Litigation funder expands Australian capabilities

NZ lawyer died in Italian avalanche… BCLP survey focuses on cybersecurity in international arbitration…

Litigation funder expands Australian capabilities

Vannin Capital has strengthened its capabilities in Australia with the appointment of a new managing director in Sydney.

The global legal finance firm has hired Steven Taylor for the Sydney team; he joins from Litigation Lending Services where he was litigation manager.

His appointment is the firm’s fifth senior hire in Australia since it was established in 2015.

Taylor was previously a senior associate at Squire Patton Boggs, associate at Piper Alderman, and was legal associate to Federal Circuit Court Chief Judge Pascoe. He started his career as a paralegal at Philip Sim & Associates.

“Steven’s appointment marks yet another step forward for Vannin’s growth in the Australian market,” commented Vannin Capital CEO Richard Hextall. “His impressive range of experience in litigation and legal finance means that he is ideally suited to playing an important role in helping to further develop our already first-class offering. We look forward to welcoming him to the team.”

NZ lawyer died in Italian avalanche
Two lawyers died in an avalanche on Sunday along with two other victims.

They were skiing near an Italian resort in the northern region of Valle d’Aosta when the disaster happened.

The Telegraph reported that the two corporate lawyers who died - Katherine Clarke, 39, and Matt Ziegler, 43 - worked for Barclays Bank.

Ms. Clarke, originally from New Zealand, was the first woman from the country to have climbed and skied Greenland’s three highest peaks. She was due to celebrate her 9th wedding anniversary this week and was the mother of one.

Mr Ziegler was born in Surrey, England, and was married and father to two young children.

BCLP survey focuses on cybersecurity in international arbitration
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has published its annual International Arbitration Study with a focus on cybersecurity.

The poll covers respondents in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australasia, and the Middle East, with 90% saying that cybersecurity is an important issue in international arbitration. Eleven percent said they had experience of a breach in cybersecurity.

Although most respondents felt about the desirability of considering cybersecurity measures at an early stage of the proceedings but opinion was divided over who should take the lead on initiating discussions on cybersecurity issues with 48% believing the parties should take the lead, 31% thought the supervising arbitral institution (if any) should take the lead, and 21% thought it should be the tribunal.

“The results of this year’s survey confirm that cybersecurity is an important issue in international arbitration,” said BCLP partner Carol Mulcahy. “Data security will only ever be as strong as the weakest link in the chain, so everyone in the arbitration community has an important part to play if we are to protect the future of international arbitration in a world that is increasingly dominated by technology.”

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