Litigation

Latest news, analysis and white papers on litigation and dispute resolution matters in the UK. Subscribers to the Litigation Tracker can also access a searchable database of cases and judgments. For details on how to subscribe, email the Litigation Tracker team or call on 020 7970 4275.

 

2024’s newest silks: Why we chose a career in law

A solicitor-turned-barrister and the Bar’s newest doctor KC; The Lawyer speaks to six of the Bar’s newest silks. The group was announced as KCs-in-waiting earlier this year, with 95 barristers in total getting the nod. Among the 95 were Crucible Law’s Clea Topolski – who having been called in 2014 – is the most junior of the set. […]

Linklaters litigator departs for Pallas

A Linklaters litigator is leaving the firm for Pallas Partners, in a major lateral hire for the disputes boutique that launched two years ago. Susana Cao Miranda is joining Pallas as a partner. Prior to joining the magic circle firm in 2017, Cao Miranda was a managing director at Goldman Sachs in London, where she […]

Spotlight: Eversheds’ sanctions team goes global

This February marked the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the single largest imposition of sanctions by the international community as a result. This week, we focus on Eversheds’ sanctions team, with over 60 lawyers handling matters worldwide. The market: Sanctions compliance is vital for any entity doing business on an international scale, […]

Argentina

Claim spotter: Argentinian oil case hits UK court, while Barclays targets Russia’s largest private bank

Multibillion-dollar Argentinian oil case lands in UK court Petersen Energia, the energy arm of a major Argentine banking group, secured a victory in a US court last September, with a $16bn judgment against the Argentinian government. Now, the legal battle has moved to the Commercial Court in the UK, as Petersen pursues further claims against […]

Bribe

Charles Russell Speechlys’ client acquitted in SFO bribery case

One of The Lawyer‘s Top 20 Cases for 2023 has reached a conclusion as two men accused of bribing Saudi officials to secure lucrative commercial contracts for the UK Government have been acquitted. The case concerned £9.7m of allegedly corrupt payments made between 2007 and 2012 to ensure military contracts were awarded to GPT Special Project […]

Ashurst

Ashurst snaps up Dechert white collar crime partner

Ashurst has hired a white collar crime and investigations partner from Dechert, as the firm builds out its disputes and investigations offering as part of its firmwide strategy.  Making the move is Judith Seddon, who has been at Dechert for two years and was formerly at Ropes & Gray and Clifford Chance. She specialises in […]

Dentons

Dentons’ SRA showdown begins over anti-money laundering claims

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has commenced its case against Dentons in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), accusing the firm of anti-money laundering (AML) failures and claiming it was “nowhere near compliance”. While Dentons did not present its defence today, the Tribunal will cover both sides’ case over the next week and a half. The […]

Ministry of Justice

Legal industry clashes over Government’s vow to reverse PACCAR

Litigation funders, defendant lawyers and claimant lawyers are divided over Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk KC’s plans to introduce a new law to reverse the Supreme Court’s PACCAR ruling last July, which ruled many litigation funding agreements (LFAs) unenforceable. The Government said it is also considering options for a wider review of the sector and how third-party litigation […]

Dentons triumphs as M&S wins Oxford Street store dispute

Dentons has secured a triumph for Marks & Spencer, safeguarding the retailer’s plans for its flagship store on Oxford Street. In a judgment handed down this morning, Mrs Justice Lieven ruled in favour of the supermarket on five of the six grounds it had brought against the Secretary of State (SoS) for Levelling Up, Housing […]

Defence chess

Spotlight: Meet the Freshfields team defending the most class actions

As revealed exclusively by The Lawyer, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has the most defence side mandates in Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) amid a booming class actions market. We laser in on the team on call.  The market: The interchange fee collective action, brought by class representative Walter Merricks on behalf of 45.5 million UK Mastercard customers, is […]

Litigation briefings

Navigating sanctions and contracts – ThinkHouse

David Lowe and Emma Carr discuss the impact of sanctions on contracts. They explain when sanctions could be a force majeure and what happens if there are no relevant sanctions but you still want to get out of the contract.

The reality of the value of ATE insurance for high-net-worth clients

I often hear commercial dispute resolution practitioners, unlike their personal injury and clinical negligence colleagues, say “Our clients are not interested in ATE Insurance or disbursement funding because they can afford to pay disbursements and bear the opponents costs if the case is unsuccessful”. I have a few things to say about this view.

Depp v Heard, and what is SLAPP litigation/Anti SLAPP?

Currently taking place in the Fairfax County Courthouse, Virginia, US, and with a celebrity witness line-up and livestream, Johnny Depp v Amber Heard is sure to attract the most column inches of any libel case this year.

Bitcoin dispute gives insight into English court’s approach

A company operated by a man claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous author of the white paper ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’, has had service of its claim form set aside in proceedings concerning bitcoin said to be worth approximately £3 billion.

Canada: Revisiting five noteworthy expropriation cases from 2021

In Expropriation Law: 2021 A Year in Review, Gowling WLG’s national Expropriation Law Group has summarized several complex and compelling expropriation cases from across Canada in 2021. In the article, the team highlights a number of important issues and key takeaways for those parties involved in the expropriation process.

Latest Litigation Tracker news – available to Litigation Tracker subscribers

Mercedes Benz

In court this week: Dieselgate, Clydes and counter-terrorism powers

Wealthy businessman sues former legal advisers Heading to the Commerical Court today (11 March) for five days is the professional negligence case brought by businessman Riad Al Sadik against Clyde & Co, two barristers from XXIV Old Buildings and Harney Westwood & Riegels. Al Sadik, a wealthy businessman who lives in Dubai, invested $136m in […]

drugs

Claim spotter: Taylor Wessing leads as diabetes IP battle looms

Taylor Wessing files debt claim  Southend United was hit with a new winding-up petition on 23 February, signalling continued financial trouble for the club. Then last week, Martin Dawn PLC, the company that owns a majority stake under chairman Ron Martin, was served with a part 7 debt claim from Taylor Wessing. This was filed […]

Claim spotter: Tesco takes another swing at Lidl

NatWest splashed with Norwich Pharmacal Order from swimwear brand Arena Italian swimwear brand Arena hit NatWest with a new claim last Tuesday (20 February) in the Business and Property Courts. Arena has brought a financial services and regulatory part 8 ‘transactions on financial markets or securities and/or banking’ claim against the banking giant, which The […]

In court this week: Google returns to CAT for £920m class action, as ex-solicitor takes on SRA

Google class action returns to CAT for fourth CMC Google is back in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) this Friday for a fourth case management conference (CMC) in Elizabeth Coll’s long-running class action against the software behemoth. Coll, who is represented by Hausfeld, is representing a class of Android device users who have used the […]