New Litigation Financing Fund Raises $130 Million in London IPO

It’s time to declare litigation financing a bona fide investment class.

On Friday, a new British fund called Burford Capital raised $130 million in an 80-million-share initial public offering on London’s junior exchange. It was the biggest-ever offering by a litigation financing fund–as we’ve previously reported, Juridica has raised about $100 million in two rounds of financing–and attracted interest from large, institutional investors. Invesco UK bought 45 percent of Burford’s shares; Fidelity International and Baillie Gifford each bought 10 percent.

via New Litigation Financing Fund Raises $130 Million in London IPO .

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HONG KONG: International arbitration comes home

Hong Kong is steadily gaining global recognition as an international arbitration centre for the Asia Pacific region, providing an ideal venue for speedy and reliable dispute solutions.

That’s a key message that Mr. Yan Lung Wong, Secretary of Justice of the Hong Kong SAR government, conveyed to federal Minister of Justice, Robert Nicholson, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and other senior judiciary, legal, business, academic figures and government officials during his three-day visit to Ottawa and Toronto last week.

via Ottawa Business Journal.

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In Blockbuster Ruling, Ala. Supreme Court Overturns Pricing Fraud Verdicts Against Drug Companies

We were all set to write about another setback for AstraZeneca in the litigation over reimbursements based on average wholesale prices for pharmaceuticals — Thursday’s $14 million verdict against the company in a Medicaid drug pricing fraud case brought by the state of Kentucky — when we got news that completely shifts the momentum in the sprawling, multistate AWP litigation. The Supreme Court of Alabama, in a 44-page opinion that details the 30-year history of state and national drug pricing policy, ruled there was no basis for the state’s fraud claims against three drug companies appealing adverse jury verdicts. The ruling wipes out verdicts of $33 million against Novartis, $81 million against GlaxoSmithKline and $215 million (reduced post-trial to $160 million) against AstraZeneca. It also dismisses the state’s claims against the three companies.

via Law.com – In Blockbuster Ruling, Ala. Supreme Court Overturns Pricing Fraud Verdicts Against Drug Companies.

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Pa. Court Weighs In on E-Discovery

An electronic discovery request in a dispute over the authenticity of a classic car has prompted a rare opinion from a Pennsylvania court on the emerging issues surrounding the discovery of electronically stored files by litigants in a civil case.

In Brooks v. Frattaroli, PICS Case No. 09-1709 (C.P. Lebanon Oct. 5, 2009), Lebanon County Common Pleas Judge Bradford H. Charles granted the defendants’ motion for a protective order, ruling that the plaintiff’s discovery request to enter the defendant’s property to inspect and copy computer files was overly broad.

via Legal Technology – Pa. Court Weighs In on E-Discovery .

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The Am Law Litigation Daily — Oct. 16, 2009

ARBITRATION / INTERNATIONAL

White & Case Wins Corruption Case for Romania

A World Bank tribunal rejected claims by a U.K. company that it was denied a contract to provide duty-free services at Romanian airports because it refused to pay million of dollars in bribes.

via The Am Law Litigation Daily — Oct. 16, 2009.

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MPs call for one, simplified privacy law

The UK should have a new, simple privacy law to protect citizens both online and offline, a cross-party group of parliamentarians has recommended.

On Thursday, the All Party Parliamentary Communications Group apComms released the findings of an inquiry entitled Can we keep our hands off the net?.

via MPs call for one, simplified privacy law – ZDNet.co.uk.

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UK Firms Block Facebook Over Legal Fears

Over 50 percent of UK organisations block access to social media sites, because Facebook data could be required in legal eDisclosure requests

New research from an international law firm has shown that the majority of UK firms are now blocking access to social media websites such as Facebook, due to concerns that information from these sites is increasingly being demanded for regulatory investigations.

via UK Firms Block Facebook Over Legal Fears – News – eWeekEurope.co.uk.

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Former UK Information Commissioner Richard Thomas gets a new job :: PublicTechnology.net :: e-Government & public sector IT news + job vacancies:

Hunton & Williams’ Centre for Information Policy Leadership has announced that Richard Thomas CBE, the former UK Information Commissioner, will join the Centre as Strategy Adviser.

Richard Thomas was the UK’s Information Commissioner from November 2002 until his retirement at the end of June 2009. He was appointed by HM The Queen and held independent status, reporting directly to Parliament, on a range of regulatory, promotional and advisory responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and related laws. He also served as a member of the European Union’s Article 29 Working Party on Data Protection. Richard Thomas was awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for public service in June 2009.

via Former UK Information Commissioner Richard Thomas gets a new job :: PublicTechnology.net .

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Law.com – High Court Hands Former Enron CEO First Breakthrough in 8 Years,Lawyer Says

Daniel Petrocelli, a partner at OMelveny & Myers, has represented former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling since February 2004. But until Tuesday, Petrocelli had little good news for his now-imprisoned client.On Tuesday the Supreme Court handed Skilling his “first breakthrough in eight years of misery,” Petrocelli said Wednesday in an interview from his Century City, Calif., office. The justices agreed to hear his appeal, setting the stage for arguments early next year. Skilling is challenging the “honest services” fraud law under which he was convicted, and he also claims that the massive pretrial publicity and animosity toward him in Houston should have led a federal trial judge to say yes to his 2004 request for a change of venue.

via Law.com – High Court Hands Former Enron CEO First Breakthrough in 8 Years,Lawyer Says.

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Fulbright & Jaworski 2009 Litigation Trends Survey: U.S. Companies Experiencing New Litigation Wave, Anticipate More To Come | Reuters

Companies are seeing a litigation wave that corporate counsel expect to swell in
the coming year, according to respondents of the 2009 Fulbright & Jaworski
L.L.P. Litigation Trends Survey.

Corporate counsel say they are steeling themselves for a big year of litigation
with 42% of U.S. respondents anticipating an increase in legal disputes their
companies will face in the next 12 months. That is up from 34% of last year`s
respondents. The expectation comes during a year when 83% of U.S. respondents
reported that new litigation has been commenced against their companies in the
past year, up from 79% last year.

Fulbright & Jaworski 2009 Litigation Trends Survey: U.S. Companies Experiencing New Litigation Wave, Anticipate More To Come | Reuters .

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