Commercial Litigation UK

Expert Analysis

• Calderbank Offers Still Play A Role In English Litigation

  

  The May decision by England's High Court in MEF v. St. George's Healthcare is a reminder that, notwithstanding the advantages of making a settlement offer under Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules, Calderbank offers should always be considered as part of any settlement strategy, says Afzalah Sarwar at Morgan Lewis.

• UK Contract Guidance On COVID-19 Stresses Good Behavior

  

  The U.K. Cabinet Office's recent guidance on how parties to contracts should address COVID-19 impact is unusual in underscoring the reputational consequences of commercial conduct, but so are the circumstances that have given rise to it, say Christa Band and Jane Larner at Linklaters.

• UK Appellate Rulings Clarify Arbitral Choice Of Law

  

  Two recent U.K. Court of Appeal decisions have changed the operation of the choice-of-law test for arbitration — a resolution as significant as changing the test itself because it affects the implied choices of the contracting parties, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• French Force Majeure Case Holds COVID-19 Lessons For Cos.

  

  A French court's recent ruling in a dispute between two energy companies may represent the first commercial case law recognizing the COVID-19 pandemic as a force majeure event — and the court's close analysis of the parties' contract is relevant to companies in other jurisdictions, say attorneys at Signature Litigation.

• Post-Pandemic Litigation To Expect In England And Wales

  

  Globally, we are already starting to see insolvency-related claims and a number of insurance, breach of ‎contract, employment and securities class actions across numerous sectors. These and other claims will likely increase for U.K. businesses, say Tracey Dovaston and Fiona Huntriss at Boies Schiller.

• A UK Court Take On Contracting With An Undisclosed Agent

  

  The recent ruling by the English Commercial Court in National Bank of Kazakhstan v. BNY Mellon is a reminder of the potential difficulties that agency relationships — or the possibility of them — can create for contractual enforcement and interpretation, even years after a contract is signed, says Jonathan Swil at Shearman & Sterling.

• Opinion

  Reflections On The UK Bribery Act 10 Years On

  

  While the U.K. Bribery Act has been positive overall, regulators should seek urgent reform to better enable the investigation and prosecution of companies and individuals for economic crimes, especially in cases directly harming people and the environment, says Chris Phillips at Alvarez & Marsal.

• UK Lawyers Can Adapt Due Diligence To Screen New Clients

  

  As COVID-19-related fraud gains pace, U.K.-based practitioners should help combat money laundering by using alternative methods to verify that new clients are who they say they are, says Christopher Convey, a barrister at 33 Chancery Lane and chair of the Bar Council's Money Laundering Working Group.

• A Powerful Lesson In UK Data Protection Law Restrictions

  

  While data protection laws are not naturally associated with efforts to impede the use of the death penalty, a recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling related to the U.S. investigation of an ISIS militant has implications for authorities seeking to transfer data to international counterparts, as well as private data controls generally, says David Rundle at WilmerHale.

• A Look Forward To UK Banking Litigation In The 2020s

  

  With an eye on the impact of COVID-19 and the evolving threat of financial crime, Christa Band and Jane Larner at Linklaters provide an overview of the near-future challenges financial institutions should expect.

• 6 Areas Where UK Class Actions May Increase

  

  Class actions have been growing in prominence in the U.K. courts for a number of years, and the pandemic clearly has the potential to exacerbate that trend in certain areas in the coming weeks, months and years, say attorneys at Herbert Smith.

• 4 Exceptions To Termination Of Intra-EU Investor Arbitration

  

  An agreement for the termination of intra-European Union bilateral investment treaties signed last week was intended to eliminate arbitration claims brought outside of the member states' court systems, but may have left certain avenues for such claims, say attorneys at Dechert.

• A UK Business View Of COVID-19's Economic Fallout

  

  Covington attorneys Alex Leitch and Harry Denlegh-Maxwell provide a bird's-eye view of how U.K. businesses will navigate the legal and economic aftermath of the pandemic, including discussion of where litigation funding, class actions, insurance disputes and force majeure fit it.

• Arbitration As A New Normal May Hinge On Cybersecurity

  

  Aside from certain hearings that might not be suitably conducted via videoconferencing, the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on international arbitration has been relatively modest — however widescale remote work exacerbates the gaps in cybersecurity, say Claire Morel de Westgaver and Rachel Chiu at Bryan Cave.

• Virtual Trials Are A Brave New World For UK Litigation

  

  The English High Courts' shift to virtual hearings has dramatically altered courtroom dynamics, introducing many new variables and forfeiting the benefit of nonverbal communication, says Tom Sprange QC at King & Spalding.