Thank you to everyone who joined us on Thursday for the FCJ Annual Conference!
It was fantastic to see such strong attendance and engagement throughout the day. We had a packed agenda, full of insightful discussions and thought-provoking panels.
The afternoon’s proceedings began with a warm welcome from our Executive Director Seema Kennedy and our host Paul Colpitts, Google. Welcome remarks were followed by a speech from David Barker from Pinsent Masons, our event’s gold sponsor. We were then joined by the Co-Chair of the Civil Justice Council, Dr John Sorabji, discussing the CJC Review into third-party litigation funding.
We were delighted to hear from an array of panellists. Notably, former Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk KC, who spoke about the current political and legislative landscape, while Carolyn Blake from the U.S Chamber of Commerce ILR, discussed international trends on litigation. In the day’s final panel, Burnley Express investigative journalist, Laura Longworth, closed with a powerful discussion on the human impact of predatory litigation funding.
Throughout the day, our attendees heard about the significant economic burden that mass claims can place on the UK economy’s growth agenda, and the concerning rise of unregulated third-party litigation funding and its broader implications for the justice system.
We would like to give special thanks to one of our key members, the U.S Chamber of Commerce ILR for travelling across the Atlantic to attend our conference. It is always galvanising to hear about the issues from a US perspective, many thanks to ILR President Stephen Waguespack and Senior Director David Meyerson for your contributions.
The day’s conversations underscored just how much work still lies ahead. As we look to the next six months, it’s clear that our efforts will be more important than ever. We are grateful to Google for generously hosting the event, and to our sponsors Pinsent Masons, Linklaters, and Covington & Burling LLP for their invaluable support.
We look forward to building on the momentum from this year’s conference in the months ahead.
