Litigation

Herbert Smith seals Buncefield win for Chevron

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | March 20, 2009

Herbert Smith has scored a victory advising Chevron in one of the largest pieces of commercial litigation ever seen in the UK, as its joint venture partner Total is found liable for the 2005 Buncefield disaster. In a judgment handed down in the High Court this morning (20 March), Mr Justice David Steel ruled that Total - which has a 60% stake in Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL), the joint venture that runs the Buncefield depot - was responsible for the explosion and liable for the financial consequences.The aftermath of the explosion - which has been described as the largest incident of its kind in peacetime Europe - has seen approximately £750m of claims from around 4,000 local businesses, residents and other oil companies with facilities at Buncefield, such as Shell.

1 minute read

Cherie Booth advises on RBS pension funds suit

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | March 16, 2009

Two British pension funds have lined up Cherie Booth QC and US class action specialist Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins to sue the Royal Bank of Scotland for hundreds of millions of pounds. The North Yorkshire and Merseyside council pension funds - which, between them, have a combined value of around £4bn - have instructed Booth (pictured) of Matrix Chambers to seek compensation for them through the US courts.The claim, which implicates the entire RBS board, states that both funds were reassured that the bank was in good health and their investments were safe, when in fact the bank was struggling as a result of of bad loans.

1 minute read

Brick Court quartet among 104 to take silk

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 19, 2009

Barristers at a number of leading chambers have received silk status in the latest round of QC appointments announced today (19 February). Brick Court Chambers saw four of its members - Alan Maclean, Fergus Randolph, Aidan Robertson and Mark Hoskins - receive the accolade, while One Essex Court's David Wolfson, Daniel Toledano and Alain Choo-Choy all claimed the elite kitemark.Fountain Court, Blackstone Chambers and Four Pump Court each saw two barristers gain QC status.However, top set Essex Court only saw one member - Christopher Smith - take silk, as did a number of other top sets including 3 Verulam Buildings, 11 Stone Buildings and 7 King's Bench Walk.

1 minute read

New QC appointments round sees 104 take silk

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 19, 2009

The latest round of QC appointments has been announced today (19 February), with more than a hundred barristers claiming the elite kitemark. One hundred and four out of a total of 247 applicants have been awarded QC status, a success rate of 42% - a significant increase on the 2007-08 figure of 29%.However, the total of 247 applications received by the QC selection panel was a sharp drop from last year's total of 333 and a further drop from the 443 applicants in 2006-07.

1 minute read

Commercial and Chancery Bar: Benchmarking the bench

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 18, 2009

It is now 18 months since the idea of judicial appraisals for senior commercial judges first hit the headlines. By the end of 2009, initial findings from the first round of appraisals should be complete. The process is likely to cover all High Court judges in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division, plus masters. Based on the ratings and opinions of court users - litigants, solicitors and barristers - individual appraisals will be distributed exclusively to each judge with a copy sent to the head of the relevant division. It seems possible that judges' league tables will also be made publicly available. A Legal Week survey conducted in 2007 of more than 100 senior litigators showed strong support for the idea: 43% of respondents said they would definitely endorse the introduction of upward appraisals for judges, with a further 41% indicating they might do so.

1 minute read

Commercial and Chancery Bar: Together as one

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 18, 2009

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has given the question of how the Legal Services Act (LSA) will affect it in the future extensive consideration and consultation. The reality is that the consequences of this significant statute simply cannot yet be known, although it is clear it facilitates a potentially fundamental change in the way in which legal services will be provided to consumers in England and Wales. The Act represents both uncertainty and opportunity for all those it affects. The BSB has recently issued a consultation paper seeking views on the implications of the LSA, in order that future regulation is informed, as far as is possible, by the realities of practice and in the interests of the consumer, as well as clarifying the uncertainty and permitting the potential to be realised.

1 minute read

Commercial and Chancery Bar: Frosty reception

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 18, 2009

Late last year, the Ministry of Justice announced figures which surprised and worried litigators.The numbers of claim forms filed over the previous year indicated that disputes started had stayed largely static despite the deteriorating economic climate.All lawyers should be concerned by this development because traditionally in the good times transactional work drives law firm profits. As the deal flow dries up, contentious practitioners had previously come into their own and picked up the profits per equity partner (PEP) slack.

1 minute read

Easy as one QC?

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 11, 2009

Last June the de Grazia report slammed the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for its low conviction rates and unfocused investigations, recommending, among other things, the appointment of a general counsel to oversee its team of 60 lawyers.Cue a period of soul-searching, the departure of former director Robert Wardle - replaced by Richard Alderman - and a recruitment process for the SFO's first ever GC, culminating in the arrival of leading criminal silk Vivian Robinson QC from QEB Hollis Whiteman chambers. Robinson, who will not formally take up his role until 14 April due to outstanding commitments, is making regular trips to the SFO's Holborn headquarters - conveniently located around the corner from QEB's building in the Temple - to familiarise himself with the challenges that lie ahead.

1 minute read

BSB issues warning after student advertises to secure pupillage

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 6, 2009

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has been forced to issue a warning after a student placed an advertisement in specialist Bar magazine Counsel in a bid to obtain a pupillage.The organisation has issued a statement in the February issue of Counsel warning students against placing advertisements after Bar Vocational Course (BVC) graduate Maney Ullah paid for an ad seeking a pupillage in the January issue of the magazine. Ullah - who completed his BVC with BPP Law School in 2006 - placed a full-page Wild West style ad headed "wanted-pupillage" in the January issue of Counsel. The advert featured a black and white image of Ullah above the words: "Reward - experience, dedication, loyalty, commitment, tenacity" along with Ullah's mobile number and email address.

1 minute read

LSB prepares for brave new world with business plan

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 4, 2009

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has created its first-ever business plan as it prepares for the Legal Services Act (LSA). The plan, which has received the backing of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), comes into effect in April and will run until March 2010. It includes a number of goals for the coming year, including appointing a consumer panel and issuing a discussion paper on the development of Alternative Business Structures, which are set to come into force in 2011.

1 minute read

Daily Business Review

Jury Awards Podhurst Orseck Client $7.5M Verdict Against Chinese Manufacturer

By Michael A. Mora | October 31, 2023

"Up until 21 days before trial, we were the defendant being sued for $13.5 million and had to develop the trial strategy for defeating those claims," said Stephen Rosenthal, a partner at Podhurst Orseck.

3 minute read

Connecticut Law Tribune

'Perhaps Unprecedented': Divided Court Rules on Arbitration Award

By Emily Cousins | October 31, 2023

"Our determination that the arbitrator did not exceed his authority by issuing this order inexorably leads to the conclusion that the order cannot be characterized as a procedural irregularity," the majority opinion said.

5 minute read

New York Law Journal

Upstate New York Voters Set to Select Surfeit of DAs

By Brian Lee | October 31, 2023

A slate of seven contested races for district attorney offices in the Nov. 7 general election dot jurisdictions outside of New York City's five boroughs.

9 minute read

The Recorder

AI Will Promote You Now: Exploring the Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Employment Context

By Chet Kronenberg, Laura Lin and Rachel June-Graber | October 31, 2023

In the employment discrimination context, the use of AI offers the possibility of eliminating bias from employment decisions, but the current reality may be just the opposite, according to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's Chet Kronenberg, Laura Lin and Rachel June-Graber.

8 minute read

Corporate Counsel

CLO Sues for Wrongful Termination, Says Company Broke SEC Rules, Maligned Minorities

By Chris O'Malley | October 31, 2023

Michael Arouh said gaming software maker Gan Ltd. fired him because of his "insistence on following his legal duties and his unwillingness to bend the law for defendants."

4 minute read

Daily Business Review

'A Shifting Kind of Law': New Ruling Provides Clarity on Homestead Waiver

By Lisa Willis | October 31, 2023

"We're talking about a constitutional right and that takes more than just saying, 'I gave you this property,'" said attorney Peter A. Sachs of Jones Foster.

6 minute read

The Recorder

How Proskauer's Bart Williams Helped Land a Defense Verdict in Gilead Pay-for-Delay Antitrust Case

By Amanda Bronstad | October 31, 2023

"In antitrust cases, because these are such blockbuster drugs, the numbers are even higher, so the financial stakes are even higher, which is why many of the so-called 'pay-for-delay' cases settle," says Proskauer's Bart Williams, a finalist for the California Legal Awards' Attorney of the Year award.

5 minute read

Daily Report Online

Worth More Dead Than Alive? Here's What Recent Verdicts Say About Jurors

By Cedra Mayfield | October 31, 2023

"I think wrongful-death verdicts are a lot higher than they used to historically be ... but it's so dependent on [the facts of each case]," said plaintiff attorney Jeff R. Harris of Harris Lowry Manton.

8 minute read

Law.com

How May US Judges Vet Experts for Jurors? The New Evidence Rule Set to Take Effect Is Sparking Debate

By Ellen Bardash | October 31, 2023

The update to Rule 702, set to go into effect officially on Dec. 1, has raised the issue of whether it's a long overdue way to hold judges to an evidentiary standard they should have been following for decades or if it encourages them to cross over into the jurors' domain.

5 minute read

The Recorder

Despite Initial Concerns, Judge Green-lights Settlement Over Hyundai, Kia Thefts

By Amanda Bronstad | October 31, 2023

On Monday, U.S. District Judge James Selna said he would approve an estimated $200 million class action settlement with Hyundai and Kia over vehicle thefts.

4 minute read