Disputes round-up: Supreme Court loss for Pfizer as Mishcon’s Levitt QC returns to the Bar
Allen & Overy (A&O) client Pfizer has lost a landmark Supreme Court battle against a host of manufacturers, leaving it vulnerable to substantial financial claims. In a judgment handed down yesterday (14 November), the Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions that Pfizer’s patent for its pregabalin pain relief product was invalid. Branded as ‘Lyrica’, the pregabalin-based …
Sponsored briefing: An asymmetric approach to litigation PR
Tim Maltin of Maltin PR on the importance of getting the balance right between winning the court case and winning over the public King Pyrrhus of Epirus famously said: ‘If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.’ He was talking in 279 BC about the large number …
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‘Don’t start a war you can’t win’: High Court throws out SRA’s Leigh Day misconduct appeal
The High Court has dismissed an appeal by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) which challenged the decision to exonerate Leigh Day of misconduct related to the Iraq War. Last June, the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) cleared the firm and three of its lawyers accused of pursuing false damages claims of torture and murder made by Iraqi …
Vannin Capital shelves IPO as volatile market knocks Aston Martin and Funding Circle listings
High-profile litigation funder Vannin Capital has shelved its planned initial public offering (IPO) only one month after announcing its intention to float, blaming volatile equity markets. The move is a blow for the fast-growing litigation funder, which in September hired Allen & Overy veteran David Morley (pictured) as chair to spearhead the October listing, which …
Disputes round-up: SFO abandons privilege appeal as funder Burford raises £193m
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has cut its losses after last month’s landmark Court of Appeal privilege judgment, opting not to appeal the decision. In the case against the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), the SFO was denied access to a series of documents that the mining giant claimed were protected by legal professional privilege …
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Rosenblatt battles Brexit uncertainty in post-IPO financials as it launches litigation funder
In its first financial results since the £43m IPO in May, Rosenblatt has recorded a slight uptick in revenue and profit as it simultaneously launched its own litigation funding arm. For the first eight weeks of its listed life, Rosenblatt generated £3m in revenue, compared to £2.6m for a two month average in the last …