NEXT
Sign in to follow

International Edition

OFT strikes blow in landmark overdraft fees case

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has scored a victory in the High Court against some of the City's top law firms regarding the fees charged by banks for unauthorised overdrafts. Mr Justice Andrew Smith ruled today (24 April) in favour of the OFT, which argued that the charges are subject to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
2 minute read

International Edition

David Shapiro: EU needs a class action of its own

It is fair to say that I have some first-hand knowledge of the so-called excesses of the class action system in the US, having been one of the country's leading plaintiffs' class action lawyers from 1966 to 1980. Many of these claims are nonsense, and what isn't can be controlled. One does not have to change the cost-shifting rules, permit contingent fees, have jury trials, institute treble damages or run the risk of having claimants lose control of the proceedings N the last danger being fixed by strong case management. Yet these are the hobgoblins that stand in the way of effective collective redress.
3 minute read

International Edition

Justice Smith reprimanded after OJC verdict

Mr Justice Peter Smith has been found guilty of misconduct by the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) after refusing to stand down from a case over which he was presiding. The outcome of the OJC investigation was announced today (18 April), with Smith receiving an official reprimand over his actions. However, he has not been suspended and will continue to sit in court.
2 minute read

International Edition

High Court: dropping BAE bribery probe 'unlawful'

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted "unlawfully" in dropping its investigations into alleged bribery and corruption involving BAE Systems and Saudi Arabian arms dealings, the High Court ruled today (10 April). A judgement handed down this morning by Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Sullivan ruled in favour of claimants - Corner House Research and the Campaign Against Arms Trade - who argued commercial interests were behind the controversial decision to drop the probe into BAE's £43bn Al Yamamah arms contract with Saudi Arabia.
2 minute read

International Edition

Whitehall kicks off consultation on UK plea-bargaining

The Government has moved a step closer to introducing formal plea-bargaining in UK fraud trials after the Attorney General launched a consultation into the issue last week (3 April). The consultation runs for the next three months and will seek opinion from across the profession as Whitehall looks to improve its record fighting white-collar crime and reduce the cost of lengthy fraud trials. Responses are expected to be summarised in a report due in October.
2 minute read

International Edition

Personal injury: Cause and effect

Mr Corr was a happily married man with two children who worked for the defendant, IBC Vehicles, as an engineer. In 1996 he suffered a near-death accident at work when a machine he was mending unexpectedly turned on, thrusting a sharp metal panel towards him, severing his ear. Mr Corr underwent prolonged and painful ear surgery. He suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression. Almost six years after the accident, Mr Corr took an overdose of pills and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for electro-convulsive therapy. This appeared to alleviate the symptoms but he then regressed and, in May 2002, he threw himself off a multi-storey car park and died. The claimant, Mr Corr's widow, sued under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 for Mr Corr's damages and under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 for loss of dependency. The defendant admitted liability for the estate's claim but denied liability under the 1976 Act asserting that Mr Corr's suicide (while he was sane under the M'Naghten Rules) was not the same 'kind of harm' as depression, i.e. it fell outside the scope of the duty of care owed to him and/or was not an act which was reasonably foreseeable.
5 minute read

International Edition

Whitehall to consult on UK plea-bargaining

The Government has moved a step closer to introducing formal plea-bargaining in UK fraud trials after the Attorney General launched a consultation into the issue yesterday (3 April). The consultation runs for the next three months and will seek opinion from across the profession as Whitehall looks to improve its record fighting white-collar crime and reduce the cost of lengthy fraud trials. Responses are expected to be summarised in a report due in October.
2 minute read

International Edition

Barristers snub MoJ's revised high-cost cases contract

Barristers have snubbed a second opportunity to join the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) very high-cost criminal cases (VHCC) panel, with only 110 barristers out of the 2,300 to be offered contracts signing up to the panel. Legal aid practitioners were offered a revised contract after a consultation between the MoJ and Legal Services Commission (LSC) following the poor take-up of the original deal, which was sent out in January and aimed to reduce fees for major criminal cases.
2 minute read

International Edition

Cloisters in Fountain Court employment capture

Specialist employment set Cloisters has added to its ranks with the capture of a senior barrister from top commercial chambers Fountain Court. Brian Napier joined Cloisters earlier this month (20 March). He is qualified in both England and Scotland - where he took silk in 2002 - and has a broad practice covering all aspects of employment and discrimination law.
2 minute read

International Edition

Serle Court silk in pioneering Qatar move

Serle Court's Khawar Qureshi QC is to head the first barristers' set based outside the UK, as McNair Chambers launches in Qatar at the end of the month. McNair launches on 30 March, with Qureshi set to be joined in Doha by high-profile names including former House of Lords judge Lord Slynn of Hadley and fellow Serle Court tenants William Ballantyne and Michael Palmer.
2 minute read

More from ALM

More from ALM

Legal Speak is a weekly podcast that makes sense of what’s happening in the legal industry.

Resources

  • Aligning Client Needs with Lawyer Growth and Profitability

    Brought to you by BigHand

    Download Now

  • Technology to Make E-Discovery Smarter, Not Harder

    Brought to you by Nuix

    Download Now

  • Does Generative AI Have the Power to Transform Legal Services?

    Brought to you by HaystackID

    Download Now

  • How This Personal Injury Firm Reduced Client Intake Time by 80%

    Brought to you by PracticePanther

    Download Now