header-logo header-logo

02 December 2020
Issue: 7913 / Categories: Legal News , Brexit , Procedure & practice , ADR
printer mail-detail

Brexit & alternative dispute resolution

Laws around confidentiality, enforceability and limitation periods in mediation agreements will be affected when the Brexit transition period ends this month, the Law Society has warned practitioners.

It published guidance last month on cross-border alternative dispute resolution (ADR) post-transition. The guidance, which will apply whether or not the UK and EU agree a deal, highlights that the 2011 Regulations implementing the EU Mediation Directive will be repealed and replaced on 1 January.

The free European Online Dispute Resolution platform for online sales and contracts will no longer be available to UK businesses and consumers. Arbitration will be largely unaffected post-transition.

Last week, a cohort of law societies and business groups wrote to the European Council president, Charles Michel and other EU leaders urging them to readmit the UK to the Lugano Convention post-transition. Law Society president David Greene said Lugano, which clarifies which national courts have jurisdiction, ‘makes dispute resolution more accessible’.

Issue: 7913 / Categories: Legal News , Brexit , Procedure & practice , ADR
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
back-to-top-scroll