United Kingdom

For companies engaged in the international trade of goods or services, the decision of the United Kingdom to exit from the European Union, creates uncertainty on many levels. Laying aside political effects, such as potential reconsideration of Scotland’s 2014 decision to remain in the U.K. (Scotland having overwhelmingly voted to stay in the U.K. during the Brexit referendum), the legal issues stemming from the Brexit decision are almost too numerous to mention.  But, for a U.S. company thinking through the implications of Brexit, resultant changes in treaty obligations, British law, and U.S. law are the major categories to monitor carefully.

Aaron Mann, a TMT commercial litigation partner, recently gave a presentation in London regarding the differences between litigating commercial disputes in the U.S. versus the UK.  The presentation was done in conjunction with Pinsent Masons, a global law firm with which Husch Blackwell has worked closely for a number of years.  Aaron joined Pinsent Masons partners Richard Twomey (commercial litigation) and Barry Vitou (corporate criminal defense) in the presentation for Pinsent Masons’ clients.

Discovery versus disclosure, the American Rule versus the English Rule, compensatory versus punitive damages, the two systems of litigation are similar at times and worlds apart at others.  This seminar gave the largely-British audience a glimpse of how commercial disputes are prosecuted in the U.S. and what that might mean for a foreign defendant who finds itself in a U.S. courtroom.