News & Events
News & Events
A recent Employment Tribunal judgment found that two Uber drivers should be regarded as ‘workers’ under the relevant legislation and therefore were entitled to rights such as holiday pay and the minimum wage. Paul Livingston looks at the importance of this decision. This judgment, which included quotes from Shakespeare and Milton, is seen by many as an important step forward for the protection of those individuals working in the ‘gig economy’. Uber unsuccessfully tried to argue that it was merely a technology platform and that the drivers were therefore self-employed, something which the Tribunal regarded as “faintly ridiculous” and “a pure fiction”. However, contrary to various sources, the Tribunal did not find that the drivers were ‘employees’, but instead placed…
News 1 Nov, 2016
Michael Bowes QC, David Russell QC, Teresa Rosen Peacocke and Christophe Jolk participated in the New York State Bar Association’s Season Meeting in Paris last week (October 19-21). Chambers has a close association with the Chair of the NYSBA International Section, Neil Quartaro (Wilson, Farley and Williams LLP), through David Russell QC. This prestigious event took place on the Ile de la Cité, next to the Palais de Justice. It was attended by a high calibre group of lawyers from many different jurisdictions. David and Christophe participated in a panel which discussed the Common Reporting Standard and Automatic Exchange of Information, with particular reference to the wealth industry. This is highly topical across the world at present and its importance is reflected in some…
News 25 Oct, 2016
Patrick Sadd spoke at a recent meeting of the APIL Abuse SIG (13.10.2016) on two areas: Fostering: vicarious liability and non-delegable duties and on Consent as defence in cases of historical sexual abuse. Fostering With the case of NA v Nottingham County Council coming up for hearing in the Supreme Court in January 2017, Patrick reviewed the decision at first instance and in the Court of Appeal, analysing the courts’ bases in rejecting the Claimant’s arguments that the relationship between foster parents and a local authority was akin to an employee/employer relationship so as to impose vicarious liability on a local authority for abuse perpetrated by foster parents on children fostered in their care. He also considered the courts’ rejection of the…
News 21 Oct, 2016
Outer Temple Chambers is pleased to have been shortlisted for Employment Set of the year while Andrew Short QC has received a nomination for Employment Silk of the year. Our employment & discrimination team continues to reinforce its reputation as a major player in the sector, with an number of key appointments to the team in recent years. Andrew, together with Naomi Cunningham and Keira Gore, is counsel for the claimants in Brierley & others v Asda. This is the largest equal pay claim that the private sector has seen. Read more about Andrew and our Employment team or contact David Smith for further information. Winners of the awards will be listed on Monday 27th October.
News 20 Oct, 2016
David Russell QC of Outer Temple Chambers is due to speak at “Frontier Markets” conference in Dubai. This is a STEP Arabia event arranged to take place on 7th of November 2016. The session aims to explore the importance of asset holding matter. Therefore it will cover regional developments, taxation and regulatory updates in this space. The distinguished conference panel includes leading experts from the legal, accounting and wealth management industries. They are keen to advance the knowledge and education of professional advisers. Their outcome is also to identify together the most effective ways of managing gaps in law. Event organisers, STEP Arabia, announce that Ashish J.Thakkar, the Founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation, will open the discussions. Trinity Group…
News 19 Oct, 2016
The National Crime Agency estimates that billions of pounds of illicit wealth is laundered through the UK each year, that asset recovery levels are low and there are insufficient resources for law enforcement. In these circumstances, Transparency International has called for the introduction of Unexplained Wealth Orders to help the fight against corrupt money coming into the UK; the organisation held a breakfast briefing to address this on Tuesday, 27 September 2016, at Outer Temple Chambers. The briefing was provided by Eva Anderson, TI-UK Senior Legal Adviser, Robert Barrington, TI-UK Executive Director, James Maton, Partner at Cooley LLP, and Michael Bowes QC, Head of Outer Temple Chambers and Trustee of TI-UK. During the lively and informative session, the four panellists…
News 19 Oct, 2016
Robert Rhodes QC of Outer Temple Chambers, who is often a keynote speaker at ADR conferences in China and Hong Kong, has this time been invited by the Asian Mediation Association to present at the 4th Asian Mediation Conference. The theme of the event, taking place on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st October in Beijing, is “New Global Trend of Mediation – Similarities and Differences”. Robert, the only English barrister speaking at the conference, will be part of two different panels on both days. These will explore subjects as “International Trend of On-line Dispute Resolution” and “How Do Mediation and Arbitration Play Their Respective Roles in Resolving Disputes Arising from Foreign Commerce?” Other discussions over the two days will be…
News 19 Oct, 2016
Michael Bowes QC is to co-chair an international Panel on Anti-Corruption on 21st October. He will be speaking on “The use of DPA’s and what effect they have on the double jeopardy/ne bis in idem principle”. On the same day, Outer Temple Chambers’ David Russell QC and Christophe Jolk are part of a panel to discuss the importance of Common Reporting Standards for wealth owners and the wealth management industry. The session on 21st October, which is part of a three-day event, will explore the global anti-corruption legal regime and recent developments in the FCPA, the Bribery Act and other important pieces of national legislation. This year’s NYSBA Seasonal Meeting will be held at the Saint James Albany Hotel in…
News 13 Oct, 2016
Paul Livingston and Emily Gordon Walker recently gave a talk to several solicitors’ firms on what Brexit might mean for employment lawyers. Their informative talk provoked discussions on a number of items including: A reminder of the impact that EU law has on current employment law at present; A summary of how EU law currently applies and how this would change after Brexit; An analysis of the political background and how this might affect future changes; Paul and Emily’s predictions on areas most and least likely to change, including a look at: discrimination; family-friendly rights; agency, part-time and fixed-term workers; working time; TUPE; collective rights; bankers bonuses; and Other obstacles and opportunities that might arise for employment lawyers, including the…
News 12 Oct, 2016
David Russell QC co-writes an article for Trusts & Trustees, through which he thoroughly discusses the importance of the Supreme Court’s decision in Patel v Mirza. The co-authors, David Russell QC and Toby Graham, suggest that “apart from the implications of the decision in relation to the law”, its importance is also given by the influence of: the writings of academic commentators; the courts decisions in other common law jurisdictions; the European Community law; and the recommendations and reports of the Law Commission. Click here to read the full article.
News 12 Oct, 2016
Outer Temple Chambers currently operates in the Middle East and the USA and in various other parts of the world. Outer Temple Chambers has now set up a BSB regulated entity, Outer Temple International, to provide solicitor services on international casework. Some of that work comes through local and international law firms and some comes direct from individual and commercial clients. Outer Temple International (OTI) will therefore fill the current gap in the market and provide a streamlined legal service for our international clients. With the establishment of OTI, any work requiring solicitor services will now be referred to OTI which will then seek to instruct barristers from Outer Temple Chambers in the first instance. Michael Bowes QC, joint head…
News 7 Oct, 2016
The Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2016 is expected to take place on Saturday, 15th October, at the Westminster Plaza hotel, London. It will focus on “Raising the Bar: Innovation and global opportunity for a forward thinking profession”. The event brings together many members of the Bar community and offers them the opportunity to learn more about specialist areas of practice. A number of the programmes also emphasise the opportunities available to barristers internationally. Gerard McDermott QC will be chairing the conference this year, which is expected to be both informative and topical. Please click here to learn more about Gerard’s activity. Practical information and much more about the 2016 Bar Conference can be accessed here.
News 6 Oct, 2016
