News & Events
News & Events
Robert Rhodes QC discusses the question of compensation for sporting injuries in contact sports, following the recent case with Dominic Fry and Ryan Ball. Contact sports such as rugby and football are exciting and exhilarating to play. But what if you are injured while playing? Can you get compensation for your injury and any loss of earnings? This question surfaced recently in a case arising from an injury on the rugby field. Dominic Fry was seriously injured by a player on the opposing side. Mr Fry had kicked the ball downfield, aiming for touch, when his opponent tackled him. As a result of that impact, Mr Fry had to have his spleen removed and sued for damages for alleged negligence. Mr Fry claimed…
News 18 Dec, 2018
Keith Bryant QC and Saul Margo successfully represented the Trustees of Swansea University Pension and Assurance Scheme and another before the Supreme Court. Facts The case was about the interpretation of ‘treats…unfavourably’ under s.15(1) of the Equality Act 2010 (‘EA 2010’) which reads as follows: ‘A person (A) discriminates against a disabled person (B) if – (a) A treats B unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of B’s disability, and (b) A cannot show that the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’ (emphasis added). Mr Williams was ‘disabled’ within the meaning of s.6 EA 2010. He was employed by Swansea University from 12 June 2000 until he retired for ill-health reasons on 30 June 2013, aged 38.…
News 17 Dec, 2018
Decision of the French Constitutional Council N° 2018 – 747 QPC: Income tax liability on life annuities paid in compensation for bodily harm. In the context of the income tax liability on life annuities paid as compensation for bodily harm, Christophe Jolk raised a priority constitutional question, as to the compliance with the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution as regards Article 81, paragraph 9 bis, of the French Tax Code. In its decision No. 2018-747 QPC of 23 November 2018, the Constitutional Council declared the words “by virtue of a court ruling”, in Article 81, paragraph 9 bis, of the French Tax Code, to be unconstitutional. Click here for more information (Source Constitutional Council (Decision No. 2018-747 QPC))…
News 4 Dec, 2018
We are delighted that Gerard McDermott QC is shortlisted by the Legal 500 in the Personal Injury / Clinical Negligence Silk of the Year category. Currently ranked as a Leading Silk in Tier 1, Gerard is described by Legal 500 as: “First class, superb on his feet, great at analysing problems” and “Renowned for personal injury work.” Gerard McDermott QC practises from Outer Temple Chambers in London and Manchester, with associated offices in Abu Dhabi and New York. His main areas of practice are Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Employment Law at all levels, acting for both Claimants and Defendants. The majority of his caseload involves catastrophic personal injury such as spinal cord injury and brain injury, and he has over thirty years’…
News 4 Dec, 2018
Alex Haines was invited by SanctionsAlert.com to speak on US sanctions and the EU Blocking Statute in a live webinar on 15 November 2018. The webinar, entitled The Blocking Statute: Protecting EU Companies From the Effects of Extra-Territorial Application of US Sanctions Against Iran was attended by a number of financial institutions. Other speakers at the webinar included Alina Nedea, Deputy Head of Restrictive Measures Unit, European Commission, and the Chair Anna Sayre, Legal Content Writer at SanctionsAlert.com. In this SanctionsAlert.com webinar, Alex and Alina discussed the vital elements of the EU Blocking Statute as well as how to best deal with the discrepancy between EU and US rules in order to stay compliant. The webinar covered the history of the…
News 3 Dec, 2018
The Global Arbitration Review (GAR) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) held an event in London this month to mark the launch of the new GAR-CIArb Seat Index – which is now live and ready to access. The launch, held at Reed Smith in London on 15 November, featured a panel discussion by CIArb’s Doug Jones, Lord Goldsmith QC and Professor Janet Walker of Outer Temple Chambers, who led work on the project, following an introduction by GAR’s publisher David Samuels. The index aims to provide one-page summaries of the favourableness of individual arbitral seats assessed against a range of standard criteria. In its first version, it covers six frequently used and well-established jurisdictions for arbitration: Hong Kong, London, New York,…
News 28 Nov, 2018
Tom Gibson appeared recently in a successful (and complicated) amputation claim, brought by a patient against her local hospital and her GPs. In 2008, the claimant (then in her 50s) required surgery at her local hospital to fix a fractured femur. The operation failed, with revision surgery being required just 20 days later. This led to a very long and unfortunate chain of events: four years later, in 2012, the claimant required her sixth knee operation, to attempt to reconstruct her extensor mechanism. After that operation she developed a wound infection. As her GPs failed to refer her back to hospital, she later required five further operations to attempt to eradicate the infection from her knee joint. The infection could…
News 28 Nov, 2018
David Russell QC Deputy Chair of STEP Worldwide, was invited to present The QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Faculty of Law 18th Annual W A Lee Equity Lecture last week in Queensland, Australia. The W A Lee Equity Lecture is held yearly in honour of foremost equity and trusts academic and author Honorary Professor W A ‘Tony’ Lee. Abstract As trusts are increasingly used as commercial and wealth management vehicles, they are becoming subject to regulation which is drafted without consideration of the specific needs of trusts and those connected with them. At the same time, there is an increasing disconnect between fiduciary principles and public behaviour in the political and corporate realms. During his lecture, David highlighted a number…
News 28 Nov, 2018
Oliver Powell and Saaman Pourghadiri have joined with Andrew Thornton-Dibb of McGuireWoods London LLP to examine how the use of legal professional privilege has developed during 2018 and, in particular, how the law impacts on the practice of conducting international investigations. Click here to read the article. Oliver is ranked in both Chambers and Partners (UK) and The Legal 500. He undertakes instructions that involve the regulation of business activity and commerce. His practice encompasses: asset forfeiture and civil recovery; bribery and corruption; commercial fraud; corporate investigations; financial wrongdoing; and sanctions. He is routinely instructed in matters with an international element, and usually cases involving allegations of dishonesty, sharp practice or breach of trust. He is a Barrister of the…
News 23 Nov, 2018
International Chambers of Commerce, Canada (ICC Canada) has announced new women leaders of its arbitration committee and held a dinner to honour leading arbitrator Marc Lalonde QC – who received praise from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among others. The committee said that it has appointed Tina Cicchetti as its first female chair and Janet Walker as vice-chair who will take over as chair after Cichetti’s two-year term ends, meaning the leadership will be female for the next four years. Barry Leon, an arbitrator at Arbitration Place and former Commercial Court judge in the British Virgin Islands who chaired ICC Canada from 2011 to 2014, describes Janet Walker, as an “energetic and thoughtful leader” who commands respect from many leading figures…
News 23 Nov, 2018
Claire van Overdijk has accepted an invitation to attend the Joint Conference European Commission / Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) on the “Cross-border Protection of Vulnerable Adults”, which will take place in Brussels, 5-7 December 2018. The Commission and the HCCH collaborate traditionally by organising a joint conference every three to four years on a subject promoting the Union policies in the global world of civil judicial cooperation. The European Union and all EU Member States are Members of HCCH. The joint conference gathers experts around the world to discuss and elaborate a topical policy subject, which this year is the cross-border protection of vulnerable adults. The joint conference will gather legal practitioners, judges, academics and government officials…
News 22 Nov, 2018
Oliver Powell and Jeremy Scott-Joynt were invited by the AMLP Forum, the financial crime and corruption association, to speak at its Annual Anti-Bribery and Corruption Forum in London. Oliver chaired a panel on ‘Investigations – evolving best practice and lessons learnt from latest anti-corruption enforcement cases on both sides of the Atlantic’. Fellow panel members included Gaon Hart, Global Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy, HSBC Group, and Cheryl Scarboro, Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Jeremy spoke on a panel concerning ‘Joint ventures & acquisitions – managing corruption risks in the context of fragility’. Fellow speakers included Jason Hungerford, Partner, Mayer Brown International & Co-Chair of the Tainted Assets Working Group, and Ed Wheatley, Sector Head of Ethics & Compliance, Johnson…
News 22 Nov, 2018
