“No ethical leadership”: Law Society blasted over NDA guidance – Legal Futures

‘Law Society guidance on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) demonstrates an absence of “ethical leadership” and shows why the profession cannot be allowed to sort such issues on its own, a leading academic has claimed.’

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Legal Futures, 15th March 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Winstone v MGN- 39 Essex Chambers

‘In this article Richard Spearman QC discusses the issues raised in Winstone and Others v MGN Ltd [2019] EWHC (Ch) 265 in which he represented the defendant. The application arose in the Mirror Newspapers Hacking Litigation, and concerned the extent to which materials subject to legal professional privilege remained susceptible to protection after they had been pleaded by claimants.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 28th February 2019

Source: www.39essex.com

‘Unethical’ use of NDAs prompts consultation on laws to protect victims – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The government today indicated it will legislate to stop employers from using confidentiality clauses to intimidate victims of harassment into silence.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th March 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Defined penalties gives Pensions Regulator powers to protect defined benefit schemes – Doughty Street Chambers

Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd MP has announced that the government will introduce two new criminal offences to penalise the mismanagement of pension schemes.

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Doughty Street Chambers, 11th February 2019

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Lucy Bone on Confidentiality Clauses and Sexual Harassment – Littleton Chambers

‘Can an employer rely on a contractual confidentiality clause to prevent disclosure of allegations of harassment and discrimination? This was the question posed in Linklaters v. Mellish [2019] EWHC 177, heard by the High Court last week.’

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Littleton Chambers, 18th February 2019

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Linklaters’ “women in the workplace” dispute settled – Legal Futures

‘The legal dispute between City giant Linklaters and its former global business development director over his intention to discuss its “ongoing struggle… with women in the workplace” has ended.’

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Legal Futures, 19th February 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Confidentiality – Panopticon

‘Two recent decisions of the FTT on confidential information are of interest, one under FoIA, the other under the EIR, with a local authority being the public authority in both cases.’

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Panopticon, 7th February 2019

Source: panopticonblog.com

What is really being protected in the Linklaters case? – Legal Futures

‘The Linklaters v Mellish case has brought the issue of how law firms deal with sexual harassment, and how the courts deal with confidentiality, back into the spotlight.’

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Legal Futures, 7th February 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Magic circle firm wins gagging order over ‘struggle with women in workplace’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 6th, 2019 in confidentiality, injunctions, law firms, news, public interest, women by tracey

‘Magic circle firm Linklaters has secured an order barring its former director of business development from giving interviews about what was described in court as an “ongoing struggle with women in the workplace”.

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th February 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Home Office still using NHS patient data for immigration enforcement despite suggesting it would end practice – The Independent

‘The Home Office is obtaining patient data from the NHS and using it for immigration enforcement purposes, despite suggesting last year that this form of data-sharing would no longer take place. A report by the chief inspector of borders reveals immigration enforcement teams are using hospital records containing data on migrants with an outstanding debt to the NHS of £500 or more.’

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The Independent, 4th February 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Philip Green ends ‘gagging order’ legal action against Telegraph – The Guardian

‘Sir Philip Green and his business empire, Arcadia, have ended their legal claim against the Telegraph after the newspaper reported allegations of sexual and racial harassment against him.’

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The Guardian, 28th January 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Fraud case shows importance of internal investigations – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 15th, 2019 in confidentiality, contracts, database right, employment, fraud, news, privilege by tracey

‘A recent High Court case demonstrates that companies will usually need to carry out their own internal investigations before being able to successfully obtain certain court orders in cases of suspected employee fraud, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 14th January 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

UK Arbitration Act: Time for a revamp? – 4 New Square

‘Several countries have moved to amend their arbitration legislation, but the UK is yet to modernise its 1996 Arbitration Act, CDR explores what these provisions could look like and whether the market wants it.’

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4 New Square, 12th November 2018

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Legal Challenge Protects Our Confidential NHS Data Being Shared with Home Office – Rights Info

‘NHS Digital has confirmed its withdrawal from an agreement to give the Home Office access to confidential data for immigration enforcement, following a legal challenge by campaigners.’

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Rights Info, 12th November 2018

Source: rightsinfo.org

Security firm pays damages to anti-asbestos activists it spied on – The Guardian

‘A private security firm has been forced to pay damages to five anti-asbestos campaigners after they discovered it had spied on them. The firm, K2 Intelligence, paid an infiltrator for four years to masquerade as a sympathetic documentary-maker to obtain confidential information about leading activists in the worldwide campaign to ban asbestos.’

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The Guardian, 8th November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Essex PC guilty of gross misconduct after searches – BBC News

‘A police officer who used force systems to make “multiple” searches of three people has been found guilty of gross misconduct.’

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BBC News, 3rd October 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Merits relevant in granting interim injunction: Berry Recruitment Limited v Brooke Donovan [2018] EWHC 2280 (QB) – Blackstone Chambers

‘An interim injunction was granted to a recruitment consultant against a former employee. Since there was a possibility that the restrictive covenant in question might expire before a speedy trial could be heard, the Judge took into account the relative merits of the claim.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 1st October 2018

Source: www.employeecompetition.com

Philip Green and non-disclosure agreements: do we have a right to know? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The circumstances in which a court should prevent the press from reporting information about famous people has long provoked debate. The decision of the Court of Appeal in ABC & Ors v Telegraph Media Group Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2329 is no exception, attracting extensive press coverage and comment from the #MeToo movement.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th October 2018

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Why the judges got it wrong in granting Philip Green an injunction – The Guardian

‘The court of appeal failed to see the case from the point of view of victims of sexual harassment.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Vicarious liability for data breaches: Court of Appeal dismisses Morrisons’ challenge – Panopticon

‘Large-scale civil litigation is one of the developing contours of data protection law. Last week’s judgment in Lloyd v Google – a novel representative action based on allegedly unlawful processing activities – is one illustration. When it comes to group litigation on the back of a data breach, our best illustration thus far is the groundbreaking group action against Morrisons.’

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Panopticon, 22nd October 2018

Source: panopticonblog.com