header-logo header-logo

27 July 2017
Issue: 7756 / Categories: Case law , Law digest , In Court
printer mail-detail

Bankruptcy

Re Lemos; Leeds and another (in their capacity as the joint trustees in bankruptcy of the estate of Lemos) v Lemos and others [2017] EWHC 1825 (Ch), [2017] All ER (D) 157 (Jul)

The Crescent principle (that legal professional privilege of a predecessor in title enured to the benefit of his successor) had no application in the case of the passing of property to a trustee in bankruptcy. If the judge in Shlosberg v Avonwick Holdings Ltd [2016] All ER (D) 76 (May) had taken the view that privilege passed to a trustee in bankruptcy in respect of asset documents, then that decision had effectively been overruled by the later decision of the Court of Appeal in that case, and, insofar R e Konigsberg [1989] 3 All ER 289 had held that view concerning the application Crescent principle, it had been wrongly decided.

Further, privilege was a fundamental human right and the court had no jurisdiction to direct a bankrupt to waive privilege in any documents. So held the Chancery Division in dismissing, for the most part,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles
A legal challenge to police disclosure rules has failed, reinforcing a push for transparency in policing. In NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth examines a case where the Metropolitan Police required officers to declare membership of groups like the Freemasons
Bereavement leave is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation. Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves of York St John University explains how the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a day-one right to leave for a wider range of losses, alongside new provisions for pregnancy loss and bereaved partners
Courts are beginning to grapple with whether AI-generated material is legally privileged—and the answers are mixed. In this week's issue of NLJ, Stacie Bourton, Tom Whittaker & Beata Kolodziej of Burges Salmon examine US rulings showing how easily privilege can be lost
New guidance seeks to bring order to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Minesh Tanna and David Bridge of Simmons & Simmons set out a framework stressing ‘transparency’, ‘explainability’ and ‘reliability’
back-to-top-scroll