyers and suppliers.