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International Edition

Negotiated justice? Pressure grows to bring plea bargaining into UK fraud cases

After years of debate – and despite a hostile judiciary – pressure is building to bring plea bargaining into mainstream UK fraud prosecution. But don't expect an easy ride, says Kingsley Napley's Michael Caplan QC
4 minute read

International Edition

Former Morrison & Foerster partner pleads guilty to fraud charges

A former Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) partner has pleaded guilty to 31 charges stemming from a $400,000 (£250,000) scam he and his wife concocted based on their autistic son's education and medical needs, reports The Am Law Daily. Jonathan Dickstein - a former co-chair of the US firm's life sciences practice - is scheduled to be sentenced on 15 November following his conviction on charges including grand theft, forgery, insurance fraud, and conspiracy, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney's office confirmed on Friday (21 October).
2 minute read

International Edition

Court clerk becomes first person convicted under UK Bribery Act

A former magistrates' court clerk has become the first person to be prosecuted and convicted under the UK Bribery Act, after he admitted accepting a £500 bribe to "get rid" of a speeding charge. Munir Patel pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court last Friday (14 October) to bribery and misconduct in public office during his employment as an administrative clerk at London's Redbridge Magistrates' Court.
2 minute read

International Edition

Serious Fraud Office draws up list of big-name candidates for top role

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is targeting some of the biggest private practice names in white-collar crime to replace director Richard Alderman when he retires in April next year. The body has drawn up a shortlist of potential candidates for the role, including Dechert litigation partner Neil Gerrard - who is currently in dispute with DLA Piper over his exit from his former firm - and ex-Simmons & Simmons partner Louise Delahunty, who is now a counsel in Sullivan & Cromwell's London office.
2 minute read

International Edition

Court clerk becomes first to be charged under UK Bribery Act

An administrative court clerk is set to become the first person to be prosecuted under the Bribery Act 2010 over allegations that he accepted a bribe to influence criminal proceedings. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided to prosecute Munir Yakub Patel under Section 2 of the Act for requesting and receiving a bribe intending to improperly perform his functions, marking the first case since new UK bribery laws came into effect this summer.
2 minute read

International Edition

Liquid lunches, sporting events and the Bribery Act – will City corporate life ever be the same?

It has happened. The Bribery Act 2010 is now in force. And yet corporate entertaining has not come to a cataclysmic end, there was still plenty of City schmoozing at Wimbledon and the restaurants in the Square Mile are still doing a brisk business in three-hour lunches for pin-striped ladies and gentlemen buying and selling their wares.
4 minute read

International Edition

Legal Week launches video debate series for in-house lawyers

Legal Week has launched the first in a series of video debates that will see senior in-house lawyers and partners discuss the key legal topics affecting clients. What the briefings say... draws on the most popular briefings from Legal Week Law, the online library of law updates targeted at in-house lawyers. The videos are free to watch for users of Legal Week Law, which has attracted more than 15,000 registrations since its launch in March 2010.
2 minute read

International Edition

Firms warned of 'significant risks' of gifts & hospitality under Bribery Act

The Law Society has warned that the Bribery Act could present "significant risks" for law firms in relation to gifts and hospitality. The practice note, issued last week (6 June) suggests that firms should introduce procedures to "prevent the giving or receiving of gifts, hospitality or paying of expenses" that might "influence or be perceived to influence a business decision".
2 minute read

International Edition

SFO handed 'stay of execution' as Govt delays decision on break-up

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been granted a 12-month reprieve, with the Home Office set to confirm that it will delay making a decision on whether or not the body will be merged into a new National Crime Agency (NCA) until next year. Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to make the announcement later this afternoon (8 June), confirming that plans to separate the SFO's prosecution division from its investigatory function have been put on ice.
2 minute read

Legal Week

Partnership culture leaves firms vulnerable to a few bad apples

If proof was needed that old-fashioned partnership culture is alive and well in the City despite waves of partner culls and de-equitisations, then look no further than the case of Hogan Lovells' litigator Christopher Grierson and his alleged £1m expenses scam. Previously best known for working on the epic Bank of England/BCCI creditors dispute, his name will now forever be linked in legal circles with the shocking achievement of wrongfully claiming more than £1m in expenses over a four-year period, according to his former firm.
15 minute read

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