Following a year of upheaval and challenges due to the pandemic, we look back at the outcomes achieved for our clients, the work of our litigation teams and the support given to our community and charities.

Thank you to the clients and friends we worked with this year. We wish you all the best in 2022.

 

 

Use the navigation above to jump to a section of our review.

 

 

Our clients’ successes

We worked on high-stakes litigation and secured outstanding results for our clients.

 

Juan Manuel Correa succeeded in legal action against the FIA following accident at Belgian Grand Prix

Stewarts successfully represented Formula 2 racing driver Juan Manuel Correa in his application for disclosure of a Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) accident report and footage. The legal proceedings follow a fatal accident at the Belgian Formula 2 Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on 31 August 2019. Juan Manuel sustained life-changing injuries in the accident, which tragically resulted in the death of his fellow driver, Anthoine Hubert.

Partner Chris Deacon  brought the request for disclosure of the details of the FIA’s accident investigation on Juan Manuel’s behalf.

Read more about the case here.

 

Landmark professional negligence suit brought by investors in film finance scheme

In November 2021, David Pickstone and James Le Gallais acted for the Claimants in the trial of the landmark £40 million professional negligence claim against Andrew Thornhill QC, a leading tax silk, by 110 investors in a film distribution business with Warner Brothers.

The promoters of the scheme encouraged investment on the basis of Mr Thornhill QC’s opinion that investors would receive tax breaks in accordance with UK legislation. HMRC held that the tax breaks were not available, resulting in substantial losses to investors. The judgment will shed light on the circumstances in which barristers and other professionals can owe duties to those who have not directly instructed them. This case was covered in The Lawyer.

 

Favourable costs judgment following first fully virtual trial in the Commercial Court

In mid-March 2020, as lockdown restrictions were first introduced in the UK, Stewarts was involved in the first fully virtual trial in the UK Commercial Court. On 19 March 2020, the trial of National Bank of Kazakhstan & Another v The Bank of New York Mellon & Ors was given permission to proceed virtually. Judgment was also delivered remotely, on 22 April 2020.

Following success for Stewarts’ clients, in March 2021 the court dismissed an application to set aside a Default Costs Certificate for $3.7m. Stewarts had applied for a default costs certificate in January. These proceedings were featured in The Lawyer in February.

Click here for more information on the judgment.

 

Stewarts acted in the largest trust case by value in Bermuda to date

The trial in Wong v Grand View, which ran from April to September 2021, was the latest in a long-running dispute over $20-25 billion of assets arising from the legacy of YC and YT Wang, two Taiwanese brothers who founded a multi-billion dollar business empire.

Due to the pandemic the trial took place remotely, with the judge in Bermuda, counsel in London and witnesses in Taipei. Stewarts’ team was led by James Price and Geoff Kertesz. Judgment is expected in the first half of 2022, with an appeal in a related set of proceedings listed to be heard by the Privy Council in March 2022.

 

Stanford International Bank v HSBC Plc

Stewarts is acting for the liquidators of Stanford International Bank (‘SIB’), an offshore Antiguan bank at the centre of a multi-billion dollar Ponzi fraud. SIB has brought a claim for £120m against HSBC in negligence. The dispute has been hard fought over three years with significant interlocutory applications by HSBC seeking to strike out SIB’s claims. This has resulted in a Court of Appeal hearing and an upcoming Supreme Court hearing in January 2022 to consider whether SIB has suffered the loss it claims.

 

£2m settlement following failure by paramedics to immobilise spine

Stewarts acted for CF, a 60-year-old female, in a clinical negligence claim regarding a failure by paramedics to immobilise her spine, which resulted in incomplete paraplegia. Stewart Young, a senior associate in the clinical negligence team, conducted her case. Following a second joint settlement meeting in March 2021, a settlement of £2m was agreed. This damages award will enable CF to move to a single-level house and obtain the care and therapy she needs for the rest of her life.

Read the case study here.

 

Court proceedings brought against Boeing following Pegasus Airlines flight that overran the runway on landing in Istanbul

Stewarts’ Aviation team commenced proceedings in Chicago relating to Pegasus Airlines Flight PC2193, which overran the runway landing at Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, Turkey in February 2020. Our team commenced court proceedings in Chicago, Illinois, against the aircraft manufacturer.

Learn more here.

 

Child abduction case with proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic

A family was stranded in Brazil by the double blow of the Covid-19 pandemic and the British government placing Brazil on its travel red list. Each of the parents then brought court proceedings, including filing for divorce and interim orders regarding the children.

Jenny Bowden and Toby Atkinson of Stewarts acted for the applicant father.

Read more here.

 

Soldier agreed settlement following burns accident while serving in the Army

Warren Maxwell represented ABX in a claim arising from an accident that happened while they were a serving soldier. A joint settlement meeting held remotely in March 2021 due to the Covid-19 lockdown resulted in a successful outcome, with the defendant agreeing to pay a significant sum in damages to ABX.

More details can be found here.

 

 

Stewarts Litigate

In November 2021, Stewarts launched a ground-breaking after the event (ATE) insurance facility with Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited. ‘Stewarts Litigate’ is designed to work alongside our alternative funding agreements. The facility provides our commercial disputes clients with rapid access to comprehensive ATE insurance at pre-agreed market leading rates. The facility can provide coverage of up to £4 million in three business days and up to £18 million within ten business days.

Stewarts Litigate - ATE facility

This communication has been authorised by Arthur J Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited for the purpose of s21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

 

 

Stewarts in the media

Our people have been featured in the press throughout 2021.

 

  • The Divorce and Family team has been quoted extensively on the spike in divorce enquiries through 2020 and 2021. Sarah Havers spoke to City AM regarding the soaring number of people seeking divorce-related advice.
  • Alex Jay, Head of Insolvency and Asset Recovery appeared on Sky News recently to discuss the wind-up petition that Liberty Commodities was at the time facing from Citigroup.

  • On the eve of Covid-19 restrictions on office working being lifted, Joseph Lappin spoke to The Telegraph about attitudes to remote working.
  • Law360 interviewed Head of Commercial Litigation Clive Zietman asking his opinion on issues within the litigation world, from the pandemic to the impact of technology and the current complexities in fraud cases.
  • With the link between football and dementia in the news, Sports Disputes Lawyer Barrington Atkins said in an article in the i paper that further change is needed to protect outfield players, past, present and future.
  • In the wake of the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, Chris Deacon spoke to The Times, Los Angeles Times and Variety about safety standards on film sets.
  • Following the landmark ruling in Lloyd v Google, a judgment with significant ramifications for collective redress for data protection breaches, Head of Media Disputes Emily Cox was quoted in the BBC, The Guardian and The Times on the significance of the decision.

 

 

Our achievements

Stewarts, its partners and lawyers were recognised for their excellence in a series of high-profile awards and directories listings.

 

 

 

Our people

Stewarts aims to recruit and retain the best staff at all levels of the firm. This year we made some key lateral hires and promoted from within.

 

Stewarts new Partners 2021

 

 

Our events

In light of the ongoing pandemic, we hosted both in-person and virtual events with great success.

 

  • A group of industry-leading professionals, including Stewarts, formed the ‘Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery’ network (‘CFAAR’). The network aims to develop best practice for dealing with international cryptocurrency dispute resolution while establishing the UK and common law jurisdictions as the go-to arenas for crypto and fraud and asset recovery resolution. The organisation hosted an in-person launch event in London in October 2021.
  • The Stewarts Soundbites series continued through 2021, with more than 30 bite-sized sessions hosted by our specialist lawyers alongside expert guest speakers. Click here to view the recordings or listen to the episodes as podcasts.

 

 

Supporting our community 

Social responsibility is embedded in the ethos of the firm. We see it as an opportunity to contribute to the wider community and enrich the lives of our staff.

 

  • In 2021 the partners of Stewarts donated £830k to the Stewarts Foundation to support its chosen causes. The Stewarts Foundation was set up in 2010 to formalise and manage the firm’s charitable giving. To date, the Foundation has donated just under £7m to well over 200 charities.
  • We have recently launched a new health and wellbeing strategy at Stewarts, which for the first year will focus on three core areas: mental health, financial health and physical health. As part of this new strategy, we are partnering with BetterSpace, a corporate wellbeing marketplace, to allow our people to access hundreds of the best personalised wellbeing resources from websites to apps and from classes to books.
  • As part of our partnership with the Royal Academy of Arts’ RA Schools, two graduating students received prizes in the RA Schools Show 2020×21. Both students received prize money to help establish their careers after three years of study in the RA Schools postgraduate programme. The firm’s offices also hosted an exhibition of their work.
  • The firm partnered with coaching programme Future Frontiers to mentor sixth form pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thirteen volunteers from Stewarts provided six hours of one-to-one coaching each, assisting pupils from St Anne’s Catholic High School in Enfield and Central Foundation Girls’ School Sixth Form in Tower Hamlets.
  • Stewarts again participated in the London Legal Walk, joining the 8,500 walkers that helped raise money for supporting access to justice. The London Legal Walk 2021 raised over £635,000 to help fund free legal advice services.
  • The firm’s Inclusion Committee organised a range of initiatives to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, including a series of video interviews with high-profile, inspirational women from business, law and higher education.
  • In September, Stewarts welcomed LGBT rights activist Amal Fashanu for a webinar as part of Stewarts Celebrates Pride 2021.
  • To celebrate Black History Month, Stewarts’ Inclusion Committee hosted a Q&A session with I. Stephanie Boyce, President of the Law Society of England and Wales.
  • Jenny Duggan, a senior associate in the Divorce and Family team, spoke as part of a webinar organised by London-based charity Toynbee Hall, covering topics relevant for anyone entering into a co-parenting arrangement.

 

 

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