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16 December 2010 / Jonathan Arr
Issue: 7446 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Damages , Costs
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How much will I get?

Jonathan Arr explores the complex world of set-off, currency conversion & exchange rates

“How much will I get if I win?” A question clients always ask. And a question—second only to “Do you think I’m going to win?”—lawyers always dread. The answer is always difficult because there are so many variables and the law is so complex: so the completeness of the evidence, the extent of mitigation, and even the judge’s gut instinct on the day, can all make a substantial difference to the outcome. The position is even more complicated when dealing in currencies other than sterling (as the English Court is increasingly willing to do): and when all of these issues are being dealt with in the context of equitable set-off, the problems are difficult enough to make even the most experienced lawyer weep with frustration.

Just such a confluence of the issues of damages and equitable set-off occurred in Fearns t/a Autopaint International v Anglo-Dutch Paint & Chemical

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

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Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

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Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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