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NLJ this week: Litigating through lockdown

23 July 2020
Issue: 7896 / Categories: Legal News , Commercial , Profession , Covid-19
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Highlights from commercial litigators’ COVID diaries

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’.

Issue: 7896 / Categories: Legal News , Commercial , Profession , Covid-19
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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