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We are delighted to once again be participating in London International Disputes Week 2026.
The disputes landscape is shifting. Businesses are navigating increasing financial distress in private equity and credit markets, growing complexity in cross-border litigation, fundamental questions about access to justice and the role of collective actions, and mounting pressure on major government contracts. At the same time, the international arbitration community is grappling with some of its most challenging procedural and jurisdictional questions in years.
As part of this year's LIDW, our lawyers will be hosting and co-hosting eight sessions across the 3rd and 4th of June, bringing together leading practitioners to explore these issues head on: from ex parte relief in arbitration and the divergence between UK and US litigation procedure, to distress in private credit, insolvency disputes, collective redress, and lessons from the UK National Lottery litigation.
These sessions are designed to bring together clients, counsel, and industry experts for frank, in-depth discussion on the challenges that matter most right now. Please see further details on each session below.
Wednesday 3 June 2026
Two Legal Systems Divided by a Common Language: How UK and US Procedure Shape Strategy
9:00 – 10:00
This panel brings together leading litigators and expert witnesses with deep experience in both UK and US procedures. While the UK and US systems share common roots, their procedural frameworks diverge in ways that fundamentally shape litigation and present key strategic considerations on each side of the pond. The panel will share their knowledge of both systems and highlight common pitfalls for unwary lawyers and clients navigating a new forum.
Rather than simply comparing systems, the discussion will focus on these challenges in the context of expert evidence. Many of the practical realities for disputes across boarders may be crystallised through the lens of the expert’s mandate:
- Independence, advocacy and perception in different forums
- The impact of depositions and joint statements on expert preparation
- Admissibility challenges and credibility before judges and juries
- How procedural structures influence witness testimony
Speakers
- Yasseen Gailani - Quinn Emanuel
- Jeffrey Boxer - Quinn Emanuel
- Paul Hughes - 3VB
- Craig Coben - SEDA
- Andrew Hildreth - SEDA
Ex parte relief in arbitration: effective relief or anathema to consent?
11:30 - 13:00
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.
Speakers
- Stephen Jagusch KC- Partner - Quinn Emanuel
- Manthi Wickramasooriya - Partner - Quinn Emanuel
- James Smithdale - Of Counsel - Quinn Emanuel
- Jason Robinson KC - 7KBW
- Hilary Heilbron KC - Brick Court
Distress in Private Equity and Private Credit: Navigating the Next Wave of Disputes
14:00 – 15:30
This session explores disputes arising from distressed M&A in private equity, including sales of cash‑strapped portfolio companies nearing insolvency, disputes arising from restructuring processes, conflicts triggered by high‑MOIC new‑money injections, and avenues for clawing back value when investments underperform.
Speakers
- Richard East - Quinn Emanuel
- Daniel Freund - Quinn Emanuel
- Luke Harrison (Chair) - Keidan Harrison LLP
- Alex Akin - Keidan Harrison LLP
- Georgina Peters - South Square
- Jamie Kermisch - Valere Capital
Continuation Deals: A New Frontier for Disputes in Sponsor-Backed M&A?
16:30 - 18:00
Continuation deals have become one of the most significant structural innovations in private equity over the last decade. By rolling assets into new fund structures rather than exiting, these deals offer sponsors and existing investors flexibility and the opportunity to capture further upside. But they also create a complex web of actual and potential conflicts — between the sponsor and its existing investor base, between rolling and exiting investors, and around the valuation of assets being transferred.
As the continuation deal market increases in size and importance, so do the potential litigation risks. This panel will therefore bring together leading members of Quinn Emanuel’s private equity disputes practice, a leading silk in private equity disputes, and a partner at leading Italian firm Carbonetti e Associati to examine this emerging potential field of disputes from multiple perspectives.
Speakers
- Yasseen Gailani - Quinn Emanuel
- Hafsa Zayyan - Quinn Emanuel
- Farhaz Khan KC - 3VB
- Ugo Giordano - Studio Carbonetti
Thursday 4 June 2026
International arbitration at the frontline of world turmoil and the global energy and infrastructure reset
09:00 - 10:30
With a focus on recent events, the panel will explore the most pressing issues facing participants in the energy and infrastructure sectors, and how London-seated arbitration has adapted – and continues to adapt – to meet those challenges.
Speakers
- Melis Acuner - Quinn Emanuel
- Mehmet Karakoc - Secretariat
- Peter Hillerstrom - Quinn Emanuel
Lend, Lose, Litigate: Credit, Collateral and the Cutting Edge of Insolvency Disputes
11:30 - 13:00
This discussion will draw on first-hand experience of live and recent cases to examine three storms gathering in the restructuring and insolvency space: the resurgence of double pledging, developments in the law on transactions defrauding creditors, and the growing use of the restructuring plan as a litigation tool.
Expect robust discussion, practical insight, and an honest reckoning with where the law is, where it is heading, and what that means for those advising clients in the private credit, restructuring and insolvency space.
Speakers
- Karabeth Ovenden - Quinn Emanuel
- Nik Bruce-Smith - Quinn Emanuel
- William Bartlett - Quinn Emanuel
- Adam Al-Attar KC - South Square
Access to Justice at Scale: The Evolving Role of Collective Actions in the UK
14:00 - 15:30
As collective actions become an increasingly prominent feature of the litigation landscape, understanding the regime and its implications has never been more important for advisors across all sectors. This talk provides a practical guide to bringing and defending collective actions before the UK courts, including the CAT, from certification requirements to funding considerations, while also examining the broader landscape of collective redress, including the Civil Justice Council’s report on litigation funding. Providing insight from both lawyers and Funders, the session sets out a balanced vision for how the UK's collective action framework can evolve to provide clarity, certainty and fairness for all parties, ensuring that the regime operates effectively and proportionately in an age of complex, large-scale disputes.
Speakers
- Megan Hiluta - Quinn Emanuel
- Kate Vernon - Quinn Emanuel
- Julianne Hughes Jennet - Quinn Emanuel
- Niranjan Venkatesan - One Essex Court
- Elly Brindle - Winterbrook Capital
Litigating major UK Government contracts: lessons from the UK National Lottery litigation
16:30 - 18:00
In 2022, the UK government decided that the c. £8 billion Fourth National Lottery Licence (4NLL) - generally regarded as the most valuable public contract in the United Kingdom - should be awarded to Allwyn, the Czech owned global lotteries operator. The decision brought ended Camelot’s decades long position as the UK lottery provider, deprived the global gambling leader IGT of one of its key lottery technology contract and provoked a furious response from the well-known businessman Mr Richard Desmond, who had bid in the 4NLC competition as ’The New Lottery Company’.
An unprecedented series of legal challenges followed, with the 4NLL award decision giving rise to substantial, complex proceedings in the High Court , Court of Appeal and Competition Appeal Tribunal, a plethora of hotly contested interim hearings over a period of 4 years, legal costs running into many tens of millions of pounds and important judgments on a number of novel and significant legal issues (including the availability of injunctive relief in respect of major Government projects and the loss of privilege (as a result of the accidental disclosure by the UK Government of c. 5000 legally privileged documents to some of the claimants). The 10-week trial of Richard Desmond’s legal challenge to the fairness and integrity of the 4NLC award decision, and various modifications made to the 4NLL after it was awarded, was heard by the High Court in October 2025-January 2026 and judgment will be handed down in April 2026.
Dominic Roughton of Quinn Emanuel and Joseph Barrett KC of 11KBW, who acted for Allwyn at each stage of the 4NLC litigation, with Kate Vernon of Quinn Emanuel and Rupert Paines of 11KBW, will explore the key legal, strategic and tactical lessons that emerge from the national lottery litigation. The talk will be of particular interest for international and UK businesses and commercial operators who contract, or transact, with the UK Government in respect of significant UK public sector contracts and projects.
Speakers
- Dominic Roughton - Quinn Emanuel
- Kate Vernon - Quinn Emanuel
- Annabel Elliott - Quinn Emanuel
- Joseph Barrett KC - 11KBW
- Rupert Paines - 11KBW