London lawyers expect boom in legal disputes on the back of Brexit and Covid-19
London litigators are readying themselves for a new wave of litigation lawsuits on the back of Brexit and Covid-19.
In a survey carried out by the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), 84 per cent of lawyers polled said they expect a surge in the number of Covid related contractual disputes.
Another 70 per cent of those polled said they expect a boom in the number of insolvency cases, linked to the impacts of Covid-19.
At the same time, half of lawyers surveyed said they expect a rise in the number of lawsuits over business interruption claims, after the High Court said insurers are liable to pay Covid-19 linked business interruption claims.
The poll of 110 London lawyers comes after the High Court ruled in favour of high end restauranter Corbin & King in stating insurance giant Axa must pay out on its business interruption policy for restaurants shut during lockdown.
The ruling is expected to result in further claims from other hospitality businesses in the future.
More than half (57 per cent) of lawyers surveyed also said they expect an increase in Brexit related lawsuits, on the back of an increase in the number of employment and regulatory disputes.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of lawyers surveyed said they do not believe Brexit will force litigants to fight their court battles elsewhere, as they said the UK legal system will retain its top position despite the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU).
Tim Synes, partner at London law firm Stewarts, said: “There is no doubt that Covid, Brexit, inflation, interest rates, and now the war, have set down conditions which will foment significant amounts of litigation, particularly in the insolvency and restructuring space.”
“We can expect further larger scale corporate failures, and with that, large-scale disputes,” Synes added.