No conflict of interest for City law firm

20/10/22

Since Prince Jefri Bolkiah v KPMG [1999] 2 AC 222 there have been few reported cases of conflicts of interest involving solicitors, still fewer where the solicitor has succeeded. However, The Bank of London Group Ltd v Simmons & Simmons LLP [2022] EWHC 2617 is one such case.

Instructed by Bank of London and the Middle East plc (“BLME”) Simmons & Simmons sent a letter before action on a passing-off claim against The Bank of London Group Ltd (“BOL”). BOL sought an injunction restraining them from continuing to act for BLME because Simmons & Simmons had previously provided a small amount of regulatory work and advice for BOL prior to its start-up. There was no continuing retainer for BOL, so the matter was a former client conflict.

Deputy Judge Stuart Isaacs KC held that he was not satisfied that the claimant had identified, other than in the broadest of terms, the confidential information said to be relevant to the passing-off claim. That degree of identification was insufficient to conclude that such information was relevant to the passing-off claim. Further, having considered the evidence from Simmons & Simmons as to the steps taken to protect BOL’s confidential information, he held there was no real risk of disclosure in any event. He therefore dismissed the application and the action.

The judgment can be found here.