The Post Office has appointed a law firm to assist it with the aftermath of a data breach this summer, in which contact details of 555 Horizon claimants were mistakenly released. DAC Beachcroft is advising the company in a pre-action dispute with claimants who took the Post Office to the High Court in 2016. In […]
The Post Office paid out a quarter of a billion pounds in legal fees in relation to the Horizon IT scandal, The Lawyer can reveal. A Freedom of Information request made by The Lawyer to the Post Office has revealed £256.9m was paid to 15 law firms and two barristers’ chambers between September 2014 and […]
With the Post Office Horizon inquiry set to continue throughout the year, Burges Salmon has been awarded a new contract for advice provided to the company. The contract is valued at £16m and lasts until May 2025. This is understood to be in addition to an existing contract worth £22.5m that the firm picked up […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has over 20 live investigations ongoing into solicitors and firms who worked on behalf of the Post Office or Royal Mail Group. In a statement released yesterday, the regulator said it is looking into a number of issues raised in debates about the Horizon scandal. Between 2000 and 2015, Post Office […]
Multiple firms have been involved in some way in the Post Office scandal, acting either for the company itself, the claimants or the UK Government. With the treatment of hundreds of sub-postmasters recognised as one of the UK’s greatest miscarriages of justice, any work tied to the scandal has the potential to become controversial. This […]
Yesterday (11 June) the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s investigation into the Post Office took a new turn as it filed a part 8 claim before the Business List of the High Court. The Lawyer understands the filing is an application for a section 44BB order from the Court, which orders an entity not regulated by the […]
Lord Grabiner KC, the former head of One Essex Court (OEC), and colleague Anthony de Garr Robinson KC are set to be quizzed in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry tomorrow. The two barristers, both long-time legal heavyweights, were instructed by Womble Bond Dickinson to defend the Post Office in the High Court group litigation […]
“I wonder at what point might I have gone to the chairman,” remarks an in-houser on the long-running scandal that has engulfed the Post Office. “Walking away from a highly paid role and painting a picture [of yourself] as a troublemaker takes a certain amount of courage. I wouldn’t be quick to criticise those who […]
Womble Bond Dickinson, which defended the Post Office in the high-profile group litigation brought by the sub-postmasters, is in line to receive £178,000 from its former client as it provides evidence to the Horizon inquiry. According to public documents, Womble Bond Dickinson entered into a contract worth £178,000 with the Post Office for the provision […]
It was the turn of the general counsels last week to give their perspective on the Post Office Horizon scandal. Here’s what they had to say about Womble Bond Dickinson, Linklaters and litigation funders. For live updates, check out our live blog. Funders react to Womble Bond’s plan to “stretch out the litigation process” Earlier […]
As lawyers prepare to take the hot seat over the coming months, The Lawyer’s blog will give live updates as they appear in the Post Office Horizon Inquiry.
“You might think you’re thinking your own thoughts. You’re not. You’re thinking your culture’s thoughts.” Jiddu Krishnamurti We need to talk about our culture’s thoughts. These have been called different things: the dominant world view; our metanarrative; the hegemonic paradigm. Whatever the terminology, it comes down to the prevailing way of thinking, the story we […]