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International Edition

BSB eyes 'cab rank rule' in latest review

The 'cab rank rule' governing barristers' acceptance of instructions is under the spotlight again after the Bar Standards Board (BSB) launched a new consultation on proposals to amend the conditions under which counsel can withdraw from a case. The consultation, announced today (28 April), will look into the circumstances that justify a barrister either withdrawing from or returning an instruction.
2 minute read

International Edition

WilmerHale wins OFT apology for Morrisons

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been forced to issue an apology to supermarket giant Morrisons following a successful defamation suit brought by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. City-based competition partner Suyong Kim took the lead for WilmerHale as Morrisons claimed compensation totalling £100,000 after a dispute with the OFT relating to the regulator's dairy cartel investigations.
1 minute read

Legal Week

WilmerHale wins OFT apology for Morrisons

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been forced to issue an apology to supermarket giant Morrisons following a successful defamation suit brought by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. City-based competition partner Suyong Kim took the lead for WilmerHale as Morrisons claimed compensation totalling £100,000 after a dispute with the OFT relating to the regulator's dairy cartel investigations.
4 minute read

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

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