The Commercial Litigators’ Forum (CLF) is hosting an Oxford Union-style debate in London this week to determine whether the cost-shifting regime in commercial litigation should be overhauled to improve access to justice.
The debate at White & Case’s offices on Thursday will be chaired by Commercial Court judge Mr Justice Picken and taps into an ongoing debate over how access to justice can be improved and the spiralling costs of litigation curtailed for the public benefit.
The motion – This house believes that we should fundamentally change cost shifting in commercial litigation to enable greater access to justice – will be proposed by Brick Court Chambers' Charlotte Thomas and Hilton Mervis, partner and head of commercial dispute resolution (Europe) at Arnold & Porter.
Opposing will be Henderson Chambers barrister Patrick Green KC, who was lead counsel for the 555 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses who successfully sued the Post Office over wrongful prosecutions and financial losses caused by the Horizon accounting system.
Joining him is Ravi Nayer, a partner in the business and commercial disputes team at BCLP.
The debate is set to scrutinise the long-standing ‘loser pays’ principle that underpins the UK’s commercial costs regime and is intended to deter unmeritorious claims but has long prompted discussion over whether it discourages smaller claimants from pursuing valid disputes.
A panel will decide whether the motion is carried. It includes an array of senior in-house lawyers, among them Juan Lázaro Peña, senior managing counsel (regulatory legal, Europe) at Visa; Suber Akther, principal litigation counsel at Siemens Energy; Clare Wardle, general counsel and company secretary at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners; and Siobhan Perrigo, head of litigation at litigation funder VWM Capital.
Click here for further details and to register to attend.
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