On 6 September the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its ruling in Case C-422/11 P Prezes UKE. Basing its decision on the ruling in Akzo Nobel, it ruled that to be granted standing a lawyer must be independent of his or her client; further ruling that a contract of employment precluded such independence.
The Law Society is disappointed by the decision and will be monitoring future developments closely to protect the interests of in-house solicitors.
Read more about the decision
Read the judgment in Prezes UKE
Law Society information on Akzo Nobel