Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Smith, Vincent; Maton, Anthony; Campbell, Scott --- "England and Wales" [2010] ELECD 756; in Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan (eds), "The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law

Editor(s): Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448773

Section: Chapter 16

Section Title: England and Wales

Author(s): Smith, Vincent; Maton, Anthony; Campbell, Scott

Number of pages: 20

Extract:

16 England and Wales
Vincent Smith,1 Anthony Maton2 and
Scott Campbell3


Introduction
In the past two to three years in England and Wales significant strides have been taken
towards the formation of a nascent claimant's bar. This progress is attributable to a
number of important common law, regulatory, ethical and commercial developments
which have made it increasingly practical for both: (a) claimants (individual consumers
and businesses) to seek compensation for the losses they have sustained as a result of
anti-competitive practices; and (b) lawyers seeking to specialize in holding participants
in anti-competitive practices to account to practice. Within this context, a number of the
major developments in England and Wales are set out below.

1. How does a damages action get started?

a. Meeting clients and ethical restrictions

Overarching duties In England and Wales, a solicitor's conduct is governed by the
Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 (`Code of Conduct'). Rule 1 of the Code of Conduct
prescribes a core set of duties that a solicitor will be subject to in all circumstances. These
duties include a duty to uphold the rule of law and the administration of justice, to act


1
Vincent Smith is a former Partner with Hausfeld & Co LLP in London focusing on UK
and European claimant and complainant competition matters. He joined the firm from the
Office of Fair Trading (`OFT') where he was Senior Director for Competition and Director of its
Competition Enforcement Division from 2003. He led the OFT's ...