Covid and Ukraine sanctions feature in new litigation claims
Approximately 2,300 disputes have been brought to the Queen’s Bench and Chancery divisions in the first half of 2022.
This is a decline of almost 17% compared with the first 6 months of 2021. Our research suggests that of the 17% fall, roughly 7% is accounted for by a rise in the number of claims that are being kept private. This leaves an estimated 10% fall in High Court activity in 2022 YTD.
Russo-Ukrainian war-related sanctions have reared their head in the High Court this quarter, with law firms Herbert Smith Freehills, Holman Fenwick Willan, Kennedys, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and RPC (Reynolds Porter Chamberlain) all involved in aircraft proceedings.
Reviewing the litigation market based on new claim activity alone does not provide a full picture of the market, though it can provide interesting insights and be used as a proxy for market share and claim trends.
Top 15 law firms
Over 1,250 law firms have issued new claims since the start of the year – with Q2 seeing almost 500 more firms than in Q1. The top 15 law firms (by volume) account for 17% of 2022 claims issued YTD. In the same period last year, the top 15 law firms issued 22.5% of claims. This reflects an increasingly competitive UK litigation market.
Clyde & Co continues to be no.1 in volume of claims, having taken the lead at the start of the second quarter. They represent clients across a wide range of sectors, including Shipping & Maritime, Construction & Infrastructure and Banking & Finance.
Top performing defendant law firm in 2021, RPC comes out as the second top performing law firm in Q2. RPC is representing big four accountants EY which is facing a £2 billion negligence suit from the administrators of Gulf-based hospital group, NMC Health.
DAC Beachcroft LLP jumps six positions to fourth for this quarter, doubling the number of claims represented compared to last quarter, seeing growth predominantly in Construction & Infrastructure claims.
Magic circle giant, Clifford Chance continues to be one of the most active firms; they are defending 27 new phone hacking claims for News Group Newspapers Limited. Clifford Chance is also representing Sibanye Stillwater on a $1 billion Brazilian mine contract renunciation.
Kennedys Law has seen an increase in claims this quarter, notably, defending a Lloyd’s syndicate (with co-defendant AIG Europe SA represented by Holman Fenwick Willan), against a $3.5 billion all-risk claim brought by aircraft lessor AerCap, over aircraft lost in Russia. AerCap recorded a $2.7 billion net loss in the first three months of 2022 after 113 of its jets and 11 engines remained stuck in Russia as a result of war-related sanctions.
Pinsent Masons joins the top 15 best performing firms, who can thank the Construction & Infrastructure sector which account for 37% of their claims.
Top claimant law firms
Leigh Day charged ahead of the pack in claimant representation YTD, with 78% of their claims representing individuals affected by the ongoing diesel scandal within the automotive industry.
Hamlins are second, representing 100% of claimants in their recent activity including a number of copyright and design claims for the Performing Right Society Ltd and Phonographic Performance Ltd. In third place are Burlingtons Legal, with Clyde & Co fourth.
The majority of the claims represented by PGMBM relate to environmental pollution, in the main set around the diesel scandal within the automotive industry that continues to generate a plethora of new disputes.
Top defendant law firms
RPC maintain their leading position with a majority of their clients coming from the Technology, Media & Telecoms, Banking & Finance and Construction & Infrastructure sectors, including Mirror Group Newspapers, Unicredit Bank AG and McLaren Construction.
Clyde & Co have risen to second, as defendant representative in 33 claims. Top premier league football clubs, including Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool, are suing a group of insurers who are refusing to pay out business interruption losses suffered during the pandemic. Clyde & Co is acting for Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE in the dispute.
DAC Beachcroft remains in fourth position here.
Solomonic continues to monitor new activity daily. If you are interested in learning more about how you can utilise this intelligence in real-time, contact us at +44 (0)20 7205 2924 or info@solomonic.co.uk.
All data correct as of 12:00 5th Aug 22.
NB: Our analysis includes all publicly available Queen’s Bench and Chancery Division claims but currently excludes Insolvency & Companies List, Property, Trusts & Probate List, Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence cases and Queen’s Bench Appeals.