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Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - November 2021

Published on 30 Nov 2021.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - July 2021

Published on 30 Oct 2021.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - October 2021

Published on 30 Oct 2021.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - August 2021

Published on 23 Aug 2021.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - May 2021

Published on 25 May 2021.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - April 2021

Published on 25 Apr 2021.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - March 2021

Published on 24 Mar 2021.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Publication

Going Green – staying on the right side of competition law

Published on 15 May 2023. By Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel and Leonia Chesterfield, Of Counsel

Environmental issues are high on the agenda for many consumers and businesses alike. They are also increasingly an area of focus for competition authorities around the world, including the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who are keen to ensure that competition law concerns do not unnecessarily prevent businesses from collaborating legitimately on environmental sustainability initiatives.

Profile

Kim Wright

Senior Associate

Perspective - Publication

Ransoms and Sanctions and Fines (oh my!)

Published on 04 Sep 2023. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Helen Monachan, Associate

Ransomware attacks are happening all the time. Just the other month, the Cl0p ransomware gang claimed responsibility for the exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability in the MOVEit Transfer tool.

Perspective - Publication

Ransoms and Sanctions and Fines (oh my!)

Published on 04 Sep 2023. By Richard Breavington, Partner and Helen Monachan, Associate

Ransomware attacks are happening all the time. Just the other month, the Cl0p ransomware gang claimed responsibility for the exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability in the MOVEit Transfer tool.

Perspective - Blog

Parliamentary 'wash up' – which Bills made it through?

Published on 31 May 2024. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Shahil Goodka, Trainee Solicitor

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that a General Election will take place on 4 July 2024. Parliament was then prorogued on 24 May 2024 which allowed a mere 2 days for 'wash up' - the process by which outstanding bills may be rushed through the parliamentary process.

Perspective - Blog

Look to the future: Trainees take on 2019

Published on 25 Jan 2019.

The trainees didn't fare too badly with their 2018 predictions. They doubted England's ability to make it past the group stages of the World Cup, but foresaw how Brexit would dominate the news agenda. They over-optimistically predicted the introduction of automated bundling, but came very close on the value of Bitcoin. Read on to see this year's predictions.

Perspective - Blog

Brexit - a legal analysis: IP rights

Published on 28 Jun 2016.

IP rights in the UK are all influenced and moulded to a greater or lesser degree by European law.

Perspective - Snapshot

Snapshots Spring 2024

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Perspective - Snapshot

Snapshots Winter 2023

Published on 12 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Perspective - Snapshot

Snapshots Autumn 2023

Published on 25 Oct 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Perspective - Snapshot

Snapshots Summer 2023

Published on 07 Jul 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Perspective - Snapshot

Snapshots Spring 2023

Published on 31 Mar 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Perspective - Snapshot

Snapshots Winter 2022

Published on 23 Dec 2022. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Perspective - Blog

The CAT's new approach: I can't afford a carriage (dispute)

Published on 02 Jun 2023. By Chris Ross, Partner and Leonia Chesterfield, Of Counsel

Since the collective proceedings regime in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) kicked off, a number of carriage disputes have arisen. So-called 'carriage disputes' arise when there are two or more competing proposed class representatives (PCRs) seeking certification (and therefore 'carriage') of overlapping class actions.

Press and Media

The Times recognises RPC among Best Law Firms 2024

Published on 30 Oct 2023.

International law firm, RPC, has been recognised by The Times in its Best Law Firms 2024 report, an annual ranking of the top 250 law firms in England and Wales.

Perspective - Publication

All is not (necessarily) lost: Crypto crime recovery

Published on 30 Jun 2022. By Adam Craggs, Partner

With over 2 million people in the UK now holding and using cryptocurrency, and the Chancellor announcing that a government backed non-fungible token ("NFT") is to be issued by the Royal Mint this summer, the market for crypto-assets is expected to continue to grow in the coming months and years; so much so that legislation is planned to implement a new regulatory regime for the crypto market.

Perspective - Blog

Major overhaul of UK telecoms regulation to go ahead by the end of December 2020

Published on 21 Sep 2020.

The UK still pushing ahead with implementing wide ranging European regulatory changes, but obligations for many "over the top" providers are likely to be postponed.

Perspective - Blog

Ginfringement: Success for M&S in the Court of Appeal in registered design spat with Aldi

Published on 15 Mar 2024. By Rory Graham, Associate and Georgia Davis, Of Counsel

M&S and Aldi's gin bottle battle over design rights has reached a conclusion (for now) as the Court of Appeal has unanimously upheld the IPEC's decision that Aldi's bottle infringed M&S' design.

Perspective - Blog

Clear as gin: M&S and Aldi take liquor bottle battle to the Court of Appeal

Published on 26 Jan 2024. By Rory Graham, Associate and Georgia Davis, Of Counsel

Intellectual property enthusiasts' favourite supermarket adversaries were back at loggerheads this week as M&S and Aldi appear before the Court of Appeal. The pair sought to thrash out a first instance decision handed down in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) regarding alleged infringement of M&S' registered design rights in a gin bottle.

Perspective - Blog

M&S v Aldi – lookalike claims lit up by design rights

Published on 24 Mar 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Harpreet Kaur, Associate

As lookalike products rise in prominence, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court's (IPEC) recent ruling that the sale and advertisement of Aldi's 'Infusionist' range of favoured gins infringed M&S's UK registered designs protecting the light-up bottles containing its 'Snow Globe' gin range (Marks and Spencer PLC v Aldi Stores Limited [2023] EWHC 178) highlights the utility of registered design rights in circumstances where other intellectual property rights (IPR) are often less able to provide protection.

Perspective - Blog

Lookalikes and passing off—bottle design get-up claim (Au Vodka)

Published on 07 Nov 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner and Samuel Coppard, Senior Associate

Currently there's significant activity in the lookalikes space. The Au Vodka claim (Au Vodka v NE10 Vodka [2022] EWHC 2371), which focuses on bottle design 'get-up', arrived in the courts for an interim injunction hearing in September 2022. Au Vodka's application was dismissed. The judgment shows that passing off—get-up claims based on shape can be challenging to bring, particularly at the interim stage, and prompts the question of whether it's possible to bring Cofemel and copyright into the lookalikes arena.

Perspective - Blog

Sky Kick Back! High Court finding of bad faith overturned by Court of Appeal in long-running Sky v Skykick saga

Published on 09 Aug 2021. By Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

On 26 July 2021, the Court of Appeal (CoA) handed down its much-anticipated decision in the latest instalment of the Sky v Skykick trade mark dispute.

Perspective - Blog

William Grant & Sons v Lidl: where to be-gin?

Published on 16 Jun 2021. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

On 25 May 2021, the Scottish Court of Session (SCOS) granted an interim interdict (akin to an interim injunction), which prevents Lidl from selling its own brand 'Hampstead gin' in Scottish stores, pending the outcome of the matter at trial.

Perspective - Snapshot

Copyright: Online platform operators’ liability for users illegally uploading copyright material

Published on 02 Nov 2020. By David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

C-682/18 Frank Peterson v Google LLC and others and C 683/18 Elsevier Inc. v Cyando AG EU:C:2020:586 – A-G opinion

Perspective - Blog

Landmark case sees trade mark specifications cut down on grounds of bad faith.

Published on 29 Apr 2020. By Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

Today, the High Court handed down judgment in Sky v SkyKick. The judgment follows the CJEU's 29 January 2020 decision, which answered various questions that the High Court had referred to it, back in June 2018.

Perspective - Blog

COVID-19 prompts changes to working arrangements for the Court of Justice of the European Union

Published on 09 Apr 2020. By Louise Morgan, Senior Associate

Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the CJEU announced, on 19 March 2020, that it will be temporarily changing its working arrangements.

Perspective - Blog

SRA fining powers – putting the SDT out of business?

Published on 29 Aug 2023. By Graham Reid, Partner and Tom Wild, Senior Associate

The SRA is on a mission to increase its powers to levy financial penalties. The last 12 months have seen a substantial increase in its fining powers, and a grant of unlimited fining powers in matters relating to financial crime and SLAPPs is imminent. The SRA has now dramatically upped the ante, seeking the power to levy unlimited fines in all cases of serious misconduct. With the Legal Services Board appearing supportive, the proposal has the potential profoundly to affect the enforcement of professional discipline within the profession.

Perspective - Blog

Enhanced Regulatory Supervision of Asset Managers in Europe – Greenwashing Risks

Published on 12 Jul 2023. By James Wickes, Partner and Nick Cumming, Associate

A common methodology has been developed by ESMA to allow national European regulators to share knowledge and experiences to facilitate convergence in how they supervise sustainability related disclosures.

Perspective - Blog

Costs recovered in the Small Claims Track from an unreasonable Litigant in Person

Published on 24 Jan 2023. By Rhian Howell, Partner & Head of Office, Bristol and Daniel Charity, Associate

Most (if not all) litigators will be familiar with the challenge of being on the other side of a claim brought by a litigant in person ("LiP"). The courts expect practitioners to be sensitive to their opponent's lack of legal expertise and familiarity with court rules, but judges have also been clear that they expect all parties – including LiPs – to follow the rules regardless of their legal representation.

Perspective - Blog

SRA issues Warning Notice on solicitors' involvement in SLAPPs

Published on 20 Dec 2022. By Graham Reid, Partner

SLAPPs (aka 'Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation') is a term coined in the USA. They are becoming the object of increasing concern over here too.

Perspective - Blog

Hong Kong – Claim pleading duty of care against auditor struck out for "putting the cart before the horse"

Published on 28 Oct 2022. By Antony Sassi, Managing Partner, Asia and David Smyth, Senior Consultant and Anson Lo, Associate

In Chan Kam Cheung v Ronnie K W Choi & Anor [2022] HKCFI 3028, a judge upheld a master's (judicial officer's) decision to strike out the plaintiff shareholder's action against the former auditors of the company.

Perspective - Blog

Solicitors Entitled to Insurance Cover for Liability for Fees: Royal Sun Alliance Insurance Limited & Others v Tughans (a firm)

Published on 27 Oct 2022. By Nick Bird, Partner and Cheryl Laird, Senior Associate (Scottish Qualified)

In a recent judgment, Foxton J held that a claim for damages against a firm of solicitors for fees which it was contractually entitled to was covered under the firm's professional indemnity insurance. He held that it did not matter if the fees were obtained through the solicitor's fraudulent misrepresentation provided that the solicitor had done what was required under the contract to earn the fees. The decision will not be welcomed by insurers.

Perspective - Blog

Shorter time limit for Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 claims

Published on 08 Sep 2022. By Robert Morris, Partner

A recent judgment has reduced the limitation period for third parties to make direct claims against insurers under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 when compared to claims under the predecessor 1930 Act. The decision will make it easier for insurers to defend such claims on limitation grounds.

Perspective - Blog

Risky Business: what to do when former clients ask further questions

Published on 22 Aug 2022. By Anna Murley, Senior Associate and Claire Revell, Partner

In Spire Property Development LLP & Anor v Withers LLP [2022] EWCA Civ 970, the Court of Appeal considered the scope of a solicitor's duty when a former client posed questions to a solicitor concerning a transaction after the retainer had ended. The judgment will be of interest to solicitors who are asked for advice in circumstances where no retainer exists.

Perspective - Publication

The Professional Negligence Law Review, Edition 5

Published on 29 Jul 2022. By Nick Bird, Partner

The Professional Negligence Law Review provides an indispensable global overview of the law and practice of professional liability and regulation. It covers the fundamental principles of professional negligence law in each jurisdiction, including obligations, fora, dispute resolution mechanisms, remedies and time bars. The authors then review factors specific to the main professions and conclude with an outline of recent developments and issues to look out for in the year ahead.

Perspective - Blog

Double warning for legal professionals: do not cut corners with disclosure

Published on 26 Jul 2022.

Further to a recent decision made by the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service, the Bar Standards Board has suspended a "top criminal silk" from practice on grounds of professional misconduct in respect of his failure to disclose material evidence during criminal proceedings in 2007. The decision, and the judgment made by the Court of Appeal in those proceedings, reiterates the importance of the ongoing obligation on legal professionals to give disclosure and comply with their duties to the court.

Perspective - Blog

Post COVID-19 UK: What Will the Professional Negligence Claims Landscape Look Like?

Published on 28 Jun 2022. By Cheryl Laird, Senior Associate (Scottish Qualified) and Will Sefton, Partner and Head of Professional and Financial Risks

The cost of living is at an all-time high, with interest rates increasing and inflation currently sitting at around 9%. The chances of a recession in the UK over the next two years have increased. It will come as no surprise that we expect the number of claims against law firms to rise as the economic downturn takes hold, as was the case in 2008 and recessions before it.

Perspective - Publication

Lawyers Covered - April 2022

Published on 28 Apr 2022.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Lawyers Liability & Regulatory Update, in which we look back over the last month at key developments affecting lawyers and the professional risks they face.

Perspective - Blog

Important Court of Appeal clarity on the operation of s1(4) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978

Published on 12 Apr 2022. By Rhian Howell, Partner & Head of Office, Bristol and Sam Kneebone, Senior Associate

A recent Court of Appeal decision (in which RPC acted for the successful barrister Appellant) provides important clarification on the operation of section 1(4) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 (“the Act”). Although the matter concerned a contribution claim by a solicitor against a barrister brought pursuant to the Act, the decision is of wider relevance/application for litigation practitioners and the Insurance market.

Perspective - Blog

The X-Client Files: who owns a solicitor's file

Published on 23 Feb 2022. By Claire Revell, Partner

It's a perennial headache for solicitors: what exactly am I supposed to do when a client asks me for 'their file'?

Perspective - Blog

Good faith does not go both ways

Published on 31 Jan 2022.

It is common knowledge that solicitors owe fiduciary duties to their clients but what about the other way around? Do clients owe a duty of good faith to their solicitors (as an implied term of the retainer)?

Perspective - Blog

FOS proposals to clear the back-log - attractive or not?

Published on 18 Oct 2021. By Cory Gilbert-Haworth, Associate and Rachael Healey, Partner

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has proposed a temporary approach to the classification of certain complaints in an attempt to alleviate their complaints backlog exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach could see firms looking to pro-actively resolve complaints before a defined cut off date before FOS reaches a decision so that the complaint is recorded separately and not as a "change in outcome" (i.e. where a complaint has been rejected by a business and upheld by FOS). The consultation was open for a short two-week period between 4 and 18 October 2021.

Perspective - Publication

The Professional Negligence Law Review, Edition 4

Published on 13 Aug 2021. By Nick Bird, Partner

This fourth edition of The Professional Negligence Law Review provides an indispensable overview of the law and practice of professional liability and regulation in 15 jurisdictions. The Professional Negligence Law Review contains information that is invaluable to the large number of firms, insurers, practitioners and other stakeholders who are concerned with the liability and regulatory issues of professionals across the globe. The variation in law and practice across the different jurisdictions is very noticeable and underlines the usefulness of a guide such as this.