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Rich pickings (Pt I)

23 November 2012 / Louis Flannery KC
Issue: 7539 / Categories: Features , Commercial
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Louis Flannery analyses the latest saga in the oligarch wars taking place in the English courts

As a story, the case of Berezovsky v Abramovich had everything: sex; money; politics; power; mysterious deaths; shady deals in a top London hotel; corruption; and betrayal. As a legal battle, it also had everything: billions of dollars at stake; a massive trial, stretching over the best part of six months; stellar counsel, playing at the top of their game; legal fees said to have reached over £100m in total; a judge regarded as one of the best on the bench, and widely tipped for promotion; lying witnesses; and a good old-fashioned fight between two mightily rich men. Throw in a decent mix of legal issues and you have the dream court case.

Background: the end of Communism in Russia

The story really begins in the late 1980s and 1990s: a period of extraordinary upheaval in Russian history. During this period—as Russia ceased to be part of the Soviet Union—the political system, the centralised economy

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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