Freshfields and A&O veterans among five new High Court judges
Freshfields’ Sarah Falk will take up a new role as a High Court judge today, alongside A&O’s Ed Murray.
Normanton Chambers to become first in bar’s history to be named after a woman
The bar is to get its first set of chambers named after a woman. 218 Strand Chambers, a set of eight members which launched at the start of 2018, is to rebrand as Normanton Chambers in January 2019, after Helena Normanton KC, the first woman to practice at the bar and the second to be […]
Fountain Court announces new leadership as Moriarty QC bows out
Fountain Court Chambers’ Bankim Thanki QC has followed up his recent high-profile victories in the Court of Appeal by being named as the set’s new head. An extremely successful month for Thanki saw him play a significant role in high-profile cases for the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) and Ukraine and has now been topped off […]
4-5 Gray’s Inn Square set for second merger in five years with Arden tie-up
Housing set Arden Chambers will merge with public, planning and property set 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square effective from 1 October in the latter’s second merger in just over five years. The new set will take 4-5 Gray’s Inn’s name initially, with Arden Chambers senior practice manager Emily Martin continuing to lead the legacy set’s work […]
Freshfields partner swaps private practice for the Bar
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer restructuring partner Nick Segal is switching private practice for the Bar, taking on a new role at Erskine Chambers. Segal is set to join the chambers as a barrister in September, after he has been successfully admitted to the Bar. Segal joined Freshfields in 2006 on his return to the UK from […]
Crisis averted as criminal barristers accept £15m legal aid offer
The Criminal Bar Association (CBA)’s feud with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has ended with 51.55 per cent of members voting to accept the £15m offer that was put to them two weeks ago. The offer was accepted through a slim majority voting in favour of the reforms with an 85 per cent turnout from […]
MoJ offers £15m to Criminal Bar after fees dispute
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has offered the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) £15m as the government entity seeks to end the increasingly tense standoff between the two bodies. The deal is said to be an entirely new investment and will include an £8m cash injection for barristers who have lost money through a change in […]
39 Essex’s Hodge Malek QC leads four-strong team to 3VB
3 Verulam Buildings (3VB) has taken Hodge Malek QC and four junior barristers from 39 Essex Chambers, along with three international lawyers who join as associate members. Malek – who acted for Alexandra Tolstoy and her children during the mammoth case against Russian oligarch Sergei Pugachev last year – will join the set today bringing barristers […]
Two-thirds of criminal barristers work for nothing one day a week
Most say the reason they work additional unpaid hours is because the solicitor does less than previously.
Matrix branches out from law with crisis management team launch
Matrix Chambers has launched a new chambers-wide initiative designed to involve its barristers at an earlier stage to provide impartial advice during regulatory investigations. Integrity+ is a new service available to clients which will see Matrix barristers provide objective advice on issues such as the correct choice of law firm or accountant representation in the first […]
Criminal Bar issues harsher proposals to combat fee cuts
The gulf between the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has continued to grow as the CBA ramps up pressure to reject work falling under the Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS). In an announcement issued on 13 May, the CBA encouraged its members to continue rejecting any form of work falling […]
Clifford Chance throws down gauntlet to the Bar with bid to ban brief fees
As part of a push for greater transparency, Clifford Chance has started telling some of the UK’s most prominent commercial sets that it will look to scrap some traditional fees as part of a revamped approach to pricing. Global head of dispute resolution Matthew Newick and London head of dispute resolution Helen Carty have made it […]
Landmark, Littleton and 7KBW among chambers appointing pro bono champions
Chambers are appointing ‘pro bono champions’ as part of a new initiative to encourage barristers to take on not-for-profit work. The move is a result of the Bar Pro Bono Unit’s ‘FABFeb’ campaign which ran over the course of February. The Unit contacted all heads of chambers, senior clerks and chambers directors, at sets with […]
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81% of barristers instructed by litigation heavyweights are men
The most active law firms in the UK courts instructed a total of 810 barristers last year; of which only 19 per cent were women.
SFO to use AI on all cases after landmark Rolls-Royce investigation
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is making AI document review available on all casework from this month, a move that will enable the processing of half a million documents a day and eventually replace the work of independent barristers.
SFO appoints interim head as Green steps down
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has appointed chief operating officer Mark Thompson as interim director as former head David Green QC prepares to step down at the end of this month. Thompson joined the SFO in 2004 and was appointed chief operating officer in October 2016. He will take on the role on 21 April, […]
Premier Motorauctions drops claims against Lloyds and PwC
The long-running battle between Premier Motorauctions, and Lloyds Bank and PwC has come to a close after the Leeds-based car auction company dropped its claims in the case.
Chambers throw weight behind industry calls to reject work
A raft of criminal barristers chambers have thrown their support behind the Criminal Bar Association (CBA)’s calls to reject work falling under a new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) scheme.
Bernie Ecclestone to face trial in October 2019 in bribery dispute
The alleged bribery dispute between former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and Bluewaters Communications will go to trial in the High Court in October 2019.
Chambers threaten to strike over 50% fee cut
In a move that will jeopardise the Ministry of Justice’s post-Brexit campaign to market London as the world’s leading legal centre, several criminal chambers are threatening to refuse work from 1 April, The Lawyer has learned.
Weinstein bankruptcy prompts Fieldfisher to demand fund guarantee
Fieldfisher has asked for confirmation from the Weinstein Company that funds for alleged sexual abuse victims are secure following the company’s bankruptcy.
Saudi prince case that incited Peter Smith J bias row ends in dismissal
The case made famous for a bias row involving Mr Justice Peter Smith has seen the claim against Blackstone Chambers client Prince Abdul Aziz dismissed in its second re-trial.
Burford income grows by 109% to $341m
Litigation funder Burford Capital saw triple-figure increases in both income and post-tax profits, generating a record $341m (£244.5m) income last year.
BLP wins BCA battle in first predictive coding High Court trial
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has defeated a claim against client BCA Trading after using predictive coding technology in the High Court for the first time.
Lloyds ordered to search for key documents in Premier Motorauctions case
Lloyds Bank has been ordered to search for two key documents in the latest disclosure battle between the group and Premier Motorauctions.
PAG loses appeal in £30m Libor claim against RBS
The Property Alliance Group (PAG) has had its appeal against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) dismissed in the protracted £30m Libor battle
Litigation Tracker: banking and finance cases reign supreme, report reveals
The Lawyer Litigation Tracker 2017 reveals a ground-breaking year for the English courts, with landmark judgments reached in a number of areas of law that have set precedents and reformulated long-standing legal principles. However, it was also a year in which fewer cases went all the way to judgment. Some 2,412 judgments were tracked by […]
Linklaters predicted shareholder fightback in HBOS takeover
Linklaters warned Lloyds that it was vulnerable to litigation if it made potentially “negligent misstatements” in its announcement to shareholders of the HBOS acquisition, court documents released yesterday reveal.