Cornerstone Research

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I’d like to share a new report I coauthored with my colleagues at Cornerstone Research, titled Trends in Large Corporate Bankruptcy and Financial Distress: Midyear 2026 Update. We analyze trends in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings for large corporations. Bottom line: Large corporate bankruptcy filings remained elevated relative to historical averages despite declining over the last 12 months (2H 2025–1H 2026) compared to the prior 12 months (2H 2024–1H 2025). Consistent with the previous year, the most common reported drivers have been high inflation and interest rates, reduced consumer demand, and shifts in the regulatory and political landscape. Take a look here: https://bit.ly/4zeMaxQ

Cornerstone Research’s Liam Colley interviews Kim Dietzel (Partner and Co-Lead of the Competition Practice, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer) to gain a defence-side perspective of the CAT’s practice direction on expert evidence. This video is part of a series of interviews recorded with leading competition litigators in the UK, with a focus on expert evidence in competition litigation. Watch more, here: https://bit.ly/3VIKUo3

Cornerstone Research’s new report asks whether recent judicial criticism of expert economic evidence signals a Tribunal retreating from complex analysis and finds the opposite. As Liam Colley, Head of Cornerstone Research’s European Competition Practice, writes: the Competition Appeal Tribunal “expects evidence that is transparent, carefully reasoned and firmly anchored in the commercial and factual realities of each case”. The backdrop is a difficult period for experts. “It’s a challenging time for economic experts,” says Mark Sansom (Global Client Partner, Freshfields). “There’s a whole series of judgments in which evidence and econometrics have been heavily criticised.” What the Tribunal is asking for is analysis anchored in the facts. Anthony Maton (Senior Partner, Hausfeld) hears it from the bench: “Judges are going back to the factual matrix and saying: ‘I want this analysis to sit in reality and in fact, not just in theory.’” None of which changes the underlying point. “Competition damages cases can’t be resolved without expert economic evidence,” adds Sansom. “They all rely on it.” The report features insights from Liam Colley, Elisa Mariscal, and Vikram Kumar of Cornerstone Research. Read the report here: https://bit.ly/4rNTGNF

Cornerstone Research sat down with leading UK litigators to discuss the evolving role of economic evidence in collective competition litigation. The conversations we captured demonstrate just how much the market has developed, as economics moved to the heart of disputes and judicial scrutiny intensifies. In my foreword, I reflect on how the landscape has been transformed for litigators and economists, and how the quality of expert evidence has never mattered more. Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/4d74nF2