Allen & Overy and Linklaters are the latest firms to announce they will be taking part in a range of events throughout the LIDW four-day programme, set to take place 7-10 May.

Latest hosts

A&O and will be hosting the ‘Insolvency disputes - to Brexit and beyond’ session on 9 May. The session will be chaired by Litigation partner Andrew Denny, and will assess the future for international insolvency disputes in the English and Welsh courts, regardless of the outcome of the Brexit process. Linklaters is to host the LIDW seminar devoted to financial services disputes, which will take place on 7 May 2019. Representatives from industry, the senior judiciary, the legal profession and legal services specialists will examine why London is, and should remain, a pre-eminent forum to meet the industry’s commercial, business and legal needs in the resolution of complex cross-border financial services disputes. Keynote speakers include the Right Honourable Lord Justice Hamblen, Lord Justice of Appeal, and the Chancellor of the High Court, the Right Honourable Lord Justice Vos.

“Beyond our expectations”

Speaking to Global legal Post, Richard Bamforth, partner and head of arbitration group at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, says the response is “beyond our expectations.” He suggests this may well be the inaugural event, “this is unlikely to be a one-off. There is a legacy building here and it would be a shame to lose this. The steering committee will look at the event and discuss how we can take things forward afterwards.” Mr Bamforth says he has been impressed by the “collaboration from the very beginning, it is a real pulling together of all the dispute resolution community.”  He suggests the event will “send a broader social message that we should be promoting these alternatives.” The academic lead for the event, Professor Loukas Mistelis, Clive M Schmitthoff Professor of Transnational Commercial Law and Arbitration at Queen Mary University London, says there are many benefits to LIDW, “usually law and policy-making in arbitration is being done by vested institutions, and they compete with each other. This event is a case of global stakeholders collaborating and coming together to reflect on where we are, this changes the atmosphere of discussions and allows for greater spontaneity.” Mr Bamforth adds, “We’ve achieved something already by bringing competitors together to talk about the common good, and pushing the boundaries.”

Four-day programme

Aside from the UK, to date 26 countries are to be represented at LIDW. The four-day programme includes a flagship one-day conference entitled ‘London International Disputes: Present and Future’, to be held at a cultural landmark in Trafalgar Square, Central London. The programme of 18 interactive sessions and networking events is a collaborative initiative of over 50 leading law firms, barristers’ chambers, experts, academics, legal commentators and dispute resolution organisations. Participants will explore the future of dispute resolution, and celebrate London’s heritage as a centre for handling disputes. LIDW comprises four practitioner pathways that broadly cater for those interested in investment disputes and international law, international arbitration, litigation and other forms of dispute resolution, and, international trade and commerce dispute resolution. There will be crossover between the pathways particularly as different forms of dispute resolution, such as arbitration, are used for the resolution of disputes in many different sectors. GAR Live London and BIICL’s Investment Treaty Forum Conference will also take place as part of LIDW. Social media users can follow @LIDW19 on Twitter or search #LIDW19 to keep up to date on LIDW.