Commercial Litigation UK

Expert Analysis

• Response Options For Danish Cum-Ex Interview Targets

  

  As the Danish tax authority prepares for the first of a three-part U.K. trial involving cum-ex fraud, U.K. recipients of interview requests from the Danish prosecutorial agency should neither automatically accept, nor ignore the invitations, despite that agency's seeming lack of power to compel their attendance, says David Corker at Corker Binning.

• 3rd Circ. Could Select Middle Path On Foreign Discovery Law

  

  In a circuit split over whether a U.S. foreign discovery law may be used for private arbitration, the Third Circuit in Axion Holding Cyprus may choose a middle ground by finding that private arbitration under the U.K. Arbitration Act involves sufficient judicial oversight to make it subject to the statute, says Adrienne Koch at Katsky Korins.

• Contractual Takeaways From Payment Providers Ruling

  

  The U.K. High Court's recent decision in Travelport v. WEX, dissecting a material adverse effect clause in the context of the pandemic's impact on the payments industry, highlights contractual ambiguity and provides practical drafting pointers for mergers and acquisitions lawyers in the U.K. and U.S., say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Opinion

  BVI Ruling Clarifies Jurisdiction's Stance On Legal Finance

  

  The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court's recent Crumpler v. Exential Investments decision, officially allowing legal financing in the British Virgin Islands, represents a continuation of litigation funding's acceptance across key jurisdictions for insolvency litigation during a time when these types of cases are set to spike, says Robin Ganguly at Burford Capital.

• Compliance Hurdles For UK Cannabis Investors

  

  Nicola Finnerty and Tom Surr at Kingsley Napley discuss the legal barriers U.K. investors face in reaping the rewards of cannabis legalization in Canada and the U.S., and what recent developments may mean for the future of U.K. cannabis enforcement.

• Perspectives

  Finding A Path Forward To Regulate The Legal Industry

  

  Gerald Knapton at Ropers Majeski analyzes U.S. and U.K. experiments to explore alternative business structures and independent oversight for law firms, which could lead to innovative approaches to increasing access to legal services.

• G4S Deferral Agreement Illustrates SFO's Enforcement Focus

  

  The Serious Fraud Office’s recent deferred prosecution agreement with multinational security services company G4S suggests the agency’s approach to compliance, program remediation and corporate renewal is evolving to favor parent company involvement and the appointment of independent compliance monitors, say Chris Roberts and James Ford at Mayer Brown.

• 2 High Court Cases Highlight Comity Principles

  

  High Court decisions in National Bank of Kazakhstan v. Bank of New York Mellon and Riverrock Securities v. Bank of St. Petersburg serve as a useful reminder that the principle of comity may require English courts to exercise judicial restraint, even where their assistance has been sought by foreign courts, say Egishe Dzhazoyan and Kabir Bhalla at King & Spalding.

• Nigerian Oil Spill Ruling Shows Limits Of UK Class Actions

  

  The High Court of Justice of England and Wales recently required thousands of Nigerians suing Shell in London over an oil spill to provide individual evidence of damage and individual defenses in Jalla v. Shell, illustrating how U.K. class action claimants must truly have a common interest, say attorneys at Signature Litigation.

• Court Support For Mediation Refusal Is Diminishing

  

  In light of the increasing prevalence of alternative dispute resolution methods and the surge of post-pandemic litigation, parties can no longer rely on the perceived strength of their case as an excuse to avoid mediation, says Russell Strong at Zaiwalla & Co.

• Is It Better To Face Prosecution In The US Or UK?

  

  A Unaoil executive's recent decision to plead guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in the U.S. rather than facing bribery prosecution in the U.K. highlights strategic considerations for individuals facing criminal charges in multiple jurisdictions, says Joshua Ray at Rahman Ravelli.

• Key Points From New Blockchain Legal Guidance

  

  Mark Dawkins and Jenny Arlington at Akin Gump analyze the Law Society and Tech London Advocates' recent guidance on blockchain, smart legal contracts, crypto assets and other advanced technologies, and explain why legal practitioners should familiarize themselves with it.

• Leveraged Trading, Margin Calls And The 'Retail Client'

  

  A rise in margin losses due to pandemic-related market turbulence could lead to disputes in the context of leveraged trading products, and retail investors involved in such disputes should pay particular attention to recent additions to the Financial Conduct Authority Handbook, says Katherine Harper at Forsters.

• UK Top Court Ruling May Be Problematic For Global SEP Suits

  

  There are several reasons to question the wisdom of the U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling that English judges have the power to set extraterritorial licensing royalty rates for standard-essential patents, including that it encourages forum shopping, says Thomas Cotter at the University of Minnesota Law School.

• Why Damages-Based Agreements Aren't More Popular

  

  Although the U.S. contingency fee model may seem attractive, similar fee structures in the U.K. risk being deemed unenforceable based on any alleged noncompliance with the establishing statutes, as a recent High Court of Justice case shows, says Andy Ellis at Practico.