The Legal 500

Russell Jones & Walker

80-86 GRAY'S INN ROAD, LONDON, WC1X 8NH, ENGLAND
Tel:
Work 020 7837 2808
Fax:
Fax 020 7837 2941
DX:
403 LONDON/CHANCERY LN
Web:
www.rjw.co.uk
Email:

Winner of National Law Firm of the Year 2009 at The Lawyer Magazine Awards, Russell Jones & Walker is a leading national firm of solicitors with a network of offices across England and Wales, providing a wide range of legal services to institutions, trade unions, organisations and individuals.

The firm: Founded in the 1920s, Russell Jones & Walker, with its ten offices across England, Wales and Scotland (associate office), is unafraid to specialise in areas beyond its traditional scope. Its focus is to deliver exceptional, affordable legal services for individuals, membership organisations, unions and affinity groups, in their personal, employment and business affairs. New initiatives include: becoming the first law firm to have an accredited 24-hour contact centre; creating legal helplines to help members of affinity groups; developing the Executive Reps service, which provides a skilled companion for clients at workplace dispute resolution meetings; and launching services for clients to buy online (www.yourlegalrights.co.uk).

Types of work undertaken: Personal injury: the firm handles every type of compensation claim, from RTAs to asbestos cancer cases and medical negligence. It recently had great success with two product liability group actions – the UK’s largest, ‘toxic sofas’, and allegedly faulty Maclaren buggies.

Employment: this department is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading employment teams for claimants and has a reputation for helping to shape the employment law landscape through its work on landmark cases. Its practice is focused on empowering individuals in the workplace by protecting their rights and the rights of those who represent them.

Business crime and regulation: pre-eminent in this field, the team has significant experience of investigations and prosecutions in company compliance, FSA, health and safety, corporate manslaughter, extradition, international investigations, money laundering, price fixing, fraud, cartels and confiscation. It was involved in the groundbreaking settlement with the SFO in the first use of civil recovery powers rather than criminal prosecution, heralded as a template for future corporate enforcement actions.

Professional discipline and regulation: the team has significant experience in advising both regulators and individual professionals on matters of regulation, professional discipline and fitness to practice across a range of industry sectors.

Criminal and misconduct: the firm provides a nationwide service advising and representing clients facing criminal and professional misconduct investigations and proceedings. It is experienced in employment-related criminal investigations and unrivalled in its involvement in high-profile criminal investigations and proceedings.

Media, libel and privacy: the firm has seen a shift away from prolonged litigation and trials to resolution of good claims at an early stage and by mediation. The team remains involved in large-scale litigation and is dedicated to protecting reputations and restoring them when they are damaged.

Parliamentary and legal affairs: the firm specialises in devising solutions for emerging issues and developing markets, campaigning on legal matters and improving the legal knowledge of the profession and public.

Private client and family law: advance planning and careful preparations are essential to protecting wealth. Services include wills advice, wealth structuring and tax planning, trusts and trust administration, and charities and philanthropy. Dealing with all aspects of personal law, the firm’s specialist family and private client lawyers can advise a diverse range of services for individuals and families such as divorce and separation, pre-nuptial agreements, financial disputes, children matters, civil partnerships and cohabitation matters. The team has particular expertise advising individuals with high-net-worth assets.

Sport: the firm is regularly consulted by sports organisations on behalf of their members, including the League Managers Association and the Cyclists’ Touring Club. The firm offers specialist advice on contractual disputes, disciplinary matters, sports injuries, general employment matters and discrimination issues, as well as sponsorship or other commercial disputes.

In addition, the firm offers an experienced litigation department, specialising in commercial and professional negligence cases, and a commercial property and business services department. The firm’s role as one of the major players in the public sector employment field has led it to develop a respected administrative and constitutional law practice.

Other offices: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Sheffield, Wakefield, Edinburgh (associated office).

Breakdown of work %
Personal injury 59
Employment 18
Crime, fraud, professional discipline and regulation 12
Property, family, professional negligence, commercial litigation, general commercial, sport and media 9
Private client 1
Parliamentary and legal affairs 1

Number of UK partners 51
Number of other UK fee-earners 161

Above material supplied by Russell Jones and Walker part of Slater and Gordon Lawyers.

Legal Developments by:
Russell Jones and Walker part of Slater and Gordon Lawyers

  • FSA enforcement and lessons from Galleon

    Hot on the heels of securing convictions and a custodial sentence for insider dealing in R v McQuoid [2009], further signs of the Financial Services Authority (FSA)’s renewed vigour for combating market abuse continue to emerge.
    - Russell Jones & Walker

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
    - 11KBW
  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
    - 11KBW
  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
    - 11KBW
  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
    - 11KBW
  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
    - 11KBW
  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
    - 11KBW
  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
    - 11KBW
  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
    - 11KBW
  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue:
  • Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

    A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.