So you're a director. Now what?

January 20, 2025


Hey there,

The new year is here, which means for the next few weeks (or months…) every Tom, Dick and Harry is going to be talking about their new health routines. 

Don’t hate us for joining the noise, but the beginning of the year is also the perfect time to check on the health of your business – which you can do in just a couple of minutes for free using our legal health check. Who knew ticking off your health goals could be this easy?

Now it’s time to bring you:

  1. 🙋‍♀️ The legal question we’ve been asked most this past month by founders and startups. 

  2. 📰 Noteworthy news (and why it’s relevant to you). 

  3. 💸 Funding and award opportunities to grow your business.

  4. 🎉 Events this month that could bring value to you and your business.

1. Our Most Asked Question in December:
What are the powers and obligations of directors? 💪

So you’ve just become a company director (or you’ve just hired one!). What do you need to do now?

Well, when you become a company director you take on a whole new set of responsibilities. Along with your fellow board members, you will set out the strategy of your business.

The board of directors of a company is primarily responsible for four things:

  1. 📊 Determining the company’s strategic objectives and policies.

  2. 🧐 Monitoring progress towards achieving these objectives and policies.

  3. 💼 Appointing senior management.

  4. 📑 Accounting for the company’s activities to relevant parties (like your shareholders).

So that means: You now have a lot of authority: Along with being responsible for the management of the company, you can exercise all the power of the company. 💪

However, note that you can’t go full-on dictator here; the extent of your authority is constrained by the Companies Act 2006 and the articles of association. The articles of association will often include provisions and restrictions on borrowing by the company.

Generally, directors must act collectively as a board, but they often delegate powers to individual directors. So in practice, individual directors normally carry out most of the company’s activities.

But you’re also liable: As a company director, you can be held personally liable for losses incurred by your business which are proven to result from board decisions or a failure to act properly. 😅

As soon as you set your company up on Companies House, you will most likely be appointing yourself as a director. And as soon as you do this, you are agreeing to certain laws that you may not know about…

These can result in personal liability against you and your personal assets. 🏡

For this reason, Directors Liability Insurance is essential for a company director. 🙌

2. Noteworthy News:
RealPage AI vs. The U.S. Government 👨‍⚖️

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is coming after the real estate software company RealPage. 

They’re alleging that RealPage has been using their AI-driven pricing tools to carry on a price-fixing scheme, reducing competition between landlords so that they drive up rent prices – meaning millions of renters are paying more than they should. 

The DOJ says that this most certainly violates the Sherman Act, a key U.S. antitrust law.

Why should this matter to you? 

This case highlights the potential antitrust risks associated with AI pricing tools and signals increased scrutiny of how AI enables information sharing and potential price-fixing.

The legal principles established in this case will likely extend to other areas:

🤝 Recruitment AI: Tools screening job applicants could face lawsuits if found to systematically favor certain demographics.

🚚 Supply Chain AI: Systems optimizing inventory or logistics might be scrutinized for creating unfair advantages or price coordination.

📈 Marketplace AI: Startups operating digital marketplaces with AI-driven pricing or recommendation systems may need to ensure their algorithms don’t create anti-competitive effects.

So even if your startup isn't using pricing tools, the ruling may introduce industry-wide compliance standards that affect all AI systems, such as ensuring transparency and preventing anti-competitive outcomes.

How can you prepare for upcoming changes in compliance? 

1. Conduct Compliance Audits
2. Build Transparent AI Systems
3. Monitor Legal Developments
4. Engage Legal Expertise (like SuLe ;)

3. Funding & Award Opportunities 💸

🏆 Influential Women in Legal Tech 2025: Every March, ILTA publishes an Influential Women in Legal Tech list of women or women-identifying members of the global legal technology community who are making an active difference in the world.
Deadline: January 25th

🏆 The Great British Business & Community Awards 2025: An evening celebrating the achievements of businesses, charities and inspirational individuals throughout the UK.
Deadline: February 23rd

4. Upcoming Entrepreneurial Events 🤓

January 23rd: Million Pound Menu: PE & VC Developments – Claire, the Founder and CEO of Trachet, will explore the evolving nature of Private Equity and the moment of convergence it is experiencing into the world of Venture Capital, and vice versa – particularly in the Growth Equity stage.

January 25th: Enterprise Nation: StartUp Show 2025 – UK’s biggest start-up show of the new year, discover everything you need to know about starting and growing a business.

January 30th: Women in Tech London - OutGeekWomen – Network with accomplished female pros across diverse IT domains, rub shoulders with CTOs, connect with talented dev teams, and mingle with the brilliant minds behind your favorite tech brands.

That’s all until next month; happy businessing!

(and seriously, go check up on the health of your business)

– The SuLe Team