Course 2: Practical Skills for Competition Dispute Resolution

Course 2 of our Comparative Competition Law Summer School is a haf day intensive immersion into practical skills for resolving competition and regulatory disputes, including a practical workshop and course evaluation. 

The programme covers interviewing skills, advocacy and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) (an umbrella term for a number of processes to settle disagreements between parties by extra-judicial means including arbitration and mediation).  It reflects the most up-to-date experience in skills-based education applied in the specific area of competition and regulatory disputes.

Almost all competition law cases and claims are resolved out of court.  With increasing interest in Europe, in the UK and internationally in private enforcement of competition disputes, it is natural to consider the interplay between litigation and ADR.  The use of arbitration in competition cases is accepted.  Comparatively less attention has been given to mediation. 

The course will explore:

• Interview skills in competition and regulatory cases, whether dealing with suspects, witnesses, whistleblowers or victims.
• Use of evidence in competition and regulatory dispute resolution.
• Core advocacy and presentation skills in a competition and regulatory dispute context
• The use of ADR in competition and regulatory cases including arbitration, conciliation and mediation
• Core mediation skills in a competition and regulatory dispute context.

Key benefits:

• Insights from the EU, UK and international experience in this fast-moving and high profile area.
• Interactive case studies and workshops including a Mock Trial and Mock Mediation.  Participants will be given an opportunity to test their learnings by taking on the role of advocate, instructing solicitor, party witness and mediator.   Participants will have an opportunity to apply their learnings in real and challenging situations in interactive and engaging sessions.
• Existing knowledge of competition law and regulation is not essential.  The subject-matter of the disputes is deliberately sector neutral to allow for free debate and to ensure that participants are able to contribute irrespective of their background, knowledge and experience.
• Experience and presentation from a leading practitioner in the field, Suzanne Rab who has advised on some of the largest competition law matters internationally and is a practising barrister and accredited mediator. She has had previous roles as a solicitor partner and director in a leading economics practice.
• Certificate of Satisfactory Completion on satisfactory completion of the course and Competition Law Certificate of Attendance upon achieving the required pass-mark.
• Offered as a standalone programme or a platform to integrate other elements of the Summer School with an opportunity to combine the course with Course 1 (EU and UK Competition Law), Course 3 (International Competition Law) and Course 4 (Comparative Media Ownership Regulation).

 The course will be of particular interest to:

• Practising competition lawyers, economists and policy-makers seeking to translate and hone their substantive knowledge of competition law and regulation into a practical dispute resolution environment.
• Litigators, non-competition lawyers (or competition lawyers post-career break) who want to acquire an understanding of dispute resolution techniques sufficient to have the right reflexes to be able to identify and support resolution of competition and regulatory issues in their day-to-day work.
• Post-graduate students who want a taster of competition and regulatory dispute resolution in practice before deciding whether to pursue a career as a barrister, solicitor, economist, or regulatory policy-maker.
• Pupil and junior barristers seeking to develop their advocacy skills in a competition and regulatory dispute context before deciding to specialise in these areas.
• Generalist arbitrators/mediators seeking to deepen their understanding of competition and regulatory dispute resolution and develop their skills in this area.
• New staff at competition and regulatory authorities as part of their induction.
• Mid-sized UK law firms who want to give trainees or recently qualified lawyers an understanding of competition and regulatory dispute resolution skills in practice, but who do not have the size/depth of in-house expertise to organise the training internally.
• Large companies/companies based in UK/EU more likely to be the object of competition law scrutiny who want to give staff an understanding of competition and regulatory dispute resolution, but who do not have the size/depth of in-house expertise to organise the training internally.

Duration:

1 half day plus evaluation (submitted electronically)

Course timetable: