header-logo header-logo

The calm before the storm

14 September 2012 / Eleanor Mumford-Smith , John Bramhall
Issue: 7529 / Categories: Features , Regulatory , Profession
printer mail-detail

Expect piggyback litigation in the wake of regulatory intervention warn John Bramhall & Eleanor Mumford-Smith

In a speech in 2005 in those halcyon days before the global financial crisis, Tony Blair (remember him?) described the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as being “hugely inhibiting of efficient business”. It was on the back of that sentiment that a light-touch regulatory regime took centre stage. However, the onset of the recession changed all that, as serious weaknesses in this approach to regulation were exposed. Regulators resolved to ensure transparency in the markets with a more interventionist approach, and a number of high-profile investigations have followed. Off the back of each new investigation, whether into PPI or CDS mis-selling, there has been a wave of litigation brought by disgruntled clients against financial institutions and related professionals.

LIBOR litigation

One of the most recent examples is the £290m fine imposed on Barclays for misconduct in relation to LIBOR, which has the potential to trigger a raft of litigation in the UK, as well

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

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll