News and Insights
Information and updates from LCAM
Specialist perspectives, inspiring thought leadership and recent developments in alternative dispute resolution.
A Mediator’s Review of Unusual Times
By early March 2020, it was clear that Covid-19 was going to affect mediation and all other business meetings. I completed face-to-face mediations at offices where precautionary measures were already in place - then came lockdown. Like other mediators, I grappled with...
My Mediation Practice in 2020
Seismic shift is probably the best way to describe how the practice of mediation changed in 2020. Before Covid, Mediation was fundamentally seen as a face-to-face activity. Like many mediators, I could point to a few cases where some participants had joined by video...
Arbitrating in the Pandemic
The pandemic has affected us all but whatever deprivations we have each suffered, the pandemic has changed, and possibly for the better, arbitration procedure. The pandemic has shown the arbitration community that life can go on much as it did before albeit with...
Arbitration in 2020/2021 and beyond
The last year has been extraordinary. However, the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines gives fresh hope that there may soon be a transition to a new state of affairs (a “new normal”, as it is often called). What that will look like is difficult to see, especially because...
Mediation in England & Wales: Past, Present, and Future
Past: The early push for mediation Over the years, the English judiciary has increasingly encouraged parties to settle their disputes via alternative dispute resolution ("ADR"). In 1994, Lord Woolf was appointed to find a solution capable of reducing the cost, delay...
Quality Control: Role of the Board under the LCAM Arbitration Rules
The efficient and effective resolution of a dispute is frequently down to who the arbitrator or arbitrators are determining the dispute. The Composition of the Arbitral Tribunal is set out in Articles 11 to 14 of the LCAM Arbitration Rules (the Rules) and Article 7 of...
Cost Effective Arbitration under the LCAM Arbitration Rules
After a dispute arises and a business seeks legal advice, one of the first questions is usually “how much is this going to cost me?”. Pursuing or defending a claim in arbitration proceedings is a big financial risk for companies and effective cost management is...
Starting an arbitration under the LCAM Arbitration Rules: Efficient management of time limits
The London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (“LCAM”) has been founded under the auspices of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (“LCCI”), the capital’s largest independent business network and business support organisation, to provide efficient, innovative...
Disclosure of potential conflicts: Obligations on arbitrators to disclose potential conflicts of interest
The launch of LCAM May 2020 saw the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry launch its independent dispute resolution service, the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation, or LCAM. LCAM’s aim is to provide fast, innovative and cost-effective mediation and...
Producing the Award on time: the time limit and fee sanctions in the new LCAM Rules
In many arbitral proceedings, both ad hoc and institutional, there will be no set time limit on production of the award. This can be a source of significant frustration for the parties, who may be left waiting for many months to receive the award, potentially with...
