Litigation

Stars at the Bar: Pollution in the first degree

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | November 5, 2008

"It is a trite observation that environmental problems, although they closely affect municipal laws, are essentially international; and that the main structure of control can therefore be no other than that of international law." The above was written by Sir Robert Jennings QC, Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge and former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in his foreword to the first edition of Principles of International Environmental Law by Philippe Sands.

1 minute read

Stars at the Bar: Inside the ivory tower

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | November 5, 2008

The worlds of the TV star and the barrister are not as far apart as one might think. The day job at the Bar is in some ways akin to putting on a performance - it is not about illusion, but there is more than a degree of acting and drama about the court room experience. That is why I think so many individuals in the profession, including myself, were interested when the prospect of taking part in the BBC documentary 'The Barristers' arose.

1 minute read

Repudiation claims: Ceiling the deal

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | November 5, 2008

Earlier this month Mr Justice Jackson gave judgments on outstanding issues and legal costs in the protracted litigation between Multiplex and Cleveland Bridge (Cleveland). The dispute, which received substantial media coverage, arose from the new Wembley Stadium construction project involving more than 20,000 tonnes of steelwork. The steelwork was commissioned to an innovative and complex design, including plans for an unobstructed view from every seat, a retractable roof, and the now famous arch, which is the largest single-roof structure in the world.

1 minute read

Northwest chambers signs up 25-strong group

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | October 28, 2008

St Johns Buildings is set to take 25 members of rival set Peel Court Chambers - including Leader of the Northern Circuit Richard Marks QC, following Peel Court's dissolution earlier this month. The 25 members, which includes Marks and four other QCs, are due to join Manchester-based St Johns on 1 December, increasing the chambers' number of criminal practitioners to 74.St Johns, which operates in Manchester, Chester and Preston, and was established in 2002 following the merger of three Manchester sets, has grown to become one of the largest chambers in the UK.

1 minute read

Govt ups high-cost case rates after crisis talks

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | October 27, 2008

The Government has increased rates for advocates on very high-cost criminal cases (VHCC) following crisis talks after a majority of barristers boycotted the panel over poor fee arrangements. As a result of talks between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Bar Council, the Law Society and the Legal Services Commission (LSC), hourly rates for a QC or senior solicitor have increased from £145 to £152.50, while a QCs rate of £476 for each day spent in court has risen to £500.The shortage of barristers - only 110 advocates out of the 2,300 offered contracts signed up by April because of the reduced fees - had left a number of major criminal trials at risk of disruption and delay.

1 minute read

Top chambers move to benefit from LSA revolution

By Claire Ruckin | October 23, 2008

Top chambers including Matrix and Outer Temple are looking at opportunities available through alternative business structures (ABS) as the Legal Services Act (LSA) gains momentum at the Bar. A number of sets are considering how they can benefit from the new structures, which would allow for outside investment into chambers as well as partnerships with non-barristers. Matrix is among those actively looking at its options. The chambers, which set up a working group more than a year ago to look at ABS, is considering a number of possibilities, including bringing in solicitors, paralegals and administrators for civil legal aid work.

1 minute read

Fraud trial plea-bargaining on hold as Govt report is delayed

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | October 23, 2008

A report setting out proposals for the introduction of plea-bargaining in UK fraud trials has been delayed until at least the end of the year.The Attorney General report was due to be published earlier in October but has now been pushed back by several months.The Attorney General's office said the delay - which could extend until early next year - would allow the report to take account of a separate Government consultation currently underway looking at extending the powers of the Crown Court to prevent fraud and compensate victims.

1 minute read

Kaplan voices interest in BVC replacement

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | October 23, 2008

The number of law schools offering the new Bar entrance course, the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) looks set to increase, with Kaplan Law School - a joint venture operating with Nottingham Law School - considering whether to enter the market. The London college is to decide in the coming weeks whether or not to offer the Bar training course, after the Bar Standards Board (BSB) gave potential new providers until the end of the month to express their interest in offering the course.

1 minute read

BCCI working group set for trial reform summit

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | October 23, 2008

A top-level summit is set to take place in the New Year to gather feedback on the post-BCCI reforms from the Aikens working party - more than two years after the first symposium on the subject. The group is set to meet on 26 January to discuss working party reforms, including ways of reducing the length and cost of trials, which have been road-tested during a trial due to finish at the end of November.

1 minute read

BSB reviews pupillage model as places fall

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | October 16, 2008

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is to launch a root-and-branch review of the pupillage system, it has emerged. The body is in the process of setting up a working party to be led by Falcon Chambers' Derek Wood QC, with the first meeting due to take place on 28 October. The BSB review is set to consider every aspect of the current pupillage system, including the structure and length of the programme.

1 minute read

Delaware Business Court Insider

Susman's Davida Brook On How Pro Bono Work Led to Unearthing Key Documents in Dominion's Fight Against Fox

By Alaina Lancaster | October 30, 2023

"It was truly for all of us, I think, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have that kind of broad impact and everyone worked accordingly—writing summary judgment briefs from their honeymoon and just working around the clock," said Susman's Davida Brook, a finalist for the California Legal Awards' Attorney of the Year award.

6 minute read

The Recorder

How Susman's Davida Brook Unearthed Key Documents in Dominion's Fight Against Fox

By Alaina Lancaster | October 30, 2023

"It was truly for all of us, I think, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have that kind of broad impact and everyone worked accordingly—writing summary judgment briefs from their honeymoon and just working around the clock," said Susman's Davida Brook, a finalist for the California Legal Awards' Attorney of the Year award.

6 minute read

New York Law Journal

Warlock Partners Sues Arena Group Over Alleged Millions in Trading Losses

By Emily Saul | October 30, 2023

"Whether through malice or incompetence (or both), Defendants engaged in this pattern of wrongful conduct that prevented Warlock from selling its holdings," the suit alleges.

3 minute read

Law.com

Wyoming High Court Sides With Attorneys Accused of Misappropriating $5.5M in Tribal Money

By Riley Brennan | October 30, 2023

"Although certain [Northern Arapaho Business Council] members expressed dissatisfaction with the format of [Baldwin, Crocker & Rudd's] bills, none of these witnesses offered any evidence [the firm] was paid for work it did not perform," the court said.

6 minute read

The Legal Intelligencer

'Not a Fluke': Plaintiffs Lawyers See Changing Tide in $175M Roundup Verdict

By Aleeza Furman | October 30, 2023

"Their defense collapses when the plaintiffs lawyers can show that the epidemiology and the science and the medicine support a finding that there is, in fact, causation," Thomas Kline said.

4 minute read

New York Law Journal

Judge Quashes Fox Efforts to Subpoena George Soros in Smartmatic Litigation

By Emily Saul | October 30, 2023

New York Judge David B. Cohen found that any statements linking George Soros and Smartmatic by defendants were peripheral to the defamation at issue in the case.

2 minute read

Texas Lawyer

$30M Civil RICO Suit Filed as Both Sides Accuse Frost Bank of Wrongdoing

By Adolfo Pesquera | October 30, 2023

Chemcraft Ltd., filing as a counter-plaintiff in a first amended petition submitted Oct. 19 in the Tarrant County 96th District Court, alleges Frost Bank entities—Frost Brokerage Services Inc. and Frost Investment Services LLC—participated in the unauthorized transfer of $9.95 million.

5 minute read

The Legal Intelligencer

Pa. Jury Awards Nearly $1B in Defective Seatbelt Case

By Max Mitchell | October 30, 2023

"This will continue and you have the power to make it stop," Wesley Ball, of Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball, told the jury.

4 minute read

Law.com

Law's Reference to 'Other Thing of Value' Doesn't Just Mean Monetary Value, Washington High Court Rules

By Riley Brennan | October 30, 2023

While an intermediate appeals court found the defendant's offer to live with her son "forever" if he killed his father didn't constitute a "thing of value" within the meaning of the state law, RCW 9A.28.030(1), the state Supreme Court disagreed, reinstating her conviction for criminal solicitation.

5 minute read

New York Law Journal

NY Foots $90,000 Bill for Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit Against Former Judge

By Brian Lee | October 30, 2023

The state comptroller's office provided the sum to the Law Journal on Oct. 27, in response to the publication's records request under the Freedom of Information Law.

2 minute read