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Sponsored firm profile:
Poul Schmith

Poul Schmith is a full-service law firm and, with a total staff of 700, we are not only the largest law firm in Denmark but also a clear market leader covering practically all legal areas.

We have extensive experience in the corporate and public sectors, and understand the political environment our clients operate in. The firm has been the preferred legal adviser to the Danish government since 1936 and, when instructed by the Danish government, we are entitled to use the title ‘Kammeradvokaten’, a title established in 1684 by His Majesty King Christian V of Denmark with the purpose of having an attorney to maintain oversight of the King’s treasury. We have increased focus on the corporate sector and our clients include banks, pension funds, insurance companies and private equity funds. Continue reading “Sponsored firm profile:
Poul Schmith”

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‘Serious loss of morale’: The recruitment crisis at the bench deepens

Lord Dyson

Cumulative cuts to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) budget over the past decade, amounting to 40% in total, have had a profound impact on the UK’s publicly funded legal system. One corollary is that there are too few senior judges. First and foremost, this is because insufficient candidates of quality have applied to become a High Court judge.

‘There seems to be a continued problem with recruitment, not in terms of quality, but in terms of numbers,’ says former chair of the Bar, Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC. Recognised as a perennial problem by the government, a streamlined application process was introduced last year. But this has done little to help. Vacancies remain across all three divisions: Queen’s Bench (QBD), Family and Chancery. Continue reading “‘Serious loss of morale’: The recruitment crisis at the bench deepens”

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Sponsored firm profile: SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) is one of the largest and most established law firms in the Philippines, marking its 75th anniversary in 2020. It is full service and has been consistently ranked as a top-tier firm in the country for all practice areas by international legal practice guides.

SyCipLaw is the Philippine counsel of choice in the most significant commercial law disputes involving local transactions, and has represented clients at every court level including the Supreme Court. Among Philippine advisers it has unparalleled expertise in international and local arbitration. The firm’s litigation group also has experts in specialised proceedings and tribunals, such as those for tax and IP cases. Continue reading “Sponsored firm profile: SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan”

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Sponsored firm profile: DLA Piper

DLA Piper’s EU-Greek practice draws from the widest pool of experience and track record in EU/international and domestic law to offer a full range of services to clients doing business with, in and from Greece and Cyprus. The team comprises highly-qualified legal professionals, each bringing a core level of skills and experience in domestic public and private law, energy law, M&A, as well as EU and competition law. Under the leadership of Orestis Omran, the team advises Greek and Cypriot businesses and governmental organisations, as well as international businesses active in the Greek and other regional markets.

The EU-Greek practice serves as a gateway in two directions: inbound and outbound – to and from Greece and Cyprus. The Brussels-based team is also in a unique position to represent the interests of Greek-speaking clients at the law and policy-making levels of the EU institutions in Brussels. The team works very closely with the London finance and projects team on transactional matters, including structured finance, project and privatisations work.
Continue reading “Sponsored firm profile: DLA Piper”

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Still punching – Can boutiques keep moving up a weight class amid mounting competition?

‘Gone are the days where the client would just default to a certain adviser because that is who it has used all along,’ says Signature Litigation partner Daniel Spendlove. ‘Corporates, especially one-off distressed clients, are thinking about who they use carefully and that puts firms like ours in a strong position.’

Boutiques have been a striking feature of the disputes landscape for more than a decade. The rhetoric extols the virtues of the stripped-back model, unconstrained by the extra overheads that come with having multiple practice areas, and the conflict-free feature allows full-service firms to feel confident in referring disputes work to non-competitors. ‘What clients get is a focused offering. We’re not cross-selling other departments. We are simply here to handle a case,’ adds Spendlove. Continue reading “Still punching – Can boutiques keep moving up a weight class amid mounting competition?”

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Sponsored briefing: The latest from the Lloyds/HBOS litigation

Gatehouse Chambers’ Laurence Page and Michael Marris on Sharp v Blank [2019] EWHC 3078 (Ch)

Does the latest Lloyds/HBOS litigation (Sharp v Blank [2019] EWHC 3078 (Ch)) underline the old saying that you shouldn’t put robbers to work in a bank? Lloyds shareholders might say so, having lost out in a multimillion-pound legal fight against the bank following its acquisition of HBOS at the zenith of the 2008 financial crisis – but theirs was a view with which the High Court did not agree. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The latest from the Lloyds/HBOS litigation”

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Financial Regulation – Increased focus on culture raises question: is everything OK?

Our second one-day summit dedicated to banking disputes and regulatory actions returned in February with a host of sponsors, speakers and more than 150 guests in central London. Backed by a string of top names in contentious banking work, including headline sponsor White & Case, as well as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Boies Schiller Flexner, One Essex Court and Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF), the event was guaranteed a heavyweight line-up.

There was no mistaking the core theme for the day, which White & Case banking disputes chief John Reynolds set out in his opening remarks. Arguing that cultural issues sat at the heart of the global financial crisis over a decade ago, Reynolds gave a jaded assessment of the progress since, despite the string of post-crisis reforms, like the Senior Managers Regime, ringfencing and legislation on bonuses. Continue reading “Financial Regulation – Increased focus on culture raises question: is everything OK?”

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Sponsored foreword: Litigation in the post-Brexit world – 2020 and beyond

Clive Zietman

In the fiery political debate on Brexit, relatively little attention has concentrated on the threat to the UK as a world-renowned centre for litigation. Some say that an abyss beckons and that there will be an exodus of litigants fleeing our jurisdiction. Are these fears justified?

For starters, our legal system remains highly respected for its integrity and expertise. Our European neighbours are promoting their credentials as never before, but in truth, many smaller European countries are far from being able to compete in terms of sophistication and true independence. Moreover, English remains the language of international commerce, and this factor alone will continue to have a bearing albeit that the Netherlands and Germany are now developing English-speaking courts. Continue reading “Sponsored foreword: Litigation in the post-Brexit world – 2020 and beyond”

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Sponsored briefing: Arbitration in the Czech Republic in 2020 – 25 years of the Arbitration Act and counting

František Honsa and Petr Vošahlík give an overview of arbitration in the Czech Republic

Introduction

Arbitration within the territory of the Czech Republic recently celebrated its 70th anniversary. Although having a longstanding tradition, the reputation of arbitration as an alternative to dispute resolution before the courts in the Czech Republic has not always been positive. Arbitration was negatively influenced by consumer arbitration and infamous private arbitration centres. On the other hand, the Czech business environment thrives on arbitration as an instrument that benefits parties that make use of it by establishing clear rules and the far-reaching possibilities it offers in contractual freedom.
Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Arbitration in the Czech Republic in 2020 – 25 years of the Arbitration Act and counting”

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Market Report: Intellectual Property – A delicate balance

With global hubs fighting to attract big-ticket IP disputes, the London courts are facing a tougher challenge than they are used to. Dominic Carman reports

IP litigation continued apace in 2019 with a multiplicity of disputes. ‘Unlike everything else in relation to Brexit, certainly in the life sciences space and in patent litigation, things carried on pretty much as normal and we had quite a lot of cases,’ says Charlotte Weekes (pictured), contentious IP partner at Pinsent Masons. ‘People talk about some jurisdictions being pro-patentee or pro-challenger: the UK courts seem fairly well balanced.’ Continue reading “Market Report: Intellectual Property – A delicate balance”

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Market Report: Fraud – Sleight of hand

Criminal investigations aside, the rise of cyber crime and forum shopping means the UK is a perennially popular location for resolving civil fraud disputes. Dominic Carman reports

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, fraud offences now constitute nearly half of all recorded crime. Last year they increased by 9% to breach the four million mark, although the survey suggests that fewer than 20% of frauds are ever reported. Simultaneously, organisations that investigate large-scale fraud, such as the National Crime Agency and the Serious Fraud Office, are routinely regarded by commentators as underfunded, understaffed and – at times – unable to cope. Continue reading “Market Report: Fraud – Sleight of hand”

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Sponsored briefing: The evolution of the Commercial Bar

Duncan Matthews QC, co-head, and Jemma Tagg, chief executive, reflect on the evolution of Twenty Essex and wider sector changes across the Commercial Bar

Reflecting on the past

Twenty Essex enjoys a rich heritage as one of the longest-established sets of commercial and international law chambers. Twenty Essex barristers have always been at the forefront of ground-breaking legal precedent in reported cases before apex courts and tribunals.
Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The evolution of the Commercial Bar”

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Sponsored briefing: After a busy year in offshore litigation, what
lies ahead in 2020?

Christian Hay gives an overview of Collas Crill’s disputes work in 2019 and discusses the challenges and trends that can be expected over the next year

2019 was Collas Crill’s busiest year for dispute resolution. Our litigation teams in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey were firing on all four cylinders.
Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: After a busy year in offshore litigation, what
lies ahead in 2020?”

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Market Report: Tax Litigation – Introducing the hard line

Post Brexit, HMRC is renewing its litigation focus on corporate tax evasion, enhanced by new powers to investigate corporate criminal offences. Dominic Carman reports

Like stargazing through a telescope, tax disputes look back in time. The typical gestation period between issues first catching HMRC’s attention and a dispute reaching court can take up to five years, sometimes longer. Nick Skerrett (pictured), head of contentious tax at Simmons & Simmons, says there has been a maturation of the governance processes within HMRC. ‘It is starting to bed down and HMRC has become more adept in its approach to working out those cases that it ultimately wants to come before the courts from those that it does not,’ he says. Continue reading “Market Report: Tax Litigation – Introducing the hard line”

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Market Report: Construction – Building a case

Despite efforts to minimise the level of construction disputes, adjudication, litigation and arbitration are all flourishing. Dominic Carman reports

While there are many relevant statutes and a significant body of case law, construction disputes benefit from having a single overarching piece of legislation: the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, commonly known as the Construction Act. In some recent decisions, judges have increasingly endeavoured to broaden the ambit of the act, which was last amended in 2011, to capture a wider range of construction activities as the sector continues to recover from a turbulent political period. Continue reading “Market Report: Construction – Building a case”

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Sponsored firm profile:
Simmons & Simmons

You cannot control the outcome of tax litigation and, in the current political environment, judgments can be hard to predict. We focus on the elements we can control.

Our approach is intellectually rigorous, to ensure all potential technical arguments have been evaluated and managed so there are no surprises at trial. We investigate thoroughly, then focus on meticulous case preparation and strategic planning.
Continue reading “Sponsored firm profile:
Simmons & Simmons”

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Arbitration – ‘There’s a new generation coming’

Kenneth Beale

‘Arbitration is the Savile Row of dispute resolution. It’s not the M&S off-the-rack suit, you can create a bespoke arbitration clause that does almost anything you want it to do,’ said Kenneth Beale, an arbitration partner at Boies Schiller Flexner in London. Is it then any surprise that financial institutions are increasingly opting to use arbitration for dispute resolution?

Beale was one of a host of top names speaking at Legal Business’ 2019 International Arbitration Summit in November when he made that comment, setting out how much things have changed in the financial services sector in recent years. Continue reading “Arbitration – ‘There’s a new generation coming’”

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Sponsored firm profile: Int-Arb Arbitrators

Int-Arb Arbitrators is a specialist set of international arbitrators and mediators based in London, which has been created to allow each member the freedom to operate without conflicts. Members of Int-Arb Arbitrators are completely independent, not attached to a law firm or barristers’ chambers and with a sole focus of sitting only as an arbitrator or mediator.

Each member is supported by an experienced team who all have legal management backgrounds. Our team know the arbitrators and mediators’ respective practice and areas of expertise, fully. This is complemented with an administrative and business support service provided to members which include diary and practice management, marketing and business development.

Int-Arb Arbitrators has a diverse list which allows an opportunity to provide both suitable and wide-ranging recommendations. The management team offers a bespoke and transparent service to those who approach us, when in search of an arbitrator or mediator. We talk through and have detailed conversations to understand the requirements of the dispute to suggest the most appropriate arbitrator or mediator.

Service delivery and attention to our clients is unparalleled and centred on excellence. We not only save time with your search but add value and comfort when making a choice of arbitrator or mediator.

Firm overview

Our members have expertise in complex investor state, corporate and commercial, construction and engineering, technology and telecommunications, banking and finance, transport, IP, M&A, insurance and re-insurance, mining, energy and oil and gas disputes.

Int-Arb Arbitrators members are internationally recognised and can accept chair, sole and party appointments. Experience covers substantial disputes under all of the key institutional rules including ICC, ICDR, LCIA, ISCID, SIAC, DIAC, HKIAC, CAS, SCC, KCAB, UNCITRAL, WIPO and ad hoc arbitrations in a variety of seats ranging from London, New York, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, Geneva, Hong Kong and in other regions across the US, Canada, Europe, Latin-America and the Caribbean.

Sam Carter, managing director
Int-Arb Arbitrators

Int-Arb Arbitrators members

David Cairns

Arbitrator

David Cairns is a leading international arbitrator based in Madrid and London. He joined Int-Arb Arbitrators after spending 20 years at international law firm, B Cremades y Asociados in Madrid, Spain.

Specialist areas include investor-state, construction and engineering, commercial and IP disputes. He has a particular region focus of Spain, Latin America and London.

He is fluent in Spanish and has extensive experience of both common and civil law approaches to disputes and arbitration.

Calvin Hamilton

Arbitrator

Calvin Hamilton is a seasoned arbitrator based in Barbados and London with 35 years of international arbitration experience, as counsel and arbitrator including his time as partner at two leading firms in Madrid. His region focus is the Caribbean, Latin America, London and the US.

Specialist areas include investor state, corporate and commercial disputes. He has a good cultural knowledge and understanding of common and civil law approaches.

He is fluent in Spanish, proficient in French and has working knowledge of Portuguese. He is a dual national of Guyana and Spain and admitted in New York and Madrid.

John Judge

Arbitrator

John Judge is an internationally-recognised arbitrator based in Toronto and London. He joined Int-Arb Arbitrators from 39 Essex Chambers in London having previously spent 25 years at Stikeman Elliott, in Toronto.

Specialist areas include construction, engineering and infrastructure, oil and gas, mining and investor state disputes, across the globe.

He has also sat on a wide range of commercial and corporate, banking and finance, investment, M&A, insurance and reinsurance, real estate, IT and telecommunications and transport disputes.

Janet Walker

Arbitrator

Janet Walker is an international arbitrator based in London, Toronto and Sydney who joins Int-Arb Arbitrators from Outer Temple Chambers, London.

Specialist areas include construction, heavy equipment, M&A, IP, environmental, finance, employment and shareholder disputes.

This combined with more than 20 years as a consultant and expert in a range of matters particularly those arbitration-related. She is fluent in English and has good written and oral comprehension of French and Spanish.

Jane Player

Mediator

Jane is a leading international mediator. Formerly a partner at King & Spalding, co-head of the international dispute resolution group and head of the London disputes team at Bird & Bird, and DLA Piper respectively.

Specialist areas include corporate and contractual claims, fraud and project disputes including pharmaceuticals, energy, technology, IP and media disputes.

She has a reputation for managing cross-cultural aspects of joint venture and international shareholder disputes including early neutral evaluation and expert determination. Fluent in French, Spanish and Italian to varying degrees.

 

OWEN LAWRENCE
Chief Executive
[email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 203 928 7272
DDI: +44 (0) 203 928 7288
Mob: +44 (0) 793 034 2588

SAM CARTER
Managing Director
[email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 203 928 7272
DDI: +44 (0) 203 928 7280
Mob: +44 (0) 791 719 1476

DEMI ROBINSON
Arbitrator Practice Assistant
[email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 203 928 7272
DDI: +44 (0) 203 928 7281
Mob: +44 (0) 753 502 9639

Web: www.int-arbitrators.com
Email: [email protected]

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Sponsored firm profile:
Trowers & Hamlins

Trowers & Hamlins has one of the largest disputes practices in Birmingham, handling high-end, complex and often cross-border matters for clients across all types of contentious work, with specialisms in commercial litigation, civil fraud and investigations, property litigation and construction disputes.

Our Midlands practice is deeply connected into our wider business, with a significant proportion of our work originating from our international offices across Malaysia and the Middle East, and our strategic partnership with Interlaw – an elite global network of over 7,000 first-class lawyers in 150 cities worldwide.

We act on a wide range of commercial disputes, with key strengths in international, particularly Middle East-related work, heavyweight commercial matters and disputes involving public sector bodies. We are advising the Central Bank of Bahrain bringing claims worth close to £3bn in connection with the AHAB and Saad Group frauds, for example, and we also receive regular mandates from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Our work on disputes emanating from the Middle East includes cases played out in the local courts and arbitral tribunals in that region, as well as in London and other international disputes hubs.

Handling complex high-value matters

Closer to home, our team has had a number of its recent cases in the Commercial Court reported and receives instructions in commercial disputes from both regional and national players. We have a strong record of working with in-house counsel teams in difficult, sensitive and complex claims and investigations.

Trowers has a long history of acting in disputes involving the public sector and continues to be a leader in this field. For example, we are on the panel for the Department of Health, who we advise on various high-value claims.

We are one of the only firms with a team recognised for its civil fraud expertise, where we act for a wide range of public, private and third-sector clients dealing with prevention, investigations and recovery actions across multiple jurisdictions. With deep experience in freezing injunction applications, we also advise on anti-bribery and fraud prevention issues and are increasingly known for significant instructions arising from cyber crime. We support both domestic and international clients dealing with the regulatory and data issues that arise from cyber events and our team regularly speaks at conferences on cyber security and dealing with breaches.

Supporting a broad client base

Our real estate litigation team in the West Midlands has grown considerably in recent years and now stands apart for the breadth of both its work and its client base, covering the full range of City-quality contentious property work in the regional market. Our clients include significant public sector pension funds and investment funds, NHS foundation trusts, West Midlands-based property investors and corporate occupiers, large and small developers, high-net-worth-individual clients, large and small housing associations and care providers, including the West Midlands Metropolitan Authorities Pension Fund, Westminster City Council (investment property), King’s College Hospital, Mainstay Residential, Midland Heart and Citizen Housing Group.

Our construction litigation practice in Birmingham is focused on the development of risk management and dispute avoidance strategies to help clients retain control of projects. When action does become necessary, we guide clients towards the most satisfactory outcome possible, whether that is through adjudication, mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation, expert determination or a more bespoke process. The disputes team is an integral part of our projects and construction department, providing a full service to construction projects on a local, national and international basis. We advise housing associations, NHS trusts, contractors and leisure developers across the Midlands region on a range of significant contentious matters relating to construction aspects of various schemes and projects.

We believe our full-service litigation practice in the Midlands stands apart for its ability to cope with complexity and diversity, and for its national and global reach. We have significant expertise using litigation funders to finance claims ranging from £200,000 to over £100m – we always look at the big picture when supporting clients, pursuing the most effective dispute resolution achievable.

In order to develop our relationships with in-house counsel, we run a breakfast series called Counsel’s Club where we discuss topical issues and share experiences, resulting in valuable collaboration and information sharing.

Key partners

Helen Briant

Partner, commercial litigation
E: [email protected]
T: 0121 214 8867

Helen Briant is a partner in Trowers & Hamlins’ commercial litigation practice in Birmingham, specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration. She regularly works with in-house legal teams to resolve substantial commercial disputes. She has particular experience in working for clients in the manufacturing and engineering sector. She also has significant experience dealing with complex and sensitive disputes involving private wealth, investments, trusts and estates, and her work is usually cross-border. Briant’s clients include high-net-worth individuals, business owners, trustees, executors and beneficiaries, and many of the cases that she works on involve fraud and dishonesty.

Yetunde Dania

Partner, property litigation
E: [email protected]
T: 0121 214 8822

Yetunde Dania specialises in residential landlord and tenant property matters for large and small housing associations, and UK and overseas-based private landlords with property portfolios in the UK. Her work includes contentious and non-contentious issues, such as providing advice and assistance to clients in complex possession and injunction claims, defending counterclaims for disrepair and/or allegations of alleged landlord-related regulatory failures, in both the county and magistrates’ courts, and she provides advice across the very wide spectrum of residential landlord and tenant legislation.

Michael Green

Partner, property litigation
E: [email protected]
T: 0121 214 8861

With almost 20 years of real estate litigation experience acting for a range of private and public sector clients, Michael Green joined Trowers & Hamlins’ property litigation team in Birmingham in 2018 with the objective of broadening its practice. He acts for investors, corporate occupiers, developers and public sector bodies, including public sector pension funds and other investment funds. Green’s clients comprise a mix of real estate stakeholders in the Midlands, together with London-based clients. He has particular expertise in complex commercial landlord and tenant disputes, including those arising in the context of large-scale redevelopments.

Mark Kenkre

Partner, commercial litigation
E: [email protected]
T: 0121 214 8863

Mark Kenkre specialises in commercial litigation, arbitration and conducting investigations, with an emphasis on complex and commercially sensitive disputes involving allegations of fraud. He has an interest in technology, cyber crime and cyber security issues, including the development of fraud risks relating to blockchain technology and developments in legal technology, and he is a member of the Commercial Fraud Lawyers Association and the Fraud Advisory Panel.

Guy Willetts

Partner, property litigation
E: [email protected]
T: 0121 214 8845

Guy Willetts has more than 30 years’ experience in the resolution of property disputes, acting for owners or occupiers of all types of commercial property (including shops, offices, warehouses and industrial buildings), investors and developers, local authorities, pension funds, NHS trusts and government agencies. He has been involved in a number of landmark cases and is focused on getting the right result in the most cost-effective manner, which may involve alternative dispute resolution, including self-help remedies, mediation, arbitration or expert determination, with the courts as a last resort.

 

10 Colmore Row
Birmingham
B3 2QD

Tel: 0121 214 8800

Web: www.trowers.com

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