Associate Darius Latham-Koenig has provided comment in Law360 on Sir Brian Leveson’s proposals to roll back jury trials in complex fraud cases to ease pressure on the judicial system, following the Supreme Court’s decision to quash the convictions for the former City traders Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo for rigging LIBOR and EURIBOR rates.

Responding to the Court’s decision, Darius noted: “Although the Supreme Court’s high-profile quashing of the Libor convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo might generate a groundswell of support for Sir Brian Leveson’s recommendations in favour of judge-only criminal trials, given the sheer length of time spent by the former City traders to clear their name, the essential errors identified by the Court were the nature of the jury directions in the initial trials. This saga highlights the danger in moving away from trial by twelve of one’s peers, even for complex financial crime, in favour of reliance on a single judge solely for speed considerations.”

Darius’ comments were published in Law360, 24 July 2025.