Monday (10 November) saw the EU Council of Ministers formally adopt the European Commission’s Directive on antitrust damages, a move to standardise multiple aspects of competition litigation across the EU and one which City competition lawyers believe will generate an uptick in potential cases.
‘A step backwards’: Home Secretary weighs in on SFO’s future with proposal to abolish
When Legal Business queried in September whether the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was finally turning a corner after a year of embarrassing lows – including misplacing investigation documents and the chaotic collapse of the Victor Dahdaleh trial – the agency appeared to still be mired in controversy and questions over its future. Last month, the Home Secretary Theresa May appeared to provide an answer, as it was revealed she was considering abolishing the SFO and rolling it into the National Crime Agency (NCA), a move that some consider will ultimately dilute the attempts by the body to project a tougher image.
‘It’s not a good idea,’ said Stephenson Harwood commercial litigation partner Tony Woodcock. ‘The focus has got to be on serious and complex fraud, and properly resourcing that. I fear putting it into a far bigger organisation with a number of different responsibilities could dilute that, both as a matter of perception and as a matter of resourcing.’
‘A warning to third-party funders’: Litigation funders found liable for indemnity costs in $1.6bn Excalibur dispute
In what was a keenly awaited judgment for the third party funding profession, the Commercial Court has yesterday (23 October) handed down judgment on the costs liability of litigation funders in the high profile Excalibur Ventures v Texas Keystone & Ors battle, a $1.6bn energy dispute over oil rights in Iraqi Kurdistan and one of the biggest cases of 2013, and has ordered the funders to pay the defendants’ costs of the action.
News in brief – October 2014
LORD CHANCELLOR ACTED ‘UNLAWFULLY’ IN LEGAL AID CONSULTATION
Kingsley Napley and 11 KBW last month acted for the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association and the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association in their successful challenge against the Lord Chancellor’s failure to disclose the contents of two reports during the legal aid reforms consultation process. The Treasury Solicitor instructed Blackstone Chambers’ James Eadie QC and Fraser Campbell, and 4 New Square’s Richard O’Brien on the case.
Small islands, big cases
MARKET VIEW – LITIGATION
Maples and Calder’s BVI managing partner, Arabella di Iorio, looks at complex commercial litigation in the British Virgin Islands
We all know the oft-repeated statistics: the hundreds of thousands of British Virgin Islands (BVI) incorporated companies, the hedge funds, the limited partnerships, the captive insurance companies. Those of us fortunate enough to live here also know that the BVI is among the most beautiful places on earth. But what is just as often forgotten is that the development of the BVI as a sophisticated offshore financial centre has gone hand in hand with its development as a jurisdiction able to handle the most complex international litigation.
‘We need to be in London to enable us to meet our clients’ global needs’: Another US litigation boutique launches in London
Financial services boutique BuckleySandler is set to launch its first international office as it expands its global financial crimes practice.
KWMSJB brings in arbitration partner to develop Russia and CIS disputes work
Just two years after joining Winston & Strawn’s international arbitration group from the legacy Norton Rose, London-based disputes lawyer Andrei Yakovlev has upped sticks to join King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin.
Continue reading “KWMSJB brings in arbitration partner to develop Russia and CIS disputes work”
Boies Schiller hires WilmerHale’s Miles to boost London arbitration
US litigation powerhouse Boies Schiller & Flexner has hired long-serving arbitration partner Wendy Miles from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr to kick start a London arbitration practice.
Continue reading “Boies Schiller hires WilmerHale’s Miles to boost London arbitration”
Will $50bn Yukos award lead states to pull out of international arbitration treaties?
The landmark Yukos decision has forced governments to consider the consequences of entering into international treaties that allow foreign investors to take disputes to arbitration. With the likes of Indonesia and South Africa having already torn up agreements, Russia having withdrawn from the Energy Charter Treaty that gave the Yukos shareholders jurisdiction and India mulling an exit from bilateral investment treaties, could the $50bn award lead more states to withdraw their consent to arbitration?
A chance to turn the corner for the SFO but a high-stakes test on ‘blockbuster’ cases could define its fate
Michael West assesses the prospects for the agency after settlement of the Tchenguiz claims
He was always going to have a painfully full in-tray on taking over as head of the troubled Serious Fraud Office (SFO) a little over two years ago, but even against that context, the previous 12 months must have looked something like an annus horribilis to David Green QC. Lows during this period saw the Public Accounts Committee issue trenchant criticism of the body, important investigation documents misplaced and the chaotic collapse of the trial against Victor Dahdaleh.