NLJ this week: Litigating through lockdown

Commercial litigators share their experiences of coping with the pandemic, in a special report in NLJ this week.

‘As part of what has proved to be the largest justice sector pilot ever conducted in this country, the commercial courts kept on top of their caseload when many comparable jurisdictions shut down,’ journalist Grania Langdon-Down writes.

According to the Commercial Court Users Group (CCUG), remote hearings were considered impractical in only four trials up to June (for comparison, there were 60 hearings in April), and there is ‘almost no backlog of work’. This success may lead to lasting change. Mrs Justice Cockerill told the CCUG’s June meeting that judges, court staff and court users are ‘actively’ considering whether to keep remote, or partly remote, hearings as a default, or at least ‘often used’, option for some types of hearings.

Commercial litigators say they have been kept busy, and there is likely to be a deluge of pandemic-related commercial disputes ahead. However, the surrounding legal landscape has changed―City law firms have reduced working hours, made redundancies and cut back on expenditure.

David Greene, senior partner, Edwin Coe, says non-contentious work has dropped but dispute resolution continues to be busy, with two ‘very large group claims on insurance coverage issues arising from the lockdown’ and various claims regarding contract frustration and force majeure.

Joanna Ludlam, partner, Baker McKenzie, reports suffering some ‘Zoom fatigue’ but has also enjoyed the break from commuting as well as the ‘more candid and caring interactions’ with clients. She has seen fewer new internal investigations being started but more requests for advice concerning crisis management and COVID-related regulations.

Looking ahead, litigation funding will be a key issue as businesses reduce their budgets. Susan Dunn of Harbour Litigation says she is already receiving requests from lawyers ‘planning ahead for their clients’.