Understanding English Litigation and Arbitration: getting the best resultsGillie Belsham
Ince and Co International Law Firm
Litigation
UK Law ??
High Court –
Commercial Court
Technology and Construction Court
Arbitration
Arbitration Act 1996
LMAA
ICC
LCIA
Sole arbitrator or 3 ??
NB – beware different methods of halting Limitation
Arbitration
Act:
“ The object of arbitration is to obtain the fair resolution of disputes by an impartial tribunal without unnecessary delay or expense”
Scope for consensual framework
Often forgotten!
How are you going to get agreement on the framework?
Judges, Juries and Arbitrators
Judges – JAC
In Commercial Court and TCC, generally highly experienced
Drawn from the Bar
Well known to practitioners
Impartial and independent
Appointments not politically based
Juries
N/A
Facts and law determined by a Judge sitting alone
Impact
Jury/prejudice points of limited value.
Arbitrators
Duty to be impartial
Power to remove arbitrator if “justifiable doubts” as to his/her impartiality
Tribunal shall act fairly and impartially as between the parties
Damages
Punitive damages
Exemplary/aggravated damages
Purpose of damages under English law
Litigation landscape
Issue of Claim Form/start arbitration
Statements of case/submissions
Disclosure
Written witness of fact evidence exchanged
Written expert reports exchanged
Trial/hearing
Judgment/Award
Opportunities to analyse/benchmark your risk
Initial instructions – an early view – somewhat one-sided!
Statements of case/submissions - legal case starts to be developed – how are the other side putting their case?
Disclosure and witness statements – the factual picture – does it add up? Are there gaps? Can they be filled?
Expert evidence – the technical case – how does it fit with the legal case? How will your expert perform?
Witness evidence
NB – no depositions
Statements exchanged long before oral testimony
Impact
Getting your witness to focus
NB no “coaching”
Dealing with sensitivities
Input from internal Counsel
Expert Evidence
Appointed by party
Duty owed to the Court
Must be independent and impartial; not advocates
Will be subject to intense forensic cross examination
Court will be critical if expert considered partial
Check your expert’s record
Trial - hearing
Can be many weeks/months long in big cases
Evidence given orally takes place at trial/hearing
Key witnesses and experts must attend to give evidence in person/video link
Parties open their case in turn
Witness evidence plus cross-exam
Expert testimony
Summing up and closings
Judgment/Award
Leverage
Costs
Recoverable under English law
Scope broad – Court and lawyers’ fees, experts etc
Standard basis – 60-70%
Indemnity basis - 90%
Costs “follow the event”
Part 36 offers
Getting the best results: The psychology of litigation
Often overlooked !
Aggression –v- toughness
Purposive aggression
Keeping lines of communication open
Thinking strategy and benchmarking it at appropriate opportunities
Assessing your methodology – is it working ?
Witness and expert evidence – key factors in winning cases
Getting the best results : big cases
Teamwork – extent of team in big cases
How to maximise its output
Resourcing and overlap-v- silos
Why important ?
Robustness and resilience
Creating and maintaining a winning team
2 x 2 = 16
Top Related