Faced with huge losses in the subprime mortgage market, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (the ultimate parent of the Lehman group) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008, a momentous event which preceded the collapse and break-up of that group, including the filing for administration of Lehman Brothers International (Europe), the main operating subsidiary for the UK and Europe.

Looking back from the perspective of the sixth anniversary of the collapse, its consequences still occupy the English courts with numerous decided, settled, on-going and forthcoming cases.  To mark the anniversary, Orrick’s ‘Legacy of Lehman’ series of articles will consider the aftermath of Lehman’s demise focusing on financial industry regulation in the UK and across Europe.  We aim to consider certain key pieces of Lehman-related litigation in the English courts and the principles which resulted from those cases.

This first update in our Lehman series considers the introduction of the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) which becomes mandatory across Europe on January 1, 2015. Subsequent topics will include the development of legal principles relating to client assets and the distribution of assets over which clients have proprietary interests, the distribution of surplus monies – the so called ‘waterfall litigation,’ the interpretation of ISDA contracts, pension issues and the introductions of European Market Infrastructure Regulations.  To access the alert, click here.