Procedure & practice

Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes

In his latest 'Civil way' column for this week's NLJ, Stephen Gold delivers a witty roundup of procedural updates and judicial oddities. From the rise in litigant-in-person hourly rates (£24 from October) to the Supreme Court’s venue hire options (canapés in Courtroom 1, anyone?), Gold blends legal insight with dry humour

Complications abound on which laws govern arbitration clauses: Guy Pendell calls for harmonisation across jurisdictions

Guy Pendell, chair of the International Chamber of Commerce UK’s Arbitration & ADR Committee and partner at CMS, calls for harmonisation in the laws governing arbitration agreements across jurisdictions

Akshay Misra & Bronagh Adams on how a recent judgment provides a robust endorsement of the work of the LMAA

The Leveson review proposes mandatory judge-alone trials in serious & complex fraud cases: Lloyd Firth argues this runs counter to the interests of justice

A recent case gives clarity on arbitral awards & stay of execution: Masood Ahmed & Osman Mohammed report

Writing in NLJ this week, Lloyd Firth of WilmerHale critiques Recommendation 44 of the Leveson Review, which proposes mandatory judge-alone trials for serious and complex fraud cases