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Sir Geoffrey Vos becomes the new Master of the Rolls
  • Jan 12, 2021
  • Latest News

Sir Geoffrey Vos has made it clear that he will be making substantial changes to the civil justice system, many of which will directly affect work as an expert witness. Bond Solon are delighted to tell you Sir Geoffrey has confirmed he will be the keynote speaker at this year's Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference on Friday 5 November 2021.

He has promised to “radically rethink” civil justice, arguing that the UK needs an online system to resolve business disputes to attract international parties. Sir Geoffrey told the annual bar conference last year that international commerce “will be looking for dispute resolution mechanisms that are fit for new business methods which involve blockchain, cyber assets and artificial intelligence”.

He added that the “UK legal community needs to be ambitious in terms of digitalisation if it is to retain and enhance its status...” “I hope that in my new role as head of civil justice I will be able to take a holistic look at civil justice...looking from one end at the 60 million disputes resolved annually by artificial intelligence on eBay, to the other end at the lengthy face-to-face trials that go on in the Rolls Building...I've no doubt that we need an online system that creates a single data record and is directed at identifying and resolving the real issues that divide the parties. Mediated interventions must be integrated into the process so that ADR is not seen as a voluntary add-on.”

He has also said "big name reforms” to civil justice – such as Lord Woolf’s changes to civil procedure rules in the 1990s – are no longer suitable because “life is moving too fast...We need… to set a direction of travel which will make our legal system perfect for the technological changes that are to come, not just for the ones that have already happened.”

So there will definitely be big changes ahead that you need to be aware of. This year’s conference really is a must attend event. Other confirmed speakers include:
Ben Parry-Smith, partner at Payne Hicks Beach - described in The Lawyer Hot 100 as a "protégé of Fiona Shackleton, the most feared divorce lawyer in Britain”, will discuss how to get the best out of your relationship with your instructing party.
The Senior Costs Judge Andrew Gordon-Saker. Costs are an ever popular subject for experts and you will hear from the most senior costs judge the important changes that have happened since his excellent presentation five years ago.
Dr Jock Mackenzie, one of the leading Clinical Negligence Lawyers in England and Wales, will deliver the medico-legal parallel session.
Booking is easy: visit our website or call us on 020 7549 2549. If you book before 31 March 2021 , you will pay the early bird rate of £245+VAT (full price £285 + VAT).

We have booked the Church House Conference Centre, Westminster, for this year’s conference. We are looking to make this a hybrid event, which gives you the option of either attending in person or online. Further details will be shared with you in due course.

Mark Solon
info@bondsolon.com
020 7549 2549