Lawyers who breach a judgment embargo face potentially serious consequences—particularly where a criminal case is concerned
Writing in this week’s NLJ, criminal solicitor David Bloom, associate director at Sonn Macmillan Walker Ltd, looks at a recent Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) case, in which ‘the court carried out an exacting (and doubtlessly excruciating for those concerned) examination of the events that led to two separate breaches of its embargoed judgment’.
The court set out principles for legal practitioners, including that there is no excuse for not understanding the system of sending draft judgments under embargo.
Bloom advises all chambers and firms to ensure they train staff and set out policies on embargoed judgments. His article includes a handy box of tips on what you can do, what you can’t do, and what you must do if there’s a leak.
