Business & Commercial Disputes

Business & Commercial Disputes

Business & Commercial Disputes

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Overview

Clients across the globe turn to us for guidance on navigating their complex business disputes when their commercial and reputational interests are at stake. Our lawyers offer clear, concise and efficient advice on the full range of commercial claims that enable our clients to gain the best result. We focus on carrying out our clients’ business objectives as effectively and efficiently as possible, whether that means trying a dispute to a final decision in an arbitration or in court or crafting and executing litigation strategies designed to leverage a commercial resolution.

We are a leading disputes practice, representing corporates, financial institutions, and governments in complex commercial litigation in the Courts and Tribunals. We have a proven track record of advising domestic and multinational companies across a broad range of sectors, including banking and financial services, food and agribusiness, manufacturing, retail, digital services and technology, energy, health care and life sciences, sports, media and entertainment, and hospitality. While we are geographically diverse, we are also “one firm” and assemble teams of lawyers with the skills and background needed to tackle our clients’ issues – across the globe.

We also have a strong record in the United States of resolving disputes through dispositive motion practice and, globally, through alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and other pre-trial strategies. Our experience, combined with the use of cutting-edge technology and an understanding of large-scale data, translate to positive and cost-effective results for our clients.

Our lawyers successfully advocate for our clients in and out of the courtroom and are skilled at managing complex cases. We try (and win) trials before the judiciary, juries, and other administrative/regulatory bodies.  

We also have a strong record in the United States of resolving disputes through dispositive motion practice and, globally, through alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and other pre-trial strategies. We also advise our clients on how to resolve business issues without recourse to litigation. Our experience, combined with the use of cutting-edge technology and an understanding of large-scale data, translate to positive and cost-effective results for our clients. 

600+

Number of commercial disputes lawyers across the globe

20+

Number of lawyers with Higher Rights of Audience

8+

Number of fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers in our U.S. trial teams. As well as several former assistant United States attorneys and numerous former district, circuit and U.S. Supreme Court clerks.

[BCLP] leaves clients feeling very happy with the overall level of service; its well-resourced team quickly grasps the key issues and its commercial approach adds value to litigation

Legal 500 UK

Using Data and Technology 

At BCLP, the imperative to innovate arises from our deep commitment to client service. We know our clients must operate with nimbleness and strength in an ever more challenging marketplace, and we expect the same of ourselves. Modern litigation requires an understanding of relevant technologies and the ability to manage large-scale data.  We are experienced in both of these areas and with the legal requirements for data preservation and production as well as how to use data strategically to enhance case results and hold down costs.

Using Data and Technology 

At BCLP, the imperative to innovate arises from our deep commitment to client service. We know our clients must operate with nimbleness and strength in an ever more challenging marketplace, and we expect the same of ourselves. Modern litigation requires an understanding of relevant technologies and the ability to manage large-scale data.  We are experienced in both of these areas and with the legal requirements for data preservation and production as well as how to use data strategically to enhance case results and hold down costs.

The team’s obvious expertise in the process and their willingness to stand behind its effectiveness which convinced us. The time and cost savings were hugely beneficial, but the real benefit was the confidence the process gave us that we had identified the appropriate documents from a huge amount of data and electronic communication. The win in the High Court is the ultimate measure of success for us.

Group Legal Director, FTSE 250 company

Robert J. Hoffman

Partner and Co-Global Practice Group Leader - Business and Commercial Disputes, Kansas City / Los Angeles

+1 816 374 3229

Graham Shear

EMEA Regional Leader – Litigations & Investigations and Co-Global Practice Group Leader – Business and Commercial Disputes, London

+44 (0) 20 3400 4191

Robert J. Hoffman

Partner and Co-Global Practice Group Leader - Business and Commercial Disputes, Kansas City / Los Angeles

+1 816 374 3229

Graham Shear

EMEA Regional Leader – Litigations & Investigations and Co-Global Practice Group Leader – Business and Commercial Disputes, London

+44 (0) 20 3400 4191

Meet The Team

Robert J. Hoffman

Partner and Co-Global Practice Group Leader - Business and Commercial Disputes, Kansas City / Los Angeles

+1 816 374 3229

Graham Shear

EMEA Regional Leader – Litigations & Investigations and Co-Global Practice Group Leader – Business and Commercial Disputes, London

+44 (0) 20 3400 4191

Experience

  • Defending global provider of crop inputs and services in personal injury cases nationwide, including chemical exposure and catastrophic personal injury claims.
  • Acting for Legal and General (L&G), in a ground-breaking claim against Glencore. We are bringing novel claims under section 90A and Schedule 10A to FSMA 2000. L&G’s claims are being case managed together with claims brought by various major asset managers and institutional investors.  This group litigation, valued at around £1 billion, is at the forefront of securities actions in this jurisdiction.
  • Successfully defended a billion-dollar lawsuit filed against Leprino Foods Company and its majority shareholders, including Chairman and CEO James G. Leprino, ending nearly two and a half years of litigation. 
  • Acting for Tata Consultancy Services in relation to a dispute concerning a high value, long term outsourcing agreement with the Disclosure and Barring Service. Having been featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2023 and tipped to be one of the biggest IT trials of recent years.  A judgment is expected in the first half of 2024.
  • Obtained a significant victory for McLear & Co., a technology startup that designs and manufactures electronic smart rings, including payment rings, in a three-week trade secrets jury trial in the Northern District of California. McLear asserted three claims against a former officer and her company stole McLear's patent for the smart rings and then claimed they had the exclusive right to sell these rings in the U.S.
  • Acting for EE Limited in ongoing litigation against Virgin Mobile.  This high-profile dispute centres around the interpretation of exclusivity provisions concerning the migration of existing, and addition of 5G customers by Virgin Mobile.
  • Acting as lead trial and appellate counsel for Lumen Technologies in connection with various municipal license tax matters throughout the State of Missouri.
  • Acting for Playtech in a high-value contractual dispute with Caliplay SA. This hard-fought dispute has developed into a multi-jurisdictional engagement requiring us to provide urgent strategic advice and muster forces in Mexico to keep the claim in England alive at the same time as conducting the claim in England.
  • Defended global specialty pharmaceutical market-leader Mallinckrodt LLC and its subsidiary SpecGx LLC in an action for alleged trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Genus Lifesciences Inc. in connection with Genus’s local anesthetic drug Goprelto. 
  • Acting for the Asturion Fondation – a foundation established to hold assets on behalf of the Saudi royal family – in highly contested proceedings for the recovery of an ultra-high value property portfolio including property in London. The case was identified by The Lawyer as one of their Top 20 cases for 2023 and the trial took place in October 2023.
  • Representing a global leader in the food & beverages industry in a multimillion claim involving antitrust, trade secret, business interference, breach of contract, and promissory estoppel in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
  • Defended seller against claims of fraud, indemnification, breach of reps and warranties, and various investigations by U.S. Attorney’s office and various regulatory agencies in connection with a $550 million sale of a healthcare business; all contemplated charges were dropped and civil claims were settled for an amount below the funds remaining in the escrow account.

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A recent government report has highlighted solicitors as one of the occupations most exposed to AI applications. BCLP’s 2023 Arbitration Survey found that 37% of practitioners are already using AI tools for tasks such as document translations but also, 24% are using AI for document analysis. These reports are amongst a number of reports and surveys which are heralding the growing presence of generative AI within the legal sector. The way in which the legal sector is embracing generative AI is unsurprising for those at BCLP—as a firm, we have been an early adopter and strong proponent of using AI, as discussed in the recent Q&A blog with our in-house Forensic Technology team. In this blog, we explore the changing litigation landscape in the face of the rapid improvements to generative AI, and the strategic advantages and the potential benefits that businesses might gain should their legal advisors pursue associated opportunities.
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In the first certification decision since the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in PACCAR, the CAT has held that a litigation funding agreement (LFA) revised in light of PACCAR was not a damages-based agreement (DBA) and it was therefore enforceable for the purposes of opt-out collective proceedings in the CAT. In its decision, the CAT found that it was permissible to include a provision in the LFA whereby the funder would be paid a percentage of awarded damages “only to the extent enforceable and permitted by applicable law”. In this blog, we consider the implications for litigation funding and collective proceedings in the CAT, both as a result of this decision and the government’s proposed amendment (Clause 126) to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
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