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Unfamiliar territory

19 September 2013 / Eleanor Mumford-Smith , John Bramhall
Issue: 7576 / Categories: Features , Profession , Litigation trends
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John Bramhall & Eleanor Mumford-Smith delve into regulatory investigations, whistleblowing & bribery

The trend for increased regulatory investigations and follow-on criminal proceedings in both the US and UK has shown no sign of abating. With it has also come an eye-watering level of punitive sanction, with fines imposed in the hundreds of millions of pounds or dollars. The threat of financial and criminal penalties is always a great driver in changing business practices, and they do help to focus the business community’s collective mind. In turn, legal advisers have identified this need, and there is a noticeable trend towards firms bulking up expertise, as they ready themselves to meet an increasing demand for regulatory advice to steer them and their employees through unfamiliar waters.

Hold the front page

Regulatory investigations and prosecutions now dominate the broadsheet business sections in a way previously unheard of—energy market rigging, manipulation of LIBOR, and maybe next, ISDA fixing. In June 2013, the criminal investigations arising out of the alleged manipulation of LIBOR led to

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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
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
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
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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
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