header-logo header-logo

25 November 2016 / Robin Barclay
Issue: 7724 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Commercial
printer mail-detail

The new normal

nlj_7724_barclay

A fresh legal paradigm has emerged in which criminal, regulatory & civil liabilities elide says Robin Barclay

  • Multi-jurisdictional, multi-party and multi-liability fraud cases represent the new normal.
  • A fresh legal paradigm has emerged in which criminal, regulatory and civil liabilities elide.

Commercial fraud is a broad and complex topic involving all areas of commercial life and many areas of law. With multi-jurisdictional, multi-party and multi-liability fraud cases representing the new normal for today’s business community, a fresh legal paradigm has emerged in which criminal, regulatory and civil liabilities elide. This article explores how the substantive rules in English criminal, regulatory and civil fraud have come to mesh with one another to form a unitary whole and why practitioners and clients alike are seeing a rapid need to find more holistic interlocking solutions to the questions these cases raise.

Criminal fraud: liability & punishment

Fraud prejudicial to the community is a crime according to different statutes and at common law. In the case of an individual it is punishable by imprisonment or non-custodial sentences

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