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Contract law update: Recent developments and practical tips
03 May 2019On 2 May 2019, Mark Lim, Sohrab Daneshku and Nigel Enticknap from our commercial dispute resolution practice group hosted a seminar discussing provisions that commonly feature in commercial contracts. Whilst important, these terms may enjoy limited attention during negotiations. We covered recent case law, offered tips on how to interpret key clauses and discussed how to avoid common pitfalls. Below is a summary of some of the key points.
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Dispute Resolution Update - April 2019
24 April 2019Welcome to our April 2019 Dispute Resolution Update which brings you news and our views on law and practice for dispute resolution. We’ve included articles on domestic disputes and international disputes, including summaries of recent cases. We have also included client guides on key aspects of dispute resolution.
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Andrew Wanambwa writes for Accountancy Daily: Section 2 notices raise risk level for accountants
Press
18 March 2019Professional services firms, requests for documents and Section 2 notices under Criminal Justice Act 1987 could pose a risk for accountants and auditors as illustrated in the recent Omers case at the High Court, explains Andrew Wanambwa, in an article for Accountancy Age.
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Supreme Court decision on professional negligence and loss of chance: Perry v Raleys Solicitors
21 February 2019The Supreme Court has upheld the appeal of a firm of solicitors defending a professional negligence claim and helpfully reiterated well-established principles about the approach the court must take when considering the issue of causation in loss of chance cases. The decision clarifies what has to be proved in cases where the question for the court depends on what: (a) the claimant would have done (which the claimant must prove to the usual standard ‘on the balance of probabilities’); compared with (b) what others would have done (which are better assessed on a loss of chance basis).
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Going out on a limb - English courts and overseas defendants: jurisdiction challenges and the “three limb” test
06 February 2019When a dispute involves a foreign party or events that took place in another jurisdiction, questions often arise as to where the dispute should be determined. The forum in which the dispute is determined can make a great deal of difference. It is therefore important for potential litigants to know where they can commence proceedings and whether they can resist claims brought against them in the “wrong” jurisdiction. In a recent case the English Court of Appeal considered the test that will apply when deciding whether to permit a claimant to sue a “foreign” defendant in this jurisdiction. This article was originally published in the Commercial Litigation Journal in the March/April edition.
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Dispute Resolution Update - January 2019
16 January 2019Welcome to our January 2019 Dispute Resolution Update which brings you news and our views on law and practice for dispute resolution. We’ve included articles on domestic disputes and international disputes, including summaries of recent cases. We have also included client guides on key aspects of dispute resolution.
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Court of Appeal finds no litigation privilege in internal emails discussing commercial settlement of dispute
09 January 2019The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by West Ham football club in its application to inspect certain emails sent internally amongst board members of E20 Stadium LLP (“E20”) and between E20’s board members and stakeholders, in respect of which E20 asserted litigation privilege. The emails were created with the dominant purpose of discussing the commercial settlement of E20’s dispute with West Ham over the club’s rights to use the London Olympic Stadium when litigation was in contemplation. The Court held that litigation privilege does not extend to documents concerned with the settlement or avoidance of litigation where the documents neither: (a) seek advice or information for the purpose of conducting litigation; nor (b) reveal the nature of such advice or information.
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Litigation privilege and the ‘dominant purpose’ test: ENRC decision applied
07 January 2019Did last year’s landmark Court of Appeal decision in Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited (“ENRC”) alter the application of the ‘dominant purpose’ test for litigation privilege where a document is brought into existence for multiple purposes, one of which is for use in litigation? The answer is ‘no’, according to a recent decision by the High Court. The Court confirmed the well-established principle that, for a claim to litigation privilege to succeed where a document is created for more than one purpose, litigation must be shown to be the dominant purpose on the facts.
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Encouraging ADR: Civil Justice Council publishes final report
19 December 2018Back in 2016, the Civil Justice Council (“CJC”) set up an alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) working group to review the ways in which ADR currently is encouraged and positioned within the civil justice system in England and Wales. The terms of reference included the review of existing forms of encouragement for mediation (and other forms of ADR) in civil cases in the Civil Procedure Rules, case law and the powers of the court, to consider alternative forms of encouragement and assess proposals for reform. The Working Group has now published its final report.
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Disclosure Pilot Scheme already making an impact as High Court orders list of “issues for disclosure”
12 December 2018The mandatory Disclosure Pilot Scheme may not start in the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (“BPCs”) until 1 January 2019, but it seems the courts are already taking the new rules into account. In one reported case, the High Court has ordered a separate “list of issues for disclosure”, which will have to be jointly completed by the parties as part of the new Disclosure Review Document required under the Pilot Scheme.
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Sohrab Daneshku writes for The Law Society Gazette: Witness statements – rip them up and start again?
Press
27 November 2018Sohrab Daneshku has written an article for The Law Society Gazette which discusses the review led by Mr Jutice Popplewell into the rules on witness statements, including whether the rules should be changed and, if so, how.
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Fraser McKeating writes for Accountancy Age: Professional privilege and investigations – what do accountants need to know?
Press
26 November 2018In an article for Accountancy Age, Fraser McKeating explains how the law of privilege operates in the context of investigations.
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Major overhaul to disclosure coming: are you ready?
23 November 2018Yesterday our commercial dispute resolution specialists Mark Lim and Paula Barry hosted a discussion about fundamental changes to the disclosure process that are due to come into force on 1 January 2019 as part of a two-year pilot scheme that will run in the Business & Property Courts across England and Wales.
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Andrew Wanambwa writes for FT Adviser: Unexplained Wealth Orders
15 November 2018In an article for FT Adviser, Andrew Wanambwa discusses the powerful new weapon in the armoury of enforcement agencies, unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs).
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Dispute Resolution Update - October 2018
01 November 2018Welcome to our October 2018 Dispute Resolution Update which brings you news and our views on law and practice for dispute resolution. We’ve included articles on domestic disputes and international disputes, including summaries of recent cases. We have also included client guides on key aspects of dispute resolution.
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Unexplained Wealth Orders
29 October 2018The English courts have handed down their first judgment concerning Unexplained Wealth Orders. As a result of the judgment the wife of a foreign ex-banker faces losing UK property worth millions of pounds unless she can explain the source of her wealth. Set out below is an introduction to Unexplained Wealth Orders, how such orders can be resisted and the recent judgment handed down by the High Court. We also identify some key issues concerning Unexplained Wealth Orders which remain unresolved.
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Disclosure Pilot Scheme to start in January 2019
29 October 2018The Civil Procedure Rule Committee has approved the new Practice Direction which sets down rules for a mandatory disclosure pilot scheme. It will run for two years in the Business and Property Courts in England and Wales, starting on 1 January 2019.
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The regulator and the right of reply: two recent cases involving the Financial Reporting Council
Case Study
29 October 2018The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the regulator for UK statutory audits. Its responsibilities include setting audit standards, as well as enforcing the quality of audit. It is the investigative and disciplinary body for UK accountants dealing with cases affecting the public interest. FRC investigations naturally focus on those under its jurisdiction, such as its member accountancy firms and individual auditors. Sometimes, however, the conduct of the audited company and its managers will also be relevant. Two recent cases have discussed the duties owed by the FRC to these entities. The cases will be relevant to other regulators.
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Two wrongs don’t make a right: Court of Appeal decides illegality is no defence to professional negligence claim
16 October 2018For public policy reasons, the Court of Appeal has held that the defence of illegality was not available to a firm of solicitors that failed to register a property transfer to a client involved in mortgage fraud. The court decided that there was no risk that enforcing the client’s negligence claim would undermine the integrity of the justice system and she was entitled to damages, in spite of the fraud.
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SFO v ENRC landmark privilege case: no appeal but the story continues…
10 October 2018The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it will not appeal the Court of Appeal’s landmark ruling that documents created during an internal investigation by Eurasion Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) were protected by litigation privilege and do not have to be disclosed to the SFO. However, the story does not end there because in a new twist, ENRC has applied for a judicial review of the SFO’s investigation into criminal allegations of corruption and financial wrongdoing by ENRC.