Pinsent Masons head of banking and finance litigation Michael Issacs, has been seconded to Barclays’ litigation and investigations team, led by Stephanie Pagni. The move comes as the bank is undergoing a panel view.
Fit for purpose? Critics round on SFO as forex charges are dropped
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been criticised for shutting down its investigation into alleged rigging in the foreign exchange (forex) market after it could not find sufficient evidence to prosecute.
Despite some of the world’s largest banks being fined billions for forex rate manipulation, the UK’s fraud watchdog dropped the probe in March without bringing any charges.
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Garrigues ramps up global push with London arbitration play and Chile tie-up
Garrigues continued its global expansion by hiring its first English-qualified partner in the City with the arrival of Winston & Strawn’s co-head of international arbitration, Joe Tirado, to start an arbitration practice. The launch comes in the same month the firm added Chile to its Latin American network.
Tirado will become co-head of international arbitration as the firm seeks to provide a London hub for disputes in Latin America, where alternative dispute resolution has become commonplace following a series of investor-state disputes stemming from the nationalisation of energy assets across the continent in the 1990s. Tirado becomes the second lawyer in Garrigues’ London office, alongside corporate lawyer Ignacio Corbera Dale.
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The bigger short – third party funding bets on new markets and models
Historically confined to David vs Goliath claims, a new band of dispute funders are pushing the model into new frontiers. How far can they go?
Hedge fund methodology – the process of using hard numbers to make statistical predictions – is not part of a dispute lawyer’s traditional armoury. Yet the same kind of financial calculation used by banks and asset managers is not just creeping into the disputes market, but threatening to have a significant impact on it.
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Mishcon de Reya launches e-discovery business
Firm aims to save clients up to 30% on disclosure
Mishcon de Reya has launched a new venture with e-discovery provider Unified and software developer kCura, agreeing a fixed-price three-year contract that it claims will save clients between 10% and 30% on large disclosure exercises.
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KPMG defeats judicial review challenge in Barclays swap case
Accountancy giant KPMG has triumphed at London’s High Court today (24 February) after an unprecedented judicial review taken by Holmcroft Properties was dismissed.
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City showdown: US firms take roles as Russia and Ukraine’s $3bn debt dispute heads to London court
City lawyers at US firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan are to face off after Russia filed a claim against Ukraine at London’s newly created financial court over its default of $3bn in bonds.
A job half done for Green QC as UK Serious Fraud Office director signs up until 2018
The director of the UK Serious Fraud Office, David Green QC (pictured) has had his contract extended by two years to maintain his position as the UK’s top financial crime prosecutor until April 2018.
Comment: Singapore swing – HSF’s Leydecker on the island state’s threat to the dominance of English law
English lawyers have long had an edge over their US and continental colleagues. English law was established early as the law of trade, business and increasingly projects – a throwback to the days of the Empire. This was a major driver of growth for UK-based firms in recent decades, but it is well known that New York law has become a rival to English law, especially in banking and finance, as corporates tap into the deep US debt markets.
Singapore swing – a credible threat to the dominance of English law
English lawyers have long had an edge over their US and continental colleagues. English law was established early as the law of trade, business and increasingly projects – a throwback to the days of the Empire. This was a major driver of growth for UK-based firms in recent decades, but it is well known that New York law has become a rival to English law, especially in banking and finance, as corporates tap into the deep US debt markets.
However, more recently, we are seeing another trend that threatens the dominance of English law in Asia and further afield. Singapore law is increasingly becoming the go-to choice of governing law for Asia-Pacific cross-border deals and a strong choice for global deals.
Continue reading “Singapore swing – a credible threat to the dominance of English law”