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NLJ this week: Spotlight on (virtual) ADR

17 June 2020
Issue: 7891 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , ADR , Mediation , Costs , Procedure & practice
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The impact on international arbitration of the COVID-19 pandemic is among topics explored in a series of articles in NLJ’s ADR special this week

Barrister and mediator, Professor Suzanne Rab, Serle Court, says ‘digitisation presents new opportunities’ and points out that mediators and advisors will need to adapt. She offers practical advice and highlights that virtual mediation could help ‘mitigate the impact’ of the pandemic on business as well as providing new career pathways for lawyers.   

International arbitration was better prepared than the court system because it already used remote hearings in one form or another, writes barrister Anthony Connerty, 6 Pump Court.

Arbitral organisations moved swiftly to provide webinars and take steps to address any issues arising in virtual proceedings, for example, the slower pace and the danger of witnesses being assisted off camera.

Masood Ahmed, Associate Professor at Leicester University and member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, provides a detailed look at the significance of ADR and the dangers of unreasonable behaviour. He surveys relevant caselaw, for example, on silence in the face of an invitation to ADR and unreasonable refusal to engage in ADR.

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
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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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