Month: November 2015

Posted on

The Last Word: The clients’ view

Interviewed for our annual in-house report, general counsel at leading companies give us their views on diversity, ethics and joining the c-suite

 

LOOKING GOOD

‘When I was a young lawyer, I remember working with an outside counsel and I said to him: “What’s your job versus my job?” He said: “My job is to make you look good.” My thoughts at the time were that there has to be more to it than that, but for firms that have focused on that mission, there’s been an upside for me and them. Those with no clue, who are just looking to build their book of business, have not fared well with me.’

Wanji Walcott, senior vice president, managing counsel, American Express

 

Continue reading “The Last Word: The clients’ view”

Posted on

Calling time at the Bar – Quality fears for English judges are growing as top QCs turn away from the bench

Disillusionment within the England and Wales judiciary was laid bare by the findings of the UK Judicial Attitude Survey in February this year. Pay freezes, pension cuts and increased workload have evidently soured the mood at the bench.

The survey, carried out by the UCL Judicial Institute, indicated that 86% of judges who had been in the post for at least five years believed that working conditions had worsened since 2010. And nearly a third of judges are considering leaving their positions early in the next five years. Perhaps even more worryingly, a high proportion of judges said that reduced pension benefits (76%) and a reduction in income in real terms (69%) would discourage people from joining the bench.

Continue reading “Calling time at the Bar – Quality fears for English judges are growing as top QCs turn away from the bench”

Posted on

Fine wine and classic cars don’t necessarily make vintage investments

Chris Cole at Towry advises on financial planning.

Knowing where to invest your money can be a challenge, especially if you don’t have the time to be on top of what’s happening in the financial markets. It can therefore be tempting to invest your savings in areas
where you have a keen interest, in things like wine, art, classic cars or even violins as I heard recently.

However, while mixing hobbies and investment together may seem like a good idea, it can actually involve quite a lot of risk and may not help you achieve your long-term financial goals. Continue reading “Fine wine and classic cars don’t necessarily make vintage investments”

Posted on

Economic recovery will not lead to decline in the disputes sector

We are delighted to sponsor the Disputes Yearbook, which now forms a central part of Legal Business’ wide-ranging and insightful disputes coverage.

There is no doubt that litigation continues to be a dynamic and rapidly developing sector of the legal market. Although there is a possibility that the improving economic climate will have a negative impact on a sector that is, to some degree, counter-cyclical, it is the rise in regulation and enforcement, and the rise in international arbitration, which show no signs of slowing and continue to drive the market.

Continue reading “Economic recovery will not lead to decline in the disputes sector”

Posted on

Legal privilege: the ripples flow on still from Three Rivers

Colin Passmore assesses a key ruling in the increasingly contentious area of legal privilege.

In June this year, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal held that the English Court of Appeal decision in Three Rivers (No.5) [2003] does not represent Hong Kong law. This is, of course, the 2003 English Court of Appeal decision well-known for the challenges it presents companies who wish consultations with their legal advisers to benefit from the protection of legal advice privilege.

Continue reading “Legal privilege: the ripples flow on still from Three Rivers”

Posted on

Latham & Watkins: Masterminding a fraud claim – the English courts as a magnet forum?

Simon Bushell

London chair of litigation, Latham & Watkins

simon.bushell@lw.com

The world is an increasingly small place: money travels far and fast across seemingly invisible borders converting from cash into assets, back into cash, and then back into yet further assets at the click of a button.

Continue reading “Latham & Watkins: Masterminding a fraud claim – the English courts as a magnet forum?”

Posted on

Signature Litigation: Policing arbitration – can accountability deficit be addressed?

Natalia Chumak

Partner, Signature Litigation

natalia.chumak@signaturelitigation.com

Nick Storrs

Senior associate, Signature Litigation

nick.storrs@signaturelitigation.com

Over recent decades, arbitration for dispute resolution has become increasingly popular. Commercial parties are becoming far more amenable to resolving their differences by private means rather than through national court systems, which can be more costly and time-intensive. There is, of course, nothing wrong in engaging in a private, consensual process and there are numerous advantages of doing so. But the framework within which such disputes are resolved must be unimpeachably robust in order to meet the objective in any dispute resolution process: to do justice between the parties in accordance with the law. Accordingly parties’ autonomous right to submit disputes to arbitration needs to be structured within a legislative framework which governs and regulates the arbitral process. This is in part to:

(more…)

Posted on

Travers Smith: CPR 36: time for a re-boot?

Jan-Jaap Baer

Partner, Travers Smith

Emma Reynolds

Associate, Travers Smith

In April this year, CPR 36 underwent the latest in a series of amendments. These amendments did not amount to a root-and-branch overhaul of the regime but rather to a reorganisation and codification of existing principles, largely designed to address issues which have been thrown up by recent court decisions. The changes were generally welcomed as providing a greater degree of clarity for litigants when navigating their way through what remain complex and densely drafted rules. However, there remains a question as to whether a more radical overhaul of the rules is desirable.

(more…)

Posted on

Mishcon de Reya: The dangers of repeat appointments

Karel Daele

Partner, Mishcon de Reya

karel.daele@mishcon.com

The issue of repeat appointments has been news in International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) cases in recent times, but what’s the concern? The independence of the arbitrator is one of the cornerstones of arbitration. An independent arbitrator is one who has no close relationship with a party in the arbitration or its counsel, be it of a financial, professional or personal nature. It is crucial that an arbitrator has no such relationships because they might induce the arbitrator to decide in favour of one of the parties, irrespective of the merits of the case.

Continue reading “Mishcon de Reya: The dangers of repeat appointments”

Posted on

Jasbir Dhillon QC: Freezing injunctions and receivership in support of arbitration

Jasbir Dhillon QC

Brick Court Chambers

A frequently encountered problem for any claimant in international arbitration arises where the respondent seeks to make enforcement of any arbitral award against their assets difficult or impossible. In this article, I describe two forms of injunction available from the English court that provide an effective remedy for this widespread problem.

Continue reading “Jasbir Dhillon QC: Freezing injunctions and receivership in support of arbitration”