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NLJ this week: Dispute resolution in the metaverse

Lawyers can no longer afford to ignore the metaverse, says Jacqueline Watts of Allin1 Advisory in this week's NLJ. Far from being a passing tech fad, virtual platforms like Roblox host thriving economies and social interactions, raising real legal issues

Watts highlights disputes over contracts, IP infringement, avatar misconduct and virtual asset theft—all rooted in familiar legal principles but complicated by pseudonymity and borderless interaction. Jurisdictional challenges abound, with platform terms often dictating applicable law, yet cross-border disputes remain difficult to resolve. Verifying identities and enforcing judgments in virtual spaces is fraught, but technologies like NFTs may aid service of documents.

Watts sees promise in immersive dispute resolution—virtual hearings, mediation and arbitration—offering accessible, real-time engagement. As digital life expands, she urges the legal profession to adapt swiftly to this evolving frontier, where traditional frameworks must meet novel realities.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
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
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
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