Disputes round-up: White & Case continues hiring drive with RBS litigation head as HSF partner appointed deputy High Court judge

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Disputes round-up: White & Case continues hiring drive with RBS litigation head as HSF partner appointed deputy High Court judge

White & Case is continuing its bid to add firepower to its London disputes bench with the hire of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)’s former head of litigation and investigations Laura Durrant as a partner.

Meanwhile, Swiss disputes firm LALIVE is opening an arbitration-focused office in London and Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) litigation partner Adam Johnson QC has been appointed a deputy High Court judge. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: White & Case continues hiring drive with RBS litigation head as HSF partner appointed deputy High Court judge”

Disputes round-up: Vannin Capital hires Fountain Court’s Martenstyn as managing director as Stewarts makes litigation tech play

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In a further indication of the growing prominence of litigation funders, Vannin Capital has turned to Bar stalwart Paul Martenstyn for its new managing director as Burford Capital announces a robust 17% increase in income.

Elsewhere, Stewarts has struck a partnership with tech start-up Solomonic, while the Supreme Court has ‘with reluctance’ dismissed the appeal of a wife who wants to divorce her husband in the Owens v Owens case. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: Vannin Capital hires Fountain Court’s Martenstyn as managing director as Stewarts makes litigation tech play”

CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era

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CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era

In a case that has put antitrust law on the front pages, the European Commission (EC) has fined Google a record €4.34bn for breaching competition rules after Clifford Chance (CC)’s client FairSearch triggered a long-running investigation.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Allen & Overy (A&O) were on the losing side as the EC found Google had illegally required manufacturers of smartphones running its Android operating system to pre-install its internet browsing and search engine apps. Continue reading “CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era”

End of Sir Cliff’s BBC privacy battle ushers in new rules on reporting investigations

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End of Sir Cliff’s BBC privacy battle ushers in new rules on reporting investigations

Old-fashioned defamation disputes may rarely create significant precedent these days but the rapidly evolving area of privacy is a very different matter, a dynamic underlined this week in dramatic form in the conclusion of Sir Cliff Richard’s legal battle with the BBC.

The veteran celebrity’s victory in his long-running privacy case against the BBC has highlighted issues of potentially huge scope for the media and other publishers in reporting investigations against individuals. Continue reading “End of Sir Cliff’s BBC privacy battle ushers in new rules on reporting investigations”

Disputes round-up: Retailers beat Visa/Mastercard on fees as Stewarts launches financial crime unit

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Disputes round-up: Retailers beat Visa/Mastercard on fees as Stewarts launches financial crime unit

The UK’s largest disputes specialist, Stewarts, has helped secure a win in the high-profile Visa/Mastercard interchange fees case less than a week after launching a financial crime department.

On Wednesday (4 July), a host of British retailers represented by Stewarts, Mishcon de Reya and Morgan Lewis & Bockius  won a Court of Appeal ruling against the financial services giants. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: Retailers beat Visa/Mastercard on fees as Stewarts launches financial crime unit”

Tchenguiz swaps Stephenson Harwood for Debevoise after failed €2bn claim

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Tchenguiz swaps Stephenson Harwood for Debevoise after failed €2bn claim

Embattled property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz (pictured) has replaced long-time legal advisers Stephenson Harwood with Debevoise & Plimpton after his €2bn claim against an Abu Dhabi investment company was thrown out.

A Debevoise team led by dispute resolution partner Kevin Lloyd will take over future Tchenguiz mandates, including a key Commercial Court case later this year. Tchenquiz had only drafted in Stephenson Harwood in 2014 to replace Shearman & Sterling in his later-settled case against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Continue reading “Tchenguiz swaps Stephenson Harwood for Debevoise after failed €2bn claim”

The Silk Round: One fine day

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The Silk Round: One fine day

Legal Business writes many high-minded pieces focused on the finer analytical points of the legal industry. This is not one of those pieces.

In an intensively people-driven business like the law, there cannot be many more resonant and personal experiences than becoming a Queen’s Counsel (QC). Firstly, there is the trial of the arduous application process and the agonising wait to find if you have secured the favour of peers and the selection panel. Continue reading “The Silk Round: One fine day”

International Arbitration Insight: Bigger, longer, more complicated

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International Arbitration Insight: Bigger, longer, more complicated

‘Arbitration has gone from being the exotic bird of dispute resolution to become almost the norm,’ argues Constantine Partasides of Three Crowns (3C).

The appearance of boutiques such as 3C and Hanotiau & van den Berg is itself a sign of arbitration’s entry into the mainstream. It is tempting to consider parallels with the US-based litigation firms that emerged in the late 1980s and ’90s, when Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Boies Schiller Flexner broke away from the full-service model to focus on disputes work. Continue reading “International Arbitration Insight: Bigger, longer, more complicated”

Q&A: Sir Frank Berman KCMG QC on the Bar, the challenges of nature and London’s status as a disputes hub

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Having attended Legal Business’s first International Arbitration Summit in September to debate issues on investor-state disputes, Sir Frank Berman KCMG QC (pictured) of Essex Court Chambers talks to Sarah Downey about the highlights of his 50-year career, London’s status as a disputes hub, and the future of the Bar.

Continue reading “Q&A: Sir Frank Berman KCMG QC on the Bar, the challenges of nature and London’s status as a disputes hub”