Commercial sets warn Bar is heading for stormy waters
Leading clerks warn that booming economy and ADR is dampening court activity
December 06, 2006 at 07:03 PM
3 minute read
The plight of student barristers searching in vain for pupillage has focused attentions on the bleak prospects of the junior Bar but it appears that many at the senior end of the commercial profession are not much more optimistic.
As one of the least eventful years in recent memory for commercial litigation draws to a close, clerks at many of London's top commercial sets are warning that the booming economy and continued growth of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is putting intense pressure on the Bar.
Paul Cooklin, senior practice manager at 3-4 South Square, says: "We are heading into some form of bad weather. The Bar will contract, – not just the criminal Bar, but the commercial Bar too."
He adds: "There will not be enough work around. Sections of the commercial Bar will move to law firms, young barristers will decide not to go the whole course, and a number will move in-house."
Cooklin's comments reflect what is by consensus an increasingly tough environment for the Bar.
Essex Court Chambers senior clerk David Grief said: "It has not been an exciting year there have been a lot of settlements and not too much has come round to make up for it. Businesses are making good money and do not want to invest in litigation." He added: "I hope it is a blip and will not continue. The trouble is we have had it good for so many years."
Blackstone Chambers senior clerk Martin Smith commented: "Litigation is definitely slower than it has been. Mediation and ADR have been playing a big part. When the City is really buoyant, litigation tends to be the last resort. People prefer to settle."
The comments, drawn from an in-depth Legal Week feature on the UK's top sets, come as the Bar faces threats on numerous fronts, with some citing a loss of confidence in the UK courts in the wake of controversial court battles including the BCCI and Equitable Life litigation.
Other sets cite the relative absence of insurance litigation, continued pressure on publicly-funded work and law firms taking on more initial advocacy in-house.
Brick Court Chambers senior clerk Julian Hawes said: "The good barristers here are doing very well, but there are some at the bottom who are struggling." He added: "It is not just us. Others at the commercial Bar are also saying it is quiet."
With a significant reduction in smaller and medium-sized cases, junior members of the Bar are bearing the brunt of the current squeeze, with many questioning whether the next generation of advocates are getting enough experience to become world-class advocates.
Lovells head of litigation Patrick Sherrington warned that the Bar was set to contract. He said: "There will not be the pupillages on offer or the tenancies – that is just a natural supply and demand response."
Sonya Leydecker, head of litigation at Herbert Smith, which last year set up its own advocacy unit, said: "We do not tend to use the junior commercial Bar very much now – we do things in-house."
See Bar feature.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllTrump Ordered to Pay Legal Bill Within 28 Days After Rejecting Costs Order
2 minute readDebevoise, Norton Rose & Boies Schiller Lead Surge in Mining Disputes With African Governments
5 minute readUS Judge Allows $8M Unpaid Legal Fees Lawsuit Against Sierra Leone to Proceed
2 minute readTrending Stories
- 1The Importance of Federal Rule of Evidence 502 and Its Impact on Privilege
- 2What’s at Stake in Supreme Court Case Over Religious Charter School?
- 3People in the News—Jan. 30, 2025—Rubin Glickman, Goldberg Segalla
- 4Georgia Republicans Push to Limit Lawsuits. But Would That Keep Insurance Rates From Rising?
- 5Trending Issues in Florida Construction Law That Attorneys Need to Be Aware Of
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250