Judgment is now pending in a Court of Appeal battle which may see the level of personal injury compensation increase. A rare five-judge court, led by Master of the Rolls, Lord Woolf, has been asked to hold that present guidelines on compensation levels are "no longer fair and reasonable". Eight test cases involving a spread of personal injury situations, are being considered in an action brought in the wake of a 1998 Law Commission report recommending that general damages should be doubled in some cases. At the outset of the case Lord Woolf said that the economic consequences for the insurance industry and health service would be "enormous" if the court acceded to the Law Commission's recommendations.
Stanbrooks lures lawyers from closed Belgian firm
Stanbrook & Hooper and Bird & Bird have benefited from the break-up of Belgian firm Cannart Andre-Dumont Erkelens Goethals. Brussels-based Stanbrooks has lured two of the firm’s partners – Emmanuel de Cannart d’Hamale and Hubert Andre-Dumont – and four associates to set up its Belgian corporate and commercial department. Another Cannarts partner, Catherine Erkelens, has […]