Disputes Day
Wednesday 29th November | The Brewery, London
The event designed for in-house legal teams working on actual or potential contentious matters is back for the second year.
Whether you’re a specialist litigation professional working in-house, or inherited a portfolio of disputes and feel out of your comfort zone – this event is for you!
Tickets for this event are free.
Please note: This event is exclusively for in-house legal professionals and a small number of curated sponsors from the wider ecosystem. Interested in partnership opportunities? Contact us to learn more!
Discover new ideas
Learn from senior in-house lawyers and a selection of experts from the wider ecosystem on the most relevant topics. From getting practical with sessions exploring how to manage disputes, to diving into the technical topics and the hottest trends.
Make new connections
Meet fellow members of the Community with some focused networking sessions and plenty of time for organic mingling in the coffee line or over lunch. Plus, easy ways to identify others with a similar level of experience with disputes as you.
Share your story
Join small group workshops (held under Chatham House Rule) built into the day’s agenda so you can reflect on learnings from sessions, swap your experiences, and candidly discuss your thoughts with your peers.
With thanks to our partners
Do you think you could provide value to the in-house legal community at Disputes Day? Reach out to discuss our partnership opportunities.
Agenda
Subject to change
Registration & breakfast
08.30 - 09.00
Breakfast and networking for the early birds. And pick a coloured lanyard to signal how experienced a litigator you are (or not!).
A Crafty welcome & crowd-sourcing the unconference agenda
09.00 - 09.35
Join Crafty Counsel’s Founder, Ben White, for a welcome address on what to expect during the day. Followed by a surprise group session - where Toby Hornett, Crafty Counsel’s Head of Community, gets you moving to help programme the “unconference” session later in the day
What’s “fair game” when lawyers are protecting their client?
09.35 - 10.05
Join us for our keynote on what’s “fair game” when lawyers are protecting their client? The Post Office Scandal has been the UK’s most widespread ever miscarriage of justice, involving the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of managers of post offices across more than 20 years. Nick Wallis has arguably done more than any other journalist to cover the story and in particular shine a light on the catastrophic personal impact on the victims. Among other things, Nick covered the civil claim brought by 555 sub-postmasters against the Post Office in the High Court, leading to a settlement in 2019; the subsequent referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission to the Court of Appeal for the quashing of multiple convictions; and the ongoing Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. We have invited Nick to share his perspective on law, lawyers, and how it feels to be on “the other side”.
Break
10.05 - 10.20
Take a quick break between content to re-caffeinate, gather your thoughts, and chat with new friends.
Theme: “Let’s get practical” - how to manage disputes as an in-house lawyer
How to avoid CEO panic
10.20 - 10.45
A practical guide for in-house lawyers working on a dispute for the first time.
Navigating senior executive exits: settlements, risks and NDAs post-Me Too
10.45 - 11.10
A senior exec departure can quickly spiral into a nasty dispute unless carefully managed - and draw the in-house legal team into the process. Meanwhile, lawyers need to be increasingly careful over what is appropriate to include in a settlement agreement in the context of well publicised instances of “NDA abuse” in recent years. Our panel explores how in-house legal can help navigate their business through these business critical and emotionally charged moments.
Crisis, what crisis? What comms leaders really want from their lawyer colleagues in emergency situations
11.10 - 11.35
We welcome a senior communications professional to discuss both good and bad examples of Comms and Legal teams working together in corporate crisis situations.
Small group workshops
11.45 - 12.15
Join your peers in smaller groups as we break into three workshops to discuss the morning's sessions. Meet the speakers up close, share your concerns with peers who "get it". Chatham House Rule applies.
Lunch
12.15 - 13.15
Build connections and relationships over a delicious lunch.
Theme: “Let’s get technical” - diving into some hot disputes trends
Avoiding ESG disputes: more than just legal
13.15 - 13.40
As highly publicised cases such as Glencore, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Client Earth have shown, stakeholder activism is increasingly responsible for high-profile claims brought against businesses. This panel will consider how increased stakeholder activism is shaping the litigation landscape and outline why risk management is crucial in avoiding ESG disputes in the first place. You can also expect to hear war stories from the front line – what went wrong and how to get it right.
Mediation: a survival guide
13.40 - 14.05
From “do your homework” to “how to prepare your business colleagues” and “don’t make plans for the evening”, our panel discusses their experience of mediation and what they wished they’d known earlier.
Managing privilege in cross-border disputes - the latest best practice
14.05 -14.30
We discuss the evergreen topic of legal privilege for in-house legal, taking an international slant. How to manage cross-border disputes across a dispersed legal team, when the approaches to legal privilege vary substantially across jurisdictions?
Break
14.30 - 14.45
Take a quick break between content to re-caffeinate, gather your thoughts, and chat with new friends.
Small group workshops
14.45 - 15.15
Join your peers in smaller groups as we break into three workshops to discuss the afternoon's sessions. Meet the speakers up close, share your concerns with peers who "get it". Chatham House Rule applies.
"Unconference” session
15.25 - 16.05
End the day with a bang by attending the unconference session! Toby Hornett, our Head of Community, reveals the big themes and urgent questions identified by you in the morning's group exercise. If you want to know what is top of mind on managing disputes for your in-house legal peers, don't miss this
Wrap up and reflections
16.05 - 16.30
A chance to hear from the stage on how the day went, big learnings, and what happens next for Crafty Counsel and your community.
Afterparty with Howard Kennedy
17.00 onwards
All Bar One, Moorgate
Continue the conversations and connecting with the peers at the afterparty hosted by our event partners, Howard Kennedy.
Join us on 29th of November
Don’t miss out on the only event in the UK designed for in-house legal teams working on actual or potential contentious matters is back for the second year.