Dispute Resolution Update - October 2020

Our recent insights...

If you refuse to even try and settle a dispute – there will be consequences
All businesses are suffering from the effects of Covid-19 and the various measures being taken to combat the spread of the virus. Disputes are continuing to rise and contracting parties remain desperate to ensure that they receive their contractual entitlements without delay – particularly payment... Read more

Business Interruption Insurance Claims - The Court Gives a Boost to Business
Many businesses making claims under business interruption insurance policies for losses resulting from business closures, due to the Covid pandemic and restrictions imposed by the Government, suffered a rejection of such claims by many of the insurance companies. Although the insurance companies would base those rejections on interpretations of the wording of the specific policy and the facts on which a claim was based, it was apparent that a number of common grounds were being used by the insurance industry to reject claims... Read more

Trading in turbulent times: has the bar got higher again?
UK businesses are facing a tough month. Uncertainty abounds with localised Covid restrictions on the horizon and a perfect storm is brewing: 29 September was a rent quarter day for many businesses and the furlough scheme is set to be withdrawn at the end of October. With 11% of the British workforce on furlough (according to ONS data), many are staring into the abyss... Read more

Covert recordings – does use in court justify the risk?
With the ubiquity of smartphones, most people have the ability secretly to record a conversation or meeting, but in the context of proceedings before the court in England, key questions are: will the court allow covert recordings to be used as evidence? And will the maker of the recording risk liability to claims from the people recorded?... Read more

Privilege Denied – “Dominant Purpose” in Practice
In the long-running case of Financial Reporting Council v Fraser’s Group (formerly Sports Direct International Plc) numerous issues of privilege have arisen... Read more

LS Unlock

Covid-19 and the enforced lockdown has turned life upside down for many businesses and individuals. As the world adjusts, contentious issues will inevitably arise - performance may not be forthcoming and contracts may be breached. 
We understand that in these challenging times, parties may want to pursue their claims but have a heightened need to maintain control of their legal expenditure. In order to help ‘unlock’ both of these objectives, Lewis Silkin has committed to an initiative called LS Unlock. It is designed to help individuals and businesses pursue claims by removing or reducing the cost risk of litigation. You can find out more information here.

Webinar

Trading through the pandemic: insolvency issues, risk and contractual performance - 5 November 2020

 In this dispute resolution webinar Helen Pugh, Barrister at 3 Hare Court, will join our specialists Mark Lim and Fraser McKeating to bring you up to date on practical and legal issues facing businesses operating during the pandemic.
 
We will cover a range of issues including:

• Director risk from over-trading – where are we now?
• Restrictions preventing termination for insolvency and work-arounds
• Limitation on debt recovery tools such as statutory demands
• Rescue through administrations – the company and creditor perspectives
• Practical changes at the court – what is happening in practice?

For more info click here

Legal 500

We were pleased to be ranked in Tier 3 in Legal 500's Commercial Litigation Mid-Market category. Mark Lim, Clive Greenwood and Andrew Wanambwa were all mentioned along with Fraser McKeating who has been listed as a Rising Star. You can read our write up in full here.

Some of our client testimonials are below:

• "Very knowledge and hardworking team, who represent good value for money for a top London firm."
• "Stand out performer is new Head of Dept, Mark Lim. Highly motivated and very approachable, he is excellent with clients on difficult cases."
• "The team that handled my case were exceptionally customer focussed and had studied the case documents thoroughly. I was impressed with the knowledge they had on a fairly unique part of commercial law."
• "Mark Lim leads a consistently strong team. The team are in Mark’s image: clever, thoughtful and assertive. They are careful, innovative and client friendly. Lewis Silkin is a medium-sized law firm but doing top end work, with brilliance and at a reasonable cost. If one has a tricky commercial dispute that one wants fought properly and effectively to a satisfactory conclusion then this is the team."
• “I learned a huge amount working with Andrew and would not hesitate to recommend him in any dispute.”

In case you missed it

Commercial contracts - key areas to consider in the current crisis 
On the 16th June we hosted a Webex addressing a number of key areas of contract law that are of particular relevance during the current time. We focused on Variation; Economic Duress; Duty of good faith; Waiver/Estoppel and Repudiation.

If you missed our session you can watch the recording here. The password is: zTAWs3pF. We recommend using Chrome to avoid downloading additional software. Should you have any questions or comments please get in touch.

Have you met...

Fraser McKeating
Managing Associate

Fraser specialises in commercial disputes and he regularly acts for clients across a number of sectors including in the technology, professional services, retail and finance spheres.

Fraser provides clients with strategic advice to resolve disputes and to get cost-effective results, whether by negotiation, alternative dispute resolution methods or litigation/arbitration. He regularly advises and acts on breach of contract disputes, breach of warranty/indemnity claims, company disputes (including boardroom disputes, claims against directors and claims by minority shareholders) and professional negligence claims.

+44 (0)20 7074 8199

fraser.mckeating@lewissilkin.com.

Thank you for reading the October Dispute Resolution Update, if you have any feedback, comments or queries let us know by contacting Rachel Rooksby.