Webinar summary: understanding legal practice – dispute resolution

Those pursuing a career in law will be aware that there is a variety of practice areas to specialise in, ranging from corporate to private client.

Being able to understand these areas and how they differentiate from one another can be challenging.

One way aspiring lawyers can gain a deeper understanding is via insider, expert knowledge.

The LawCareers.Net’s webinar offered a solution to penetrating the practice area of dispute resolution, by partnering with:

• Alison Hardy, head of real estate dispute resolution at Ashurst LLP;
• Emily Van Schalkwyk, real estate litigation partner at Osborne Clarke LLP; and
• Charlotte Winter, shipping and aviation dispute resolution partner at Norton Rose Fulbright.

The panellists came together to provide an event designed to deepen the viewers’ understanding of:

• what it is a dispute resolution lawyer does; and
• the traits someone wanting to qualify into the field will commonly have.

This article outlines some of the key takeaways from the event, which will be valuable for those interested in dispute resolution.

The role of a dispute resolution lawyer also includes:

• great strategy;
• having the ability to advise clients on current problems;
• being proactive;
• looking to future problems and how these can be mitigated to keep deals on track; and
• meeting clients’ commercial objectives.

Dispute resolution lawyers are problem solvers; they see an issue and can resolve the problem in a unique manner, where others might become stressed or flustered. Most of those qualified in this field are often born litigators, even if they take alternative routes to qualify as one.

This means that you must enjoy being presented with a problem, even if this leads you in different directions throughout the process. You also need to be good at advocacy because there will be situations where arbitration between parties is unsuccessful and you have to go to court.

All litigators form close relationships with their clients because there is a lot of “hand holding”. Profile building must be done to form these relationships and build trust with clients. Conferences and client dinners are amongst many  ways in which these relationships are built and maintained. This close relationship enables the lawyer to have a deeper commercial insight into possible situations that may arise.

One key point mentioned during the webinar was how litigators are actively involved in law making. One of the panellists explained that there are primary and secondary sources setting out the law but that litigators can help to refine or extend this by bringing cases to the courts and tribunals.

An example of significance is the work being undertaken by litigators to expand and clarify what the government meant with the Digital Economy Act 2017 (ie, the electronics communication code, which governs the rights of electronic communications operators).

It was suggested that the new code released by the government, while meaning to allow operators to roll out digital infrastructure much more quickly and effectively to surpass other European countries, has caused much congestion because debate is being had as to what the legislation means and how it should be applied.

Key traits of  litigators/dispute resolution lawyers

Enjoying unpredictability and change

There are always new challenges impacting those working in the field, such as court ordered injunctions, which compel action or prevent action but also changes in policies released by the government impacting how the clients can operate. Being prepared for this and looking forward to solving the issues that arise as a result should bring a sense of curiosity and excitement.

Resilience

The unpredictable nature of this area can mean that you often change direction, despite having worked towards another. You must be able to roll with the punches and not take things personally when these changes appear.

Work ethic

As with all lawyers, it is important to be hard working and  unafraid of a change in direction. Look outside the box for solutions and enjoy the challenges that the work poses.

Commercial understanding

There are circumstances when the clients may have an emotional investment in a situation. However, litigators must always have a business outlook and focus on the client’s business strategy and needs, and use this to effectively problem solve .

Dispute resolution experiences

A key example of a situation that arose, where both Alison Hardy and Charlotte Winters had a noteworthy role, was in the Thomas Cook insolvency. Alison was appointed to act for the official receiver taking control of the Thomas Cook entities and putting them into liquidation. She was involved in deploying over 100 individuals to be prepared when the liquidation took effect, to explain to the employees and customers of Thomas Cook what exactly was taking place.

There was a great effort required in this, as there had to be in-depth planning to ensure that the insolvency occurred when most of the aircrafts were grounded. She also described how she was involved in selling Thomas Cooks’ 555 retail store to Hays Travel. The difficulty in this transaction she described was taking account of how it was affecting people’s lives through the loss of jobs but that her role required the emotional aspect to be put aside to focus on the business outcome.

Similarly, Charlotte Winters described her role in the Thomas Cook insolvency. She explained how she was acting for the lessors of aircrafts that Thomas Cook were contracting with. She described numerous issues occurring and different groups (eg: a Scandinavian Thomas Cook entity.) She explained how her role was to acquire the aircrafts back for the lessors but also to advise them on how they could survive the change occurring.

Further to this, she described how challenging this situation was. One problematic area being the statutory provision enabling airports and the Civil Aviation Authority to detain aircrafts if there were missing payments, even where the aircrafts were leased out and not owned by the airlines themselves.

Emily also provided a key example of being involved in the HS2 rail government project and acting for the statutory undertakers who need to move infrastructure to facilitate the railway line. On top of this she described how she is currently actively involved in a large-scale infrastructure deal worth £300 million and how within this scenario she is required to provide sound, solid legal advice regarding risks moving forward and practical advice on the best exit strategy, all while considering the needs of the business.

To conclude the event the panellists were forthcoming in sharing some of their ‘war stories’ from working as a litigator. While these stories are more extreme, they can work to show some of the unpredictability and interesting occurrences in the industry.

• Alison Hardy described some of the unglamorous experiences she has had. One such time was early on in her career, where she had to serve papers to a garage but two employees there would not allow her to do so. She was advised by her supervisor that they had to receive these documents that day. Thinking creatively, Alison drove past the garage and threw the document onto the premises, which she then later had to do a witness statement for.
• Emily Van Schalkwyk explained that there was a time when she received documents that had been signed in blood. She also had experienced an altercation in court proceedings, where she was threatened by a family member of an insolvent company.
• Charlotte Winters mentioned that her experiences had not been so dramatic but there was an event that stood out. She described a time where an individual had just bought an airline but unfortunately had not undertaken due diligence and her client sought to repossess the aircrafts, due to parts of the aeroplane being owned by another. She described how the repossession took place while the new owner of the airline was hosting the media to celebrate their purchase and how the repossession of the aircrafts had to be well-timed for when they touched down at the respective airports.

If you’re interested in attending LawCareers.Net webinars:

• Read Tamzin’s previous webinar summary: ‘Webinar review: law firm applications – how to succeed’;
• read how to make the most of webinars via LCN Blogs;
• explore LawCareers.Net’s YouTube channel to catch-up on past webinars; and
• register to attend future webinars via LawCareers.Net’s Diary page.

Tamzin Bildstein (she/her) is a third-year undergraduate LLB law student at the University of Kent.