Commercial Litigation - 2023 Virtual Conference

Introduction

Chaired by Professor Dominic Regan, this annual live broadcast conference with a panel of leading experts offers a comprehensive update as to the current hot topics in this fast-moving area.

Each session will provide a full opportunity for questions and answers.

Conference Agenda

This live and interactive 5 hour conference will cover the following:

10:00am-11:00am: Witness Statements

Chair: Professor Dominic Regan

The new Business and Property Court witness statement rules are causing real anguish.

One eminent practitioner has been named and shamed for non- compliance as indeed was his witness.

This session will cover:

• When and how to challenge a statement
• Could the new rules mean you cannot have a single witness statement to use?
• Dealing with a dubious witness

Morning Break

11:10am-12:10pm: Contractual Time Bars & Estoppel

Rupert Cohen, Barrister, Landmark Chambers

This session will address the nature of ’time bars’, their enforceability and the arguments commonly run by defaulting parties.

It will include:

• Effect of a time bar in a contract to do an act by a given time
• The different forms of estoppel which are raised when a time bar has not been complied with

12:10pm-1:10pm: Security for Costs & Interim Relief

Niran De Silva KC, Barrister, Littleton Chambers

This session will cover:

Applications for Security for Costs:

• Tactics for Defendants of making security for costs applications
• The conditions for applications against different types of claims
• Procedural pitfalls and traps for the unwary

Interim Relief:

• Practical and tactical advantages of applications for interim relief, including search orders and injunctions
• Key rules, examining the different approaches in different courts/divisions
• A walk through an application for a freezing order, considering recent case law

Break for lunch

2:00pm-3:00pm: Costs Budgeting, Client Estimates and Invoicing

Sue Fox, Partners in Costs Limited

This session will cover:

• The importance of keeping the client informed regarding legal spend
• Why this is relevant to costs budgeting
• The relevance of costs estimates for clients

Afternoon break

3:15pm-4:15pm: Expert Evidence

Professor Dominic Regan

Experts are also under scrutiny and their lapses could cost your client dearly.

This session will analyse the problems and how best to avoid them.

• The Greencastle lapses
• The compromised expert
• Ordering an expert to pay costs
• The need to preserve evidential material

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.