In our regular monthly update, we share the latest news from our firm.
Shortlisted at the Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards
KP Law (then Keller Postman UK) was shortlisted for ‘D&I Initiative of the Year’ at the Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards 2023. Associate Akilah Jeffers was also shortlisted in the ‘Rising Star in Diversity Change’ category.
These awards, hosted by Law.com, celebrate top female lawyers who have made invaluable contributions in making the UK legal profession increasingly more diverse.
Shortlisted at the Women & Diversity in Law Awards
In further award news, KP Law (the Keller Postman UK) was shortlisted for ‘Race Equality Initiative of the Year’ at the Women & Diversity in Law Awards 2023. Eleanor Leedham and Akilah Jeffers were also shortlisted for ‘Disputes Lawyer of the Year’ and ‘DE&I Champion of the Year in a Legal Role’ respectively.
These awards, hosted by The Global Legal Post, celebrate those working in the UK legal sector who have made invaluable contributions to facilitating change and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
Shortlisted in three categories at the Modern Law Awards
We were also delighted to announce that our firm was shortlisted in three categories at the prestigious Modern Law Awards. The categories are:
- Boutique law firm of the year
- Innovation of the year
- Business growth award
The awards identify and celebrate the most outstanding talent and success stories in the UK legal sector, so it is an honour to be shortlisted. We look forward to the ceremony in March.
We launched a group action against Air France and KLM
Some Flying Blue loyalty customers had their personal information exposed following a data hack. Flying Blue is the loyalty program of Air France, KLM, Transavia, Aircalin, Kenya Airways and TAROM. According to a statement by Air France and KLM, customers of these two airlines had their accounts breached when hackers managed to break into the loyalty program.
We launched an investigation to find out what happened, and how this breach affects UK customers of Air France and KLM.
We warned Guardian staff to be on their guard after their personal information was accessed by hackers
Staff at the Guardian had personal and confidential information accessed in a sophisticated cyberattack. The compromised data included the names, addresses, bank account information, salaries, and passport documents of Guardian reporters. We warned affected Guardian employees that they were at high risk of being targeted by cybercriminals and advised that they take immediate steps to protect themselves.
We warned Arnold Clark customers to protect themselves after hackers uploaded sensitive information to dark web
Hackers targeted Arnold Clark and demanded that the car dealer group pay a multi-million-pound ransom. If they are not paid, the cybercriminals have said they will upload customer information to the dark web. Tens of thousands of people are thought to be at risk.
We warned customers of Arnold Clark that they were at high risk of being targeted by cybercriminals and advised that they take immediate steps to protect themselves.
We warned customers of JD Sports that they were at high risk of being targeted by cybercriminals
JD Sports experienced a cyber-attack that put ten million customers at risk. According to the sportswear chain, hackers may have accessed customer names, addresses, email accounts, phone numbers, order details, and the final four digits of customer bank cards.
We warned customers of JD Sports that they were at high risk of being targeted by cybercriminals and advised that they take immediate steps to protect themselves.
There was an important development in our case against Better Retirement Group (BRG)
This month, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) announced the failure of Better Retirement Group (BRG) which facilitated many transfers from the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS). The fact that BRG has failed means that claims made against the business are likely to be valid, and that the company is guilty of mis-selling.
We alerted people that they might have a Personal Equity Plan (PEP) mis-selling claim
Introduced in 1986, PEPs allowed UK citizens aged 18 and over to invest in the stock market without having to pay income tax or capital gains tax. PEPs were very popular, but many financial advisors did not explain that they were also a high-risk product. As such, they were not suitable for everyone. Similarly, the tax benefits of PEPs were often exaggerated and the fees not fully explained.
In recent years, an increasing number of people have complained about the way PEPs were sold, with many investors losing huge sums of money. If this has happened to you, you might have a mis-selling compensation claim.
We raised awareness of property investment fraud and mis-selling
Our expert lawyers have helped many people recover their losses after investing in property schemes. Quite often, these investments turned out to be fraudulent. All too often, promises of significant returns never materialised. Victims sometimes invested in property developments that were never built.
An increasing number of people have complained about the way property investments were sold in recent years, with many losing huge sums of money. You might have a mis-selling compensation claim if this happened to you.
We expressed our opinion that a rise in UK class actions was good news for access to justice
According to new research by Thomson Reuters, the value of UK competition class-actions launched in 2022 surged to over £26bn. That’s up from £4bn in 2021. Commenting on the findings, KP Law Senior Associate Nathaniel Barber said:
“At Keller Postman UK (now KP Law), we welcome the growth in the value of UK group actions. While a long-established means of securing justice in the US, group litigation — and other forms of collective redress — have only recently taken off in the UK. It’s vital that the legal landscape ensures a level playing field and enhances access to justice for groups of claimants who have been harmed by wrongful conduct. That England is becoming the destination of choice for such claims is a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, there is work to do and the procedural and practical framework still has to catch up”.
Kingsley Hayes examined Meta’s €400mn data protection fine
Partner and Head of Data and Privacy Litigation, Kingsley Hayes, examined the €400mn data protection fine brought against Meta by the Irish Data Protection Commission. Kingsley’s article was published in UK Tech News, 23 January 2023, and can be found here.
We published our Year-In-Review reports
In the KP Law 2022 Year in Review reports, we looked at some of the key developments that occurred within our firm, and the marketplaces we serve, over the past 12 months.
We look forward to bringing you more news from across our business next month.
