Occupy LSX St Paul's eviction deadline nears

Published on 1 Dec 2011 under category: legal

Story originally appeared in The Lawyer Online 17 November 2011. Reporting by Joanne Harris

Bindmans have been replaced as the solicitors advising the protestors occupying space outside St Paul’s Cathedral by public order specialists Kaim Todner Solicitors.

Karen Todner, managing director of Kaim Todner, has taken over from Bindmans partner Paul Ridge as the protestors’ solicitor. Like Ridge Todner is advising the occupiers pro bono.

She has previously represented clients including Gary McKinnon, who is wanted by the US on hacking claims and is fighting against extradition from the UK.

The City of London Corporation resumed legal action against the protest, Occupy London Stock Exchange (LSX) on Tuesday (15 November 2011) after two weeks of negotiations. The City served notices on protestors yesterday asking them to leave the public highways owned by the Corporation before 6pm this evening.

Todner told The Lawyer this afternoon that none of the protestors were planning to move. The City is planning to issue High Court proceedings tomorrow and the first case management conference is likely to be on Wednesday (23 November).

DLA Piper wins instruction from UBS to evict protestors from City office

DLA Piper has been instructed by UBS to try to evict protestors who have taken up residence in a City office building owned by the Swiss bank.

Protestors from the Occupy London Stock Exchange (LSX) camp, who have been demonstrating outside St Paul’s Cathedral for over a month, moved into the empty UBS building on Sun Street last week.

Occupy LSX has dubbed the building the ‘Bank of Ideas’ and is running it as a community centre. However, UBS is seeking to evict the group from the building and is understood to have instructed DLA Piper, one of its panel firms, on the action.

In a statement on the protestors’ website, Occupy LSX claimed that papers had been left at the building on Saturday, detailing a possession order “which were unsigned, unstamped and had no claim number”.

“Occupy London lawyers have placed doubt on the enforceability of the documents delivered by UBS, suggesting that they constitute a flagrant breach of civil procedure rules,” the statement said.

The protestors are being represented by Kaim Todner partner Karen Todner and 25 Bedford Row silk John Cooper QC, both acting pro bono (17 November 2011).

Meanwhile, High Court judge Mr Justice Wilkie has been appointed to oversee the City of London Corporation’s efforts to evict protestors from the St Paul’s camp.

Wilkie is used to high-profile cases, having presided over hacker Gary McKinnon’s appeal against extradition to the US and also over Levi Bellfield’s trial for the murder of Milly Dowler. Todner represented McKinnon in the 2009 case.

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