Frustration amongst creditors of struggling UK law firms continues to grow. Administrators of Challinors have concluded that the partnership's unsecured creditors, owed approximately £7.1m, are likely to receive nothing. Meanwhile the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has advised 141 firms that they must prepare to shut-down following their failure to obtain professional indemnity cover. These firms are currently in the middle of a 60 day cessation period during which they may remain in business, but cannot accept any new instructions. While some have blamed the
Even someone castaway on a tropical island (say Curacao) will have heard of the Young divorce case which has been played out in the international press. The financial hearing starts today and is expected to last for 4 weeks. In one corner is Scot Young who was worth £400m in 2006 but says that his finances took a sharp downturn and led to his bankruptcy in 2010. In the other corner is his estranged wife who has been trying for many years to uncover a true picture of her husband’s financial circumstances.
Judgment date: 28 June 2013
Solicitor struck off for disgraceful conduct unconnected to professional duties
M, a solicitor, was struck off the Roll of Solicitors by the Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal (the Tribunal) following a finding that he was guilty of disgraceful conduct.
In what seems to be an unrelenting trend, new figures released this month by the British Solicitors' Regulation Authority (SRA), have disclosed that 30 of the top-200 UK law firms are in serious financial difficulty and have entered into "intensive engagement" with the SRA. While no names were named, it was revealed that these firms were among a wider group of 400 UK firms that were under active management by the regulator.
In the recent English decision of Neumans LLP v Andronikou & Others, a company had unsuccessfully opposed a winding up petition and the question for the Court was whether the solicitors' costs in doing so were an expense of the administration. In considering this issue, the Court noted that there would have to be "some special reason, connected with the administration" to make the administrators pay fees in full as an expense when statutory provisions did not allow for solicitors to have priority over other creditors and those entitled to claim expenses.
A High Court Master has found that the court must maintain privilege in the documents of a dissolved company unless and until there is no prospect of the company being restored to the register: Addlesee v Dentons Europe LLP: [2018] EWHC 3010 (Ch).
Unlawful Means Conspiracy
Paul Muscutt, London restructuring partner at law firm Squire Patton Boggs, talks to Andrew Tate, former R3 President, Chair of R3’s Policy Group and Partner at accountancy firm Kreston Reeves LLP, about conflicts of interest in the restructuring and insolvency profession*.
In the recent case of Reynard v Fox, the High Court struck out a claim brought by a litigant in person and cited the recent Supreme Court decision in Barton v Wright Hassall.
The court rejected the claimant's submission that this would be unjust because as a litigant in person, he did not have a detailed knowledge of the insolvency regulations. It ruled that the relevant regulations were not hard to find, difficult to understand or ambiguous.
Background