DPAs in spotlight as SFO ends long-running Rolls-Royce and GSK investigations

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DPAs in spotlight as SFO ends long-running Rolls-Royce and GSK investigations

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has today (22 February) ended investigations into two landmark cases involving Rolls-Royce and GlaxoSmithKline, prompting scepticism from white-collar lawyers.

Despite agreeing a £497.3m January 2017 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the car manufacturer, the SFO has pulled its bribery and corruption probe into Rolls-Royce following a ‘detailed review of the available evidence’. Continue reading “DPAs in spotlight as SFO ends long-running Rolls-Royce and GSK investigations”

Linklaters ends culture row as wannabe whistleblower agrees to destroy confidential documents

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Linklaters ends culture row as wannabe whistleblower agrees to destroy confidential documents

Former Linklaters executive committee member Frank Mellish has agreed that he will not disclose information raising concerns over the firm’s culture after his former employer obtained an injunction against him.

Mr Justice Warby said in a judgment in the High Court today (18 February) that the firm’s former director of business development and marketing had signed an agreement with the firm to destroy copies of various ‘confidential documents’ he originally intended to share with the media, settling the dispute. Continue reading “Linklaters ends culture row as wannabe whistleblower agrees to destroy confidential documents”

‘Ongoing struggle’: Linklaters shuts down former director going public with concerns over firm culture

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‘Ongoing struggle’: Linklaters shuts down former director going public with concerns over firm culture

Linklaters has been granted an interim injunction against a former director of business development and marketing seeking to raise his concerns over the firm’s ‘current culture’ in ‘interviews for publication’.

In a High Court ruling yesterday (5 February), Mr Justice Warby restrained the firm’s former executive committee member Frank Mellish from sharing information highlighting what the former employee described as ‘the ongoing struggle Linklaters has with women in the workplace’ until a further hearing on Monday (11 February). Continue reading “‘Ongoing struggle’: Linklaters shuts down former director going public with concerns over firm culture”

First big defeat for Osofsky as SFO fails in Tesco prosecution

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First big defeat for Osofsky as SFO fails in Tesco prosecution

Newly-installed Serious Fraud Office (SFO) director Lisa Osofsky has suffered her first major setback, as the agency’s prosecution of two former Tesco executives was quashed this morning.

At Southwark Crown Court, Judge Sir John Royce instructed the jury to acquit John Scouler, formerly Tesco’s UK food commercial director, and Chris Bush, previously Tesco’s UK managing director. Both men had been prosecuted by the SFO on fraud and false accounting charges over a £250m profit overstatement by Tesco in 2014. Continue reading “First big defeat for Osofsky as SFO fails in Tesco prosecution”

Disputes round-up: Simmons wins Petrofac mandate as White & Case makes key regulatory hire

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Disputes round-up: Simmons wins Petrofac mandate as White & Case makes key regulatory hire

Simmons & Simmons has landed a major Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation mandate at the expense of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Simmons’ crime, fraud and investigations head Stephen Gentle and partner Nick Benwell have been enlisted to defend oil and gas company Petrofac in the SFO probe, taking on the mandate from Freshfields. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: Simmons wins Petrofac mandate as White & Case makes key regulatory hire”

Disputes round-up: Supreme Court loss for Pfizer as Mishcon’s Levitt QC returns to the Bar

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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 drug is used to treat neuropathic pain as well as generalised anxiety disorder and epilepsy. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: Supreme Court loss for Pfizer as Mishcon’s Levitt QC returns to the Bar”

Sponsored briefing: An asymmetric approach to litigation PR

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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 of soldiers he had lost in the Battle of Asculum, but today he could just as easily have been referring to the high cost of litigation, or the pitfalls of winning the legal battle inside the courtroom at the expense of losing the communications war outside it. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: An asymmetric approach to litigation PR”

‘Don’t start a war you can’t win’: High Court throws out SRA’s Leigh Day misconduct appeal

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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 civilians against British troops in the region. The SRA appealed that decision. Continue reading “‘Don’t start a war you can’t win’: High Court throws out SRA’s Leigh Day misconduct appeal”

A victory for legal privilege as ENRC triumphs in landmark SFO case

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A victory for legal privilege as ENRC triumphs in landmark SFO case

City litigators uttered a collective sigh of relief as legal professional privilege (LPP) was upheld in the judgment of the highly-anticipated Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) case against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The decision has wide-ranging implications for businesses and litigators alike as to what information from internal investigations is protected by privilege, after the Court of Appeal today (5 September) ruled the ENRC is not obliged to disclose a series of documents which had been requested by the SFO. Continue reading “A victory for legal privilege as ENRC triumphs in landmark SFO case”