UK High Court Praises Leigh Day for Reinforcing Embargo Importance

• The UK High Court praised Leigh Day for reinforcing court embargoes following a client incident.
• A court embargo is a restriction imposed by the court on the disclosure of information related to a case until the final judgment has been handed down.
• Breaching a court embargo can lead to serious consequences, including being treated as contempt of court.
• Leigh Day's senior environmental solicitor Carol Day had previously cautioned against releasing press statements to journalists before the ruling was officially handed down.

The UK High Court has recently praised Leigh Day for its role in reinforcing the importance of court embargoes, following a client incident that highlighted the consequences of breaching these restrictions. The case in question involved Wild Justice and Badger Trust v Natural England, where an animal welfare group issued a media release to 85 members of the press just four minutes before the scheduled hand-down of a JR decision regarding badger cull licences. This embargo violation was attributed to a miscommunication between the Badger Trust's chair and its chief executive. Leigh Day senior environmental solicitor Carol Day had previously cautioned against releasing press statements to journalists before the ruling was officially handed down, emphasizing that this could lead to serious consequences, including being treated as contempt of court.

A court embargo is a restriction imposed by the court on the disclosure of information related to a case until the final judgment has been handed down. This is distinct from a press embargo, which is a voluntary agreement between parties and journalists not to disclose certain information before a specified time. The importance of understanding this distinction was highlighted in the Wild Justice and Badger Trust v Natural England case, where Leigh Day's client had issued a public media release minutes before the scheduled hand-down. In its judgment, the court emphasized that breaching a court embargo can have serious consequences, including being treated as contempt of court.

The Wild Justice and Badger Trust v Natural England case serves as a reminder to lawyers of the importance of respecting court embargoes. As highlighted by Justice Michael Fordham, breaching these restrictions can lead to serious consequences, including being treated as contempt of court. Lawyers should take steps to ensure their clients understand the importance of respecting embargoes and take all reasonable steps to preserve confidentiality until the final judgment has been handed down. In this case, Leigh Day's client had issued a public media release minutes before the scheduled hand-down, but the firm's senior environmental solicitor Carol Day had previously cautioned against releasing press statements to journalists before the ruling was officially handed down.

Lawyers should be aware that breaching a court embargo can lead to serious consequences, including being treated as contempt of court, and take steps to ensure their clients understand the importance of respecting embargoes.

Source: Original reporting via Australasian Lawyer