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NLJ this week: Spotlight on (virtual) ADR

17 June 2020
Issue: 7891 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , ADR , Mediation , Costs , Procedure & practice
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The impact on international arbitration of the COVID-19 pandemic is among topics explored in a series of articles in NLJ’s ADR special this week

Barrister and mediator, Professor Suzanne Rab, Serle Court, says ‘digitisation presents new opportunities’ and points out that mediators and advisors will need to adapt. She offers practical advice and highlights that virtual mediation could help ‘mitigate the impact’ of the pandemic on business as well as providing new career pathways for lawyers.   

International arbitration was better prepared than the court system because it already used remote hearings in one form or another, writes barrister Anthony Connerty, 6 Pump Court.

Arbitral organisations moved swiftly to provide webinars and take steps to address any issues arising in virtual proceedings, for example, the slower pace and the danger of witnesses being assisted off camera.

Masood Ahmed, Associate Professor at Leicester University and member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, provides a detailed look at the significance of ADR and the dangers of unreasonable behaviour. He surveys relevant caselaw, for example, on silence in the face of an invitation to ADR and unreasonable refusal to engage in ADR.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
County court cases are speeding up, with the median time from claim to hearing 62 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims—5.4 weeks faster than last year

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured £1.1m in its first use of an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO)

The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
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