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Arbitration: Cutting to the chase

Jonathan Speed and Claire Morel de Westgaver consider whether arbitration should do more to embrace summary judgment procedures ‘Recent developments suggest that the industry is preparing for a shift from litigation to arbitration as a mechanism to resolve financial disputes and derivatives disputes in particular.’ A criticism that is often levied at international arbitration is …
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Company: Papering over the corporate cracks

Paul Green examines recent case law on corporate liability ‘In the broadest sense, Chandler v Cape is a wake-up call that separate corporate entities are intended to be just that, rather than merely a vehicle by which risk can be compartmentalised.’For over 110 years, it has been an established legal principle that the acts and …
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Contract: Faith in the system

Alistair Maughan and Sarah Wells look at whether a duty of good faith can ever be implied into a contract? ‘English courts have long held that parties should have the freedom to contract in the way that they wish, and so have been reluctant to intervene and impose overriding obligations of good faith. However, two …
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Conduct: Independent thinking

Martin Meredith analyses a recent ECJ decision on the role of in-house lawyers ‘The ECJ reinforced the Akzo reasoning that a lawyer’s independence can be determined positively – by reference to professional obligations – but also negatively by reference to the absence of an employment relationship.’ The decision of Prezes Urzedu Komunikacji Elekronicnej & Republic …
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Jurisdiction: Rules of the road

Philippa Charles and Al Trent consider the vexed question of which law governs an arbitration agreement ‘The House of Lords made clear in Fiona Trust v Privalov [2007], an arbitration agreement is separable from its parent contract. It must be considered – in effect – as a separate contract.’ Arbitration practitioners will be aware that …
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Damages: Park life

David Sawtell looks at the calculation of Wrotham Park damages It is reasonable for the court to look at the eventual outcome and to consider whether or not that is a useful guide to what the parties would have thought at the time of their hypothetical bargain where there has been nothing like an actual …
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Negligence: Flight testing

David Robinson discusses a recent case on the ambit of a solicitor’s duties NIAL relied upon the fact that the limit of indemnity of Eversheds’ professional indemnity insurance greatly exceeded £3m and also that Eversheds had failed to explain the effect of either clause to NIAL before the retainer was signed. In Newcastle International Airport …
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Disclosure: Rolling the dice – the April 2013 eDisclosure conundrum

Garry Bernstein assesses the consequences of the Jackson reforms on eDisclosure The rule changes and the general judicial and political desire to reduce the cost of litigation are likely to be catalysts for the further rapid adoption of these and other eDisclosure technologies and methodologies.’ The eDisclosure process is set for a radical shake-up this …
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Costs: Measure for measure

Jeremy Glover reports on Henry v Mirror Group Newspapers If one party is unaware that the other party’s budget has been significantly exceeded, they are no longer on an equal footing, and the purpose of the cost management scheme is lost. With the reforms to the way costs in civil litigation are managed being introduced …
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Company: Dance of the corporate veil

Clare Arthurs and Alex Fox reflect on the Supreme Court judgment in Nutritek The Supreme Court clearly declined to extend the circumstances in which the corporate veil may be pierced. The corporate veil has been in the limelight of late. The Court of Appeal in VTB Capital v Nutritek International Corp [2012] kept it drawn …
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