News & Events
News & Events
Richard Hitchcock KC and Lydia Seymour acted for the successful Claimant in Avon Cosmetics Ltd v Dalriada Trustees & Ors, an important Chancery Division authority on the consequences of powers in pension scheme trust deeds being exercised partly outside their scope. The case concerned an amendment to remove members’ entitlement to a final salary link to their accrued benefits, where the amendment power contained a Re Courage – type restriction, but where ultimately some members had done better and some worse by reason of the amendment. The Court concluded that the members who had benefitted by the amendment would retain their more valuable benefits even if the amendment was invalid in relation to those who had lost out. The Judgment,…
News 19 Jan, 2024
Joshua Hitchens appeared as sole counsel for the Claimant, the first mono-British national to be sanctioned under the UK’s post 2018 autonomous sanctions framework. Judgment was handed down on 12 January 2024 in the third s.38 Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018) delisting challenge brought under the Russian Sanctions Regulations. Mr Justice Johnson held: (a.) SAMLA does empower the Secretary of State to interfere with the right to freedom of speech/expression; (b.) The Regulations are lawful and have the effect the Secretary of State contended they have; and (c.) The interferences with Mr Phillips Convention rights were lawful and proportionate. The Claimant is expected to seek permission to appeal. Background to this case Josh was instructed in this…
News 15 Jan, 2024
Clinical negligence barrister, Tom Gibson, comments on the dramatic end to the secondary victim claims saga. The Supreme Court has now handed down judgment on three conjoined appeals on the ‘secondary victim’ criteria for psychiatric injury claims in a clinical negligence setting; Paul v Wolverhampton, Polmear v Cornwall and Purchase v Dr Ahmed. The judgment [2024] UKSC 1 brings the secondary victim claims saga to a dramatic end. The Supreme Court dismissed the Claimants’ three appeals by a 6-1 majority. The judgments (running to 256 paragraphs over 76 pages) are complicated. However, as a very brief summary: There is a crucial difference between ‘accident’ cases and ‘medical crisis’ cases: The three previous key House of Lords authorities – McLoughlin v Brian, Alcock v…
News 12 Jan, 2024
Rachel Meade was sanctioned by Social Work England and suspended by Westminster City Council in 2021 for private social media posts that included gender-critical beliefs. Employment barrister, Naomi Cunningham, successfully represented Rachel in an Employment Tribunal. Social worker Rachel Meade has successfully sued her employer, Westminster City Council (WCC), and professional regulatory body, Social Work England (SWE), in an employment tribunal for discrimination on the basis of her protected beliefs under the Equality Act 2010. Between 2018 and 2020, Meade had shared posts about upholding women’s rights from various organisations, during the then reform consultation for the Gender Recognition Act 2004, with many of her posts being links to national newspaper stories and articles by advocacy groups such as Fair…
News 9 Jan, 2024
Ian Denham successfully acted for the Appellant in this Court of Appeal case that brings clarity to the requirement to apply to increase the statement of value. This was the Appellant’s second appeal against an order that denied him permission to increase the value of his claim for damages for personal injury. The judgment also provides clarity as to the scope of CPR rule 16.3(7). Ian acted for Mr Fleming, who had previously been acting in person, on a pro bono basis through Advocate. Advocate is the Bar’s national pro bono charity that provides free legal help for those who are unable to obtain legal aid and cannot afford to pay. The Appeal The issue at the heart of this case…
News 9 Jan, 2024
Alex Haines and Victoria Brown appeared in a final hearing before the OAS (Organisation of American States) Administrative Tribunal following their earlier preliminary success in respect of an access to justice issue. Judgment No. 171 in Garry LaGuerre v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States was delivered on 15 December 2023 and can be found here. The Complainant’s journey to final hearing In 2022, Mr LaGuerre succeeded in two interim motions, discussed here. Those motions – brought by the Respondent – claimed that the case had no merit and accordingly the Complainant should be required to pay a bond. The Tribunal’s decision was an important bolster of access to justice. The final hearing Following a budgetary reduction in…
News 8 Jan, 2024
Louis Weston and Samuel Cuthbert will be speaking at the Ankura Sports Governance, Compliance and Investigations Conference on Thursday, 25th January at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Louis Weston and Samuel Cuthbert will be speaking along other experts at the second annual Sports Governance, Compliance and Investigations Conference on Thursday, 25th January 2024 at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Conference will involve discussions on a number of topics including: Compliance in Sports Financial Regulations in Sport Next Steps on Sports Integrity Having Created Your Enterprise Risk Register, What Next? Managing Safeguarding Risk Multi-Sport Ownership and the Investment Landscape Louis Weston of Outer Temple Chambers will be speaking alongside Jason Van’t Hof of US Integrity, Affy Sheikh of Starlizard…
News 5 Jan, 2024
Jeremy Scott-Joynt analyses the powers of CPR 71 proceedings and its importance in his recent Court of Appeal case, Westrop v Harrath. Civil courts can do lots of things. They decide whether a deal is really a deal. They tell people which parent they get to live with. They decide if someone’s been discriminated against, or wrongly kicked out of their job. Or if a public body has done its job right. Mostly, though, they decide who owes whom – and how much. And when a court has decided someone owes you, you’re going to want them to pay up. No surprise, then, that a sizeable chunk of the Civil Procedure Rules deals with how – if you’re a judgment…
News 3 Jan, 2024
Stuart Haynes, CFO at Outer Temple Chambers featured in an interview titled ‘Setting My Own Pace’ in AT Magazine’s September/October edition. Stuart Haynes spoke in an interview about his professional life as a CFO at Outer Temple Chambers by day and his passions as a rock drummer by night. Stuart explains how his practice session with his band that also includes a psychologist, primary school teacher, golf instructor, and a tattoo artist helps them reset mentally despite being from different professional backgrounds. “Drumming is one of those activities where the easier it looks, the harder it is. It’s a completely different challenge to work, using separate parts of the brain, allowing you to escape from everything else. Being motivated and…
External Publications 19 Dec, 2023
Nathan Tavares KC, instructed by Stewarts International Injury team acts for junior NHS doctor in compensation claim. Nathan Tavares KC of Outer Temple Chambers is acting on behalf Dr Daniel Gordon who is seeking compensation of £10 million against Arch and Chubb insurers after his brand-new “gravel” bike (Planet X Tempest SRAM Force) split into two on a grass slope in August 2020, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. The Planet X bike, costing £2300, was described as a “flowingly fast and comfortably confident titanium gravel bike that gives you the freedom to ride wherever you want.” As Planet X became insolvent in 2023, Dr Gordon made his claim against its two insurers, Arch Insurance (UK) Limited and Chubb…
News 15 Dec, 2023
Philip Punwar has once again been ranked for Commercial Litigation in the UAE by Who’s Who Legal. Who’s Who Legal (WWL): Commercial Litigation identifies leading commercial litigators, expert witnesses and e-discovery experts around the world. Philip Punwar has been ranked as a ‘Recommended Barrister’ for Commercial Litigation in the UAE. WWL notes that: “Philip Punwar wins acclaim for his innovative work advising domestic and international clients on complex disputes in the finance and healthcare sectors.” To read the full list of the 2024 rankings for Commercial Litigation in the UAE, click here. Find out more Philip Punwar has over thirty years’ litigation experience. He has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in England and the Dubai International Financial…
External Publications 11 Dec, 2023
Lucian Ilie has been listed as a Future Leader in International Arbitration in both the EMEA region and England for the fourth consecutive year. Who’s Who Legal (WWL) and Global Arbitration Review highlight the leading arbitration practitioners worldwide. This features lawyers, expert witnesses and barristers, each listing Global Thought Elite Leaders and Future Leaders. Lucian Ilie has been listed in the Who’s Who Legal Listing 2024 as a Future Leader in Arbitration – England for the fourth consecutive year. This listing is classified as the pre-eminent list of the next generation leaders. Selection is limited to practitioners aged 45 and under. Additionally, Lucian has been listed amongst the Top 15 practitioners in the EMEA region in their list of Arbitration…
External Publications 8 Dec, 2023
