London’s Court of Appeal has delivered a stark conflicts wake-up call to the UK’s top law firms following its decision to prevent Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer from acting on the high profile Marks & Spencer (M&S) takeover battle.

In a decision that sent shockwaves through the City of London’s legal community, the court ruled that as Freshfields was an adviser to M&S it should be prevented from acting for retail entrepreneur Philip Green.