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25 November 2016 / Robin Barclay
Issue: 7724 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Commercial
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The new normal

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A fresh legal paradigm has emerged in which criminal, regulatory & civil liabilities elide says Robin Barclay

  • Multi-jurisdictional, multi-party and multi-liability fraud cases represent the new normal.
  • A fresh legal paradigm has emerged in which criminal, regulatory and civil liabilities elide.

Commercial fraud is a broad and complex topic involving all areas of commercial life and many areas of law. With multi-jurisdictional, multi-party and multi-liability fraud cases representing the new normal for today’s business community, a fresh legal paradigm has emerged in which criminal, regulatory and civil liabilities elide. This article explores how the substantive rules in English criminal, regulatory and civil fraud have come to mesh with one another to form a unitary whole and why practitioners and clients alike are seeing a rapid need to find more holistic interlocking solutions to the questions these cases raise.

Criminal fraud: liability & punishment

Fraud prejudicial to the community is a crime according to different statutes and at common law. In the case of an individual it is punishable by imprisonment or non-custodial sentences

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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