Urgent Action

Injunctions

Preserving Evidence and Assets in English Proceedings
In cases where a claimant believes that evidence may be destroyed or disposed of by a defendant in legal legal proceedings, interim relief is available to obtain court orders to preserve documentation and data at the very outset of legal proceedings

Judgment Debts

Enforcement of Court Orders

Business Debt Recovery and Collections
English Courts permit holders of foreign judgments enforce court orders in England to enable business debt collections and recover business debts

Court Orders

Enforcement of Court Orders

Court Takes Hard Line on Non-Cooperative Director
The court has the power to strike out a case unless the documents ordered by the court are produced. If the party feels the order is not justified they can apply for 'relief' from the order.

Enforcement of Judgments

Injunctions

Enforcement of the Undertaking as to Damages
Interim relief may be awarded, but at the risk presented by the undertaking as to damages, which is usually given to the court by the applicant as a condition of the court awarding the relief.

Contract Management

Contract Disputes

Impossibility of Performance – Inconsistent Obligations in Contracts in English Contract Law
There is nothing preventing a contracting party entering into two contracts which are impossible to perform when they are read together. The result may be that the contracting party is in repudiatory breach of one the contracts.

Court Orders

Obtaining Evidence

Inspection, Experiments and Samples of Property before Court Litigation
There are a number of avenues available to intending litigants to procure evidence prior to the commencement of proceedings. Court orders may be obtained to permit the inspection of property, take samples or carry out experiments on property.

Court Orders

Disputes & Litigation

Failures to Comply with Court Orders and Directions - Playing by the Rules
Courts have extensive powers of case management to regulate the conduct of legal proceedings. Here, we discuss what may be done to apply for relief against adverse case management orders.

Court Orders

Injunctions

Freezing Orders
English Courts may make an award of a freezing order in the event that there is a risk of dissipation of assets by a judgment debtor.

Court Orders

Disputes & Litigation

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in England
Judgment in a foreign jurisdiction may be used to recover against the assets of the defendant in England and in Europe. In depth discussion of the step required to enforce a foreign judgment in England.

Court Orders

Disputes & Litigation

Rights to Sue and Selecting Defendants to Sue in England
To commence legal proceedings in England, a claimant must identify the proper defendant to the proceedings. In cases involving a foreign defendant, selecting the proper defendant may present difficulty as different countries recognise legal personality in entities not recognised in England.

Judgment Debts

Debt Recovery

Recovery of Judgment Debts in England
There are a number of ways and means available to judgment creditors to recover judgment debts after successful legal proceedings.

Enforcement of Judgments

Intellectual Property Protection

Enforcement of Foreign Intellectual Property Rights in England
Intellectual property rights created in countries other than England may be able to be enforced in England, where infringement takes place within the jurisdiction.

Court Orders

Injunctions

Obtaining the Identity of Defendants in English Litigation
Simply because a claimant with a good claim cannot identify the actual defendant to sue is not left without recourse. A court has jurisdiction to order persons who have information that may lead to the identification of the defendant to disclose that the information. Accordingly, unidentified defendants? identities may be made the subject of disclosure by a court in England.

Managing Liability & Risk

Disputes & Litigation

Private International Law - Jurisdiction clauses and Choice of Law Clauses
In resolving disputes, choice of law clauses and jurisdiction clauses may play a key role in determining whether the dispute may be heard in England.

Damages and Compensation

Contract Disputes

Reducing Damages Awards: Mitigation of Loss in Contractual and Intellectual Property Claims
Litigants are obliged to take all reasonable steps to mitigate their loss suffered. Those that fail to do so are not entitled to recover the loss, and such sums are reduced from the damages payable the defendant. The principle applies regardless of the nature of the claim, including breach of contract and intellectual property rights claims.

Asset Management

Debt Recovery

Phoenix Companies, Insolvency Law and Recovery by Creditors
In certain circumstances, creditors may recover from Phoenix companies, including where management is the same and the phoenix company has not been administered in accordance with the Companies Act and Insolvency Act.

Unfair Dismissal

Obtaining Evidence

Employee Fraud - What to Watch Out For
Fraud from within company is difficult to detect and must be dealt with appropriately to avoid adverse claims by employees.

Contract Management

Contract Disputes

Agreeing Contracts and Avoiding Legal Ambiguity
Commercial contracts are serious documents and require an assessment of risk prior to deciding whether it is worthwhile avoiding taking legal advice.

Contract Management

Contract Disputes

Architects and Defective Drawings
A builder may be negligent when they ought to recognise defects in architects' drawings.

Judgment Debts

Legal Fees

Recovering Legal Fees and Court Costs from Third Parties in Litigation
This article discusses the prospect of recovering legal fees from persons who are not parties to the legal proceedings.

Setting up in Business

Business Structures

Partnership Law & Misleading Statements – Court Enforced Duties of Good Faith
In business relationships that involve a relationship of the utmost good faith such as partnerships, partners should be aware of their duties to avoid that disputes and consequent litigation.

Managing Liability & Risk

Disputes & Litigation

Briefing Note: Third Parties and Adverse Costs Orders
When third parties fund litigation, there is a significant risk that in the event of losing the fight that they will be ordered to pay the legal costs.

Contract Management

Contract Terms

Briefing Note - Use of Defined Terms in Commercial Contracts
CIP contracts rely on the meaning of the terms given to them by the parties and a 'battle of the forms' ensued in this case for an unanticipated result. COnfusion as to contractual terms should be avoided at all costs.

Contract Management

Contract Disputes

Limitations of Liability - Software Licence Agreements and Software Development Contracts - Part 10
In this tenth part of the series, our lawyers consider limitations of liability and how they might be applied in software development agreements.

Managing Liability & Risk

Contract Terms

White Hat Hacking and Computer Software Security
A consideration of the commercial risks and security issues arising from White Hat hacking, otherwise known as ethical hacking in the context of computer security and the role of software.

Unfair Dismissal

Employees' Rights

Settling Disputes - Agreements to Agree Unenforceable
A settlement agreement where a fundamental a material term was in essence an agreement to agree in the future rather than at the time of the contract was found to be unenforceable.

Urgent Action

Injunctions

Briefing Note - Obtaining Injunctions in UK High Court
Our commercial litigation solicitors discuss the process and considerations in obtaining urgent injunctions in commercial disputes.

Intellectual Property Rights

Copyright

Commercial Categories of Intellectual Property Rights Infringement
Although the law does not distinguish between commercial categories of infringement, it is useful to consider infringements in a commercial context.

Managing Liability & Risk

Obtaining Evidence

Emails, Digital Documents and Communications as Evidence in Commercial Litigation
A brief note on the uses of digital and electronic evidence in commercial litigation and disputes.

Contract Management

Damages & Compensation

Liquidated Damages Clauses and Penalties in Commercial Contracts
Carelessly liquidated damages clauses in contracts may be construed as contractual penalties and unenforceable.

Unpaid Invoices

Debt Recovery

Business and Commercial Debts and Statutory Interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998
Interest automatically accrues under recent legislation for late payment of business debts.

Judgment Debts

Damages & Compensation

Claiming Compensation in the UK – Assessment of Damages
Damages may be awarded for breach of contract under several heads in UK law. In this feature we discuss compensatory nature of damages.

Judgment Debts

Damages & Compensation

Obtaining Judgments in Foreign Currencies
The House of Lords has held that judgments are available to be calculated by reference to a foreign currency, provided the interests of justice are served.

Contract Management

Contract Disputes

Enforceability of Exclusion Clauses in UK Contracts
The application of exclusion of liability clauses in UK contract disputes.

Brand Protection

Domain Names

The ICANN Dispute Resolution Policy Application to Domain Names
The ICANN Dispute Resolution Policy applies to, amongst others .com domain names, and sets out the bases for recovering such domain names for use in bad faith.

Managing Liability & Risk

Obtaining Evidence

Pre-Claim Disclosure in Commercial Litigation
Pre-action disclosure is a court based procedure allowing a claimant to acquire documents and electronic evidence prior to the commencement of legal proceedings.

Mediation

Mediation

Role the of Alternative Dispute Resolution - Mediation in Commercial Disputes
In the introduction to "ADR and Commercial Disputes", Russell Caller, a solicitor with some 20 years experience, overviews and benefits of alternative dispute resolution over and above those of commercial litigation.