This is the fifth episode in the fourth series of The Fountain Court Podcast. The episode is hosted by Nick Daly, a barrister at Fountain Court Chambers. In this episode, a diverse panel bring various perspectives to a discussion on the subject of group litigation. Joining Nick in the discussion are:

•	Leigh-Ann Mulcahy KC, a leading silk at Fountain Court, who specialises in consumer law and group litigation. Leigh-Ann has been advising and acting in group litigation for nearly 30 years and is currently acting in group actions arising out of the Grenfell Tower Fire, Diesel NOx Emissions and Covid in Care Homes. In 2022, Leigh-Ann was named Group Litigation and Consumer Silk of the Year by Legal 500 and was shortlisted for the same award in 2024.

•	Alex Barden, a senior junior at Fountain Court. Alex’s experience includes acting as lead junior for Legal & General, Standard Life, Prudential and others in a £4 billion claim under s.90 of FSMA against RBS arising from is 2008 rights issue and subsequent collapse, which remains the biggest case in the area and one of the leading cases on the management and costs of group actions by investors. He also acts for British American Tobacco in respect of widely publicised group action claims by Malawian tobacco farmers.

•	Heather Gagen, who heads Travers Smith's Dispute Resolution practice and the firm's ESG & Impact Group. Heather’s commercial litigation practice covers the spectrum of high-value and complex disputes. She is experienced in large scale group claims including environmental damage and human rights litigation. A particular aspect of Heather's practice is acting for clients facing reputationally sensitive litigation and investigations, and advising clients in relation to corporate risk management including ESG-related risk. Heather was recognised in The Lawyer magazine’s 2019 Hot 100 and was named as one of ten Distinguished Advisers by Worldwide Financier in their 'Power Players: Environmental, Social & Governance 2024' report.

•	Adam Erusalimsky, an Investment Manager at LCM, a leading litigation finance firm. Prior to entering the litigation funding world in 2019, Adam specialised in commercial litigation at Herbert Smith (as was) and Stewarts, where his experience included acting in interchange fee litigation against Visa and Mastercard. In a funding context, he has experience of collective redress in the form of non-GLO litigation, CPR 19.8 proceedings, collective opt-out proceedings in the CAT and class action litigation in other jurisdictions such as Australia and Canada.

During the session, our panel discusses various issues in the context of group litigation including the different procedures available and the benefits and drawbacks of each approach, trends and developments in group claims and their drivers, funding and costs issues, and potential future developments in the area.


Season 4: Episode 5 - Group Litigation: current issues and future developments

The Fountain Court Podcast provides legal analysis, horizon scanning and insight into one of the UK’s leading commercial chambers. 

In this series, we’ll be exploring key legal issues and updates, industry developments and possible future trends relating to the sectors and practice areas in which our barristers specialise. Our members will be joined by industry experts to discuss each topic. 

If you have ever wanted to hear directly from experienced silks on specific legal topics, or if you have ever wondered what life is like at a commercial chambers; the Fountain Court Podcast will be of interest to you.