Brick Court Chambers at LIDW 2026

14/05/26

London International Disputes Week (LIDW) is returning for a 7th year on 1st June 2026 This year's theme is "Tradition, trust and transformation in international dispute resolution"

Join Brick Court Chambers across 10 panels throughout the week. To learn more about these events, please click into the links below to be taken to the LIDW sign up pages. Places are limited, so please register to secure your spot!

 

Banking Disputes: A horizon Scanning

Wednesday 3rd June | 09:00 - 10:30

Reed Smith, 1 Blossom Yard, London, E1 6RS

A forward-looking panel discussion on emerging trends and challenges in banking disputes, hosted by Hausfeld, Reed Smith LLP, Fountain Court Chambers and Brick Court Chambers. This event will explore key topics shaping the future of banking litigation.

Brick Court Speaker: Laura Newton KC

 

Ex parte relief in arbitration, effective relief or anathema to consent

Wednesday 3rd June | 11:30 - 13:00

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan LLP, 90 High Holborn, London, United Kingdom, WC1V 6LJ

Following the introduction of the ex parte Protective Preliminary Order (PPO) mechanism under the SIAC Rules 2025, this panel discussion will explore the notion of ex parte relief in arbitration and the principal issues it raises, the nature of the SIAC PPO procedure, and the potential for similar procedures to be adopted under other institutional rules.

Brick Court Speaker: Hilary Heilbron KC

 

General Counsel – or Global Counsel?

Wednesday 3rd June | 14:00 - 15:30

Stewarts Law, 5 New St Square, London, EC4A 3BF

This event will explore how the role of GCs have evolved internationally, how counsel from across the world manage their cross-border disputes, what are the current challenges faced by GCs, and what significant changes could happen for GCs in the next five years.

Brick Court Speaker: Chintan Chandrachud

 

Witness Statements: What Can Go Wrong and How to Deal With It

Wednesday 3rd June | 14:00 - 15:30

Dechert, 25 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 5UB

This session explores what happens when a witness statement turns out to be wrong or misleading, whether deliberately or inadvertently, and the practical and strategic steps that parties and advisers can take to contain the damage. We will examine the differing ways in which problems with witness evidence can come to light, and what options are available when they do, considering the potential consequences for the witness and for related parties, including the risk of contempt applications and the interplay between civil and criminal proceedings.

Brick Court Speaker: Kyle Lawson 

 

Is the Group Actions framework fit for purpose? Does it provide Access to Justice?

Wednesday 3rd June | 16:30 - 18:00

International Dispute Resolution Centre Ltd (IDRC), 1 Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7BQ

Building on the successful format of CORLA's event at LIDW25, and with the number of group claims continuing to rise, come join the debate between claimant and defence lawyers as to whether the current Group Actions framework is fit for purpose, chaired by Alexander Antelme KC.

Brick Court Speaker: Sarah Abram KC

 

Should sanctions regimes recognise changed behaviour?

Wednesday 3rd June | 16:30 - 18:00 - Networking reception to follow

Thomas Doggett's Bar, Doggett’s Coat and Badge, 1 Blackfriars Bridge, London, SE1 9UD

This event debates how sanctions can be used to change the behaviour of their targets. Sanctions regimes have grown dramatically since 2022, including companies and individuals with apparently limited connection to the object of each regime. The rationale for these targeted financial sanctions is often to encourage behavioural change in their subjects, as we have seen recently with the actions of the UK. This raises challenges for legal practitioners representing sanctioned people and companies.

Brick Court Speaker: Maya Lester KC

 

Levelling the Playing Field: Opportunities and Obstacles Generated by Competition Law for Stakeholders in Sporting Disputes

Thursday 4th June | 09:00 - 10:30

Travers Smith LLP, 3 Stonecutter St, London, EC4A 4AW

The session would explore how clubs, athletes, breakaway competitions, leagues and investors can leverage competition law arguments to improve their strategic positioning in disputes, whether to challenge exclusionary rules, resist regulatory constraints, or defend governance frameworks. The session would also examine the procedural and remedial implications of running competition arguments in arbitration (including jurisdictional questions, interim measures, confidentiality versus public scrutiny, and the enforcement of awards)

Brick Court Speaker: Sarah Ford KC

 

Sanctions at the Breaking Point: Freeze, Seize, and a Fragmenting Global Landscape

Thursday 4th June | 14:00 - 15:30 - Networking reception to follow

Mishcon De Reya LLP, Africa House, 70 Kingsway, WC2B 6AH

This seminar addresses two critical challenges in contemporary sanctions law. First, we will discuss when temporary freezing measures might cross into permanent seizure, politically or practically —a threshold question with profound implications for individuals and companies alike. This will lead into a wider discussion of the increasingly fragmented cross-border sanctions landscape, particularly the growing divergence between UK/EU and US regimes. As Western allies adopt potentially differing strategies, practitioners face mounting challenges navigating conflicting obligations, risks, and disputes in an unpredictable regulatory environment.

Brick Court Speaker: Maya Lester KC

 

Too Easy, Too Difficult or Just Right? Challenges under S. 68 of the English Arbitration Act.

Thursday 4th June | 16:30 - 18:00

WilmerHale, 49 Park Lane, London, W1K 1PS

Section 68 of the English Arbitration Act permits parties to apply to the court to challenge an arbitral award on the basis of a serious irregularity affecting the tribunal, the proceedings, or the award itself. Although such challenges are traditionally regarded as difficult to sustain, the English courts have been required to consider a growing number of Section 68 applications in recent years. This panel will examine key recent decisions and consider how the courts have articulated and applied the statutory threshold in practice. Drawing on their extensive experience advising on and arguing Section 68 challenges, the panellists will discuss the circumstances in which such applications may have realistic prospects of success, as well as the strategic, procedural, and tactical considerations that parties should take into account when deciding whether to pursue a challenge

Brick Court Speaker: Chintan Chandrachud

 

Turning the Tables on Hackers: Strategic Tools for Victims of Hacking and Fraud

Friday 5th June | 14:00 - 15:30 - Networking reception to follow

Brick Court Chambers, 7-8 Essex St, Temple, London WC2R 3LD

This session explores how established civil causes of action and disclosure tools are being repurposed to investigate cyber enabled wrongdoing and recover digital assets internationally. It examines causes of action enabling early court intervention, including breach of confidence, data protection, economic torts and proprietary claims over assets and confidential data. We also look at the practicalities of identifying wrongdoers and tracing assets through disclosure mechanisms such as Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust Orders, Model E disclosure and cross border tools including U.S. §1782 applications. Our presentation concludes with the practical realities of cyber disputes, emergency relief, parallel proceedings, enforcement challenges, and the ethical responsibilities of advisers operating in crisis situations.

Brick Court Speaker: Hugo Leith