Expert Analysis

• How Courts Are Encouraging Mediation In England And Wales

  

  As the judiciary braces for widespread pandemic-driven contractual disputes, courts in England and Wales are showing enthusiastic support for mediation, both when determining the implications of a party's refusal to mediate and when assessing whether normal restrictions on the use of mediation-derived information apply, says Leah Alpren-Waterman at Watson Farley.

• Opinion

  EU Class Action Policy Guided By Wrong Measure Of Success

  

  The political agreement obtained last month on the first European Union-wide rules on collective redress illustrates the fact that the main goal of the authorities is to increase the number of class action claims rather than focus on the application of standard civil liability principles, says Sylvie Gallage-Alwis at Signature Litigation.

• An Attractive Regime For Governing Jurisdiction Post-Brexit

  

  As indicated by the U.K.'s recent application to join the Lugano Convention, this is an "oven-ready" option for the U.K. for governing questions of jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments with European Union countries after Brexit — but not without important differences from the current regime, say attorneys at Latham.

• Reinsurance Implications Of COVID-19 Biz Interruption Laws

  

  In light of legislative and public pressure in the U.S. and U.K. on insurers to cover business interruption losses related to COVID-19, reinsurers will face new questions regarding their obligation to cover claim payments, say Robin Dusek at Saul Ewing and Susie Wakefield at Shoosmiths.

• UK Appellate Rulings Clarify Arbitral Choice Of Law

  

  Two recent U.K. Court of Appeal decisions have changed the operation of the choice-of-law test for arbitration — a resolution as significant as changing the test itself because it affects the implied choices of the contracting parties, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• Post-Pandemic Litigation To Expect In England And Wales

  

  Globally, we are already starting to see insolvency-related claims and a number of insurance, breach of ‎contract, employment and securities class actions across numerous sectors. These and other claims will likely increase for U.K. businesses, say Tracey Dovaston and Fiona Huntriss at Boies Schiller.

• UK Lawyers Can Adapt Due Diligence To Screen New Clients

  

  As COVID-19-related fraud gains pace, U.K.-based practitioners should help combat money laundering by using alternative methods to verify that new clients are who they say they are, says Christopher Convey, a barrister at 33 Chancery Lane and chair of the Bar Council's Money Laundering Working Group.

• A UK Business View Of COVID-19's Economic Fallout

  

  Covington attorneys Alex Leitch and Harry Denlegh-Maxwell provide a bird's-eye view of how U.K. businesses will navigate the legal and economic aftermath of the pandemic, including discussion of where litigation funding, class actions, insurance disputes and force majeure fit it.

• Remote Depositions Bring Ethics Considerations For Lawyers

  

  Utilizing virtual litigation technologies and participating in remote depositions require attorneys to beware of inadvertently violating their ethical obligations, including the principal duty to provide competent representation, say attorneys at Troutman Sanders.

• Time For Presumptive Virtual Mediation In The UK

  

  While the COVID-19 outbreak is a real-time test of the U.K. justice system’s adaptability and innovation, it is also an opportunity to deliver alternative dispute resolution through virtual technology — and there are two ways in which this could be achieved, says Suzanne Rab at Serle Court.

• UK 'Property' Classification Boosts Confidence In Bitcoin

  

  In AA v. Persons Unknown, the English High Court classified bitcoins as property that can be the subject of proprietary injunctions, indicating the slow but growing acceptance of virtual currencies within the U.K., say Steven De Lara and Colin Grech at Signature Litigation.

• 3 EU And UK Data Protection Tips During COVID-19

  

  Though EU and U.K. data protection laws should not impede the fight against COVID-19, companies must continue to protect individuals' data, and the challenges of managing a remote workforce and the desire for information about the virus’s impact have significant implications for that responsibility, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Novolex Case Brings Lessons On R&W Insurance

  

  A New York state court dispute between Novolex and a few of its insurers concerning coverage under a representations and warranties policy for a $267 million loss offers a rare glimpse into how a court might interpret acquisition agreements and insurance policy provisions, say attorneys at Hunton.

• How Proposed EU Class Action Directive Could Affect Insurers

  

  Insurers should beware the explosive potential of the EU's proposed directive providing for cross-border class actions and third-party funding for such actions, although it also bears strict requirements that will limit the number of cases, say Emmanuèle Lutfalla and Simon Fitzpatrick at Signature Litigation.

• COVID-19 Insurance Considerations For UK Cos.

  

  Though a new U.K. regulation recently made it easier for businesses to claim losses related to COVID-19, potential points of contention when seeking insurance coverage include whether the government ordered the business to close and whether an outbreak occurred at the premises, say attorneys at Covington.