Charles Russell Speechlys features twice in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases for 2023
min readThe Lawyer has published today its Top 20 Cases for 2023. Two cases involving Charles Russell Speechlys are featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 with proceedings set to be heard in court during 2023. The list includes cases with the most significant sums in dispute, disputes involving high profile parties or issues as well as insolvencies that have caused a tumultuous fallout.
The cases involving Charles Russell Speechlys are as follows:
R (SFO) v Cook, Mason (formerly R v GPT (& others))
Two men accused of bribing Saudi officials to secure lucrative commercial contracts for the UK Government will once again face the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in a highly anticipated retrial.
The case concerns £9.7m of allegedly corrupt payments made between 2007 and 2012 to ensure military contracts were awarded to GPT Special Project Management, a now-defunct British subsidiary of European aerospace corporation Airbus, to carry out the UK Government’s commitment to install and maintain a communications network for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
Charles Russell Speechlys will act for the defendant, John Mason. The Charles Russell Speechlys team includes Partners Stewart Hey, Patrick Gearon, Caroline Greenwell and Abigail Rushton, Senior Associate.
Anthony John Wright and Geoffrey Paul Rowley as joint liquidators of BHS Group Limited v Dominic Chappell, Mark Chandler and Keith Smith
The joint liquidators of the BHS Group accuse the defendants of wrongfully allowing the BHS Group to continue trading when they knew or should have concluded there was no reasonable prospect that insolvent liquidation could be avoided, in circumstances where external lawyers and accountants continued to advise the Group on its restructuring plans.
The joint liquidators are seeking to recover £163m from the retailer’s former directors in one of 2023’s largest insolvency litigation set pieces.
The High Court will be required to consider how far directors can delegate their duties and rely on external advisors when managing companies with complex management structures, among other things.
Key issues in the case include the correct application of directors’ duties to a non-executive Chairman of a non-trading holding company in a large, complex retail group within the context of wrongful trading and misfeasance claims under s.212 and s.214 IA 1986
Charles Russell Speechlys will act for the fourth respondent, Keith Smith. The Charles Russell Speechlys team includes Partner, Manoj Vaghela, Claudine Morgan, Legal Director, Ben Moore, Senior Associate and Jack Sears, Trainee Solicitor.
Stewart Hey, Partner and Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice comments:
“Our team are proud to be instructed on some of the largest and most high-profile cases in 2023 - this is a significant recognition of the quality of our work and legal talent base across all levels of the team. Both cases showcase our ability to work seamlessly across office locations and jurisdictions”.
The full list of featured cases can be seen in The Lawyer here.
