Commercial Litigation UK

Expert Analysis

• The UK Bribery Act At 10, And What's Next

  

  Lauded as a gold standard that put the U.K. in step with modern commercial practices, the Bribery Act turns 10 years old with just a few unmet goals, mostly at the prosecutorial end — and those charged with enforcement will likely face some real tests in the next decade, says Anneka Randhawa at White & Case.

• UK Employment Case May Lead To New Discrimination Suits

  

  The recent Maya Forstater case before the U.K. Employment Appeals Tribunal, concerning whether gender-critical beliefs are a protected characteristic, could provoke an influx of discrimination cases on the basis that philosophical beliefs could trump other protected characteristics, says Jules Quinn at King & Spalding.

• An Underused Group Litigation Tool Could Help UK Claimants

  

  Though the Financial Markets Test Case Procedure has only been used as a collective redress mechanism for the first time recently in Financial Conduct Authority v. Arch Insurance, hopefully it will be called on more often to resolve future post-Brexit issues and other pandemic cases, says Becca Hogan at Signature Litigation.

• Warnings And Guideposts From EU Sanctions Blocking Case

  

  An advocate general's recent opinion in Bank Melli Iran v. Telekom Deutschland, a European Union sanctions blocking case, highlights serious new international regulatory compliance risks but also presents helpful guidance for navigating conflicting EU and U.S. rules, say Thomas Grant at Cambridge University and Scott Kieff at George Washington University.

• 2 UK Pension Cases Guide On 3rd-Party Due Diligence

  

  The U.K. Court of Appeal's recent decision in Adams v. Options UK, and upcoming hearing in Financial Conduct Authority v. Avacade, highlight important precautions self-invested personal pension operators should take when dealing with unauthorized third parties, says Paul Ashcroft at Wedlake Bell.

• Lifting US Sanctions On Iran Would Increase Financial Activity

  

  If recent talks for the U.S. to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal pan out, financial activity between formerly sanctioned entities and European counterparties will likely increase, and demand for certain types of legal work may shift, say Kartik Mittal and Stephanie Limaco at Zaiwalla.

• UK Ruling Shows Tool For Taming Multijurisdictional Disputes

  

  In PJSC National Bank Trust v. Mints, the U.K. High Court imposed costs on the prevailing party for failure to notify the court of related proceedings, demonstrating an approach that judges may use to mitigate the risk of discordant outcomes in multijurisdictional litigation, say Thomas Grant at Cambridge University and Scott Kieff at George Washington Law School.

• A Bumpy Road To Normality After UK Pandemic Support Ends

  

  As U.K. government relief measures that have shored up businesses amid the pandemic taper off, parties that cannot resolve restructuring or insolvency issues through commercial bargaining will influence the types of matters appearing before courts for years, say attorneys at Freshfields.

• Opinion

  High Court Int'l Discovery Case Fits Mootness Exception

  

  Even if the underlying arbitration in Servotronics v. Rolls Royce concludes before the U.S. Supreme Court decides the case, the court should recognize an exception to mootness and resolve the circuit split on whether a U.S. discovery statute applies to international commercial arbitration, say attorneys at Freshfields.

• 3 Lessons For UK Litigators In Virtual Trials

  

  UK litigators should note several best practices for adapting to the hurdles, and capitalizing on the benefits, of virtual trials, and expect the new hearing format to persist beyond the end of the pandemic, say Christopher Boyne and Emma Laurie-Rhodes at Debevoise.

• RETRACTED: Considering The Future Of The Serious Fraud Office

  

  Editor's note: This guest article has been removed due to the authors' ongoing involvement in the case discussed.

• Justices Will Bring Welcome Resolution In Int'l Discovery Row

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision this week to review Servotronics v. Rolls-Royce — a case concerning use of a U.S. discovery statute in aid of private international arbitration — will result in greater certainty as to the statute's scope and allow domestic parties to better defend themselves from foreign discovery requests, say Dan Ward and Elena Davis at Ropes & Gray.

• ITC Seems Unlikely To Stay Investigations For Parallel IPRs

  

  The U.S. International Trade Commission's recent order denying Ocado's attempt to stay a dispute with AutoStore pending resolution of its inter partes review petitions signals that an ITC complainant's patents are effectively shielded from IPR challenges, at least under current Patent Trial and Appeal Board practice, say attorneys at Reichman Jorgensen.

• Opinion

  How London Could Become Europe's Arbitration Hub

  

  Trade, historical and geographical advantages give London the post-Brexit opportunity to strengthen its position as the leading arbitration-friendly jurisdiction in the region and become the hub for European parties in dispute, says Leigh Crestohl at Zaiwalla.

• Analyzing Cost Issues After Top Court MasterCard Ruling

  

  The U.K. Supreme Court recently directed MasterCard v. Merricks back to the Competition Appeal Tribunal after clarifying the tests for class action certification, likely resulting in a green light for the action and a review of the regime-specific costs and funding models of the opt-out class action, says Andy Ellis at Practico.