LSLA
London Solicitors Litigation Association

November 2016

Dear Member

Welcome to this month’s LSLA newsletter informing you of our future events and reporting on some of our recent activities.

You might also have noticed that the Association has received excellent press coverage for its involvement in making sure members’ voices are heard on topical issues such as Brexit and court reforms…more below.

RECENT EVENTS

JLSLA – “Day of the Dead” Autumn Bash – 3 November 2016

In what proved to be a hugely successful evening, junior members of the association experienced the transformation of the Carousel Restaurant into a Day of the Dead fiesta featuring a creative modern menu with a Mexican twist created by ex-Moro Head Chef Ollie Templeton, and fatally fantastic Margaritas.  Dinner and drinks were served surrounded by the colour and chaos of the festival’s traditional ofrendas, marigolds and sugar skulls. 

Annual Dinner – 23 November 2016

Our best attended Annual Dinner since FW de Klerk was our speaker in 2011, this year’s dinner was not only popular but provided food for thought with Briggs LJ outlining future reforms to the civil court system and entertaining with Joshua Rozenberg recounting tales as a legal journalist.

Autumn/Winter Lecture Series

28 November 2016 – “‘Recent Developments in Banking Law (2016)”
Sonia Tolaney QC of One Essex Court spoke about recent developments in banking law, including class actions and case law in relation to financial instruments and transactions.

Brexit

Definitely a legal hot topic!  Brexit creates uncertainties that have the potential to damage London as a global centre for litigation if not proactively managed and addressed by the UK Government.  Naturally, other litigation hubs will seek to capitalise and, in a bid to attract work, highlight any challenges litigants in London may now face. 

On 15 November we circulated a note to members identifying the LSLA’s position in relation to the potential impact of Brexit on London as a litigation hub, and identifying some of the practical steps that members can take in the short to medium term when considering issues of jurisdiction, choice of law, service and enforcement.   

Our note also identifies the steps, which the LSLA urges the UK Government to take in its negotiations with the remaining EU Member States in relation to these issues.

In case you missed it, a further copy of the note is attached to this newsletter.  The note attracted some considerable press coverage (see below).

FUTURE EVENTS

Autumn/Winter Lecture Series

The series continues with lectures into 2017.

  • 14 December 2016 - “Lawyers’ duties to the Court and to opponents: lessons from the Nightjack saga”

    Timothy Dutton QC of Fountain Court Chambers will explore the duties of lawyers in the light of the case of Brett v SRA [2014] EWHC 2974 (Admin).  The lecture will be held in the Auditorium at Herbert Smith Freehills, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2EG.
     
  •  24 January 2017 - “Economic Crime - Making the company pay”

    Richard Lissack QC of Fountain Court Chambers will consider the current drive to make corporate liability in financial crime easier to prove.  The lecture will be held in the Auditorium at Hogan Lovells, Atlantic House, 50 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2FG.

The lectures will start at 6.00pm and will last approximately one hour, to include a period for questions at the end, and will be followed by drinks.

Attendance is not limited to LSLA members. Anyone can apply for tickets via the website – http://www.lsla.co.uk/events – or using the attached form and the lectures count for CPD purposes (the CPD reference will be on the confirmatory email sent a few days before the lecture). The cost is £20 per event or £70 for all four (non-members £25 or £90). Our lectures are usually sold out, so please apply early for tickets.

RECENT PRESS 

The LSLA has received the following press coverage:

https://www.solicitorsjournal.com/news/201611/briggs-lj-courts-service-not-nhs

https://www.newlawjournal.co.uk/content/litigator-s-concerns-brexit

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brexit-threat-to-courts-8clsgmzbc

http://nuk-tnl-deck-email.s3.amazonaws.com/11/5cb22b6ada9b860235e5e20975f23de3.html

https://www.ft.com/content/843be676-b347-11e6-a37c-f4a01f1b0fa1 )

Membership

 

The LSLA is delighted to announce that the Association now has over 2200 members, including 876 members of the JLSLA and 29 corporate member firms.  

Corporate membership can offer a real saving to firms.  Essentially, for £500 a firm with corporate membership can register an unlimited number of litigation solicitors working for it in London as members.  Please contact Chris Bushell at chris.bushell@hsf.com if you would like further information or to take out corporate membership.

Otherwise, you can join the LSLA by visiting our website at http://www.lsla.co.uk/.  If you are 8 years PQE or less you will automatically become a member of the JLSLA if you input your year of admission when completing your online membership application.

Online Payments for LSLA Events

When making payments for membership and our events we would kindly request that you quote the correct data to identify the matter to which the payment relates. Incorrect identification often occurs where a firm’s accounts team makes a payment to the LSLA as an existing payee, using old order data rather than updating the payment instruction to include the new order number.

Updating payment data to correctly reference the booking order number/s to which a payment relates would significantly ease the LSLA’s administrative burden. Thank you for your continued support and assistance.

LSLA WEBSITE 

Our website at http://www.lsla.co.uk/ includes: details of our forthcoming events, copies of the responses we have filed to recent consultations, recent articles and press citing members of the association, and past editions of the newsletter. 

You can also join the LSLA via our website as well as sign up for future events on it.

We hope that our website will prove a source of information for members.  Please let us know if you have any comments on it.

LIST OF SUPERVISING SOLICITORS 

The White Book refers to the LSLA maintaining details of individuals who might be able to act as supervising solicitors for the execution of Search Orders.  Our list continues to grow and is updated quarterly.  We invite those suitably qualified to provide us with their details, including relevant experience, for inclusion on the list. 

THE JUNIOR LSLA 

The JLSLA provides: 

  • Seminars designed to offer practical tips on procedural and substantive legal issues commonly faced by junior civil litigators in an interactive and relaxed atmosphere;
  • Networking events for members to meet and form contacts in their peer group; and
  • E-news on recent and future activity and key developments with the aim of ensuring that the junior perspective is reflected in the LSLA's responses to consultation papers. 

The JLSLA is aimed at solicitors of 8 years PQE and less.  Members of the LSLA will automatically become members of the JLSLA if they qualify by year of admission and complete the relevant section of the membership form.

The JSLA also has firm Champions, who act as the point of contact between the JLSLA committee and their firm.

If you are interested in joining the JLSLA or being the JLSLA Champion for your firm, please contact the JLSLA President, Leigh Callaway at lcallaway@fladgate.com.

The JLSLA can also be contacted via their LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Junior-London-Solicitors-Litigation-Association-4438638/about?trk=anet_ug_grppro.

PDF icon LSLA November 2016 Newsletter.pdf
PDF icon LSLA Response to Brexit (6).pdf
PDF icon LSLA All Lectures Autumn 201617 (11).pdf