Legal Week litigation event to cover topics including the Bribery Act and the Jackson review of civil costs

Lord Grabiner QC is to head up an elite line-up of judges, barristers and solicitors discussing the key dispute trends at next month's Legal Week Commercial Litigation Forum.

Grabiner (pictured) will chair the event alongside a roster of senior lawyers, including Citibank litigation head Peter Fisher-Jones, Barclays Bank director of litigation and special investigations Jonathan Peddie, Clifford Chance (CC) commercial litigation head Simon Davis, Law Society chief executive Des Hudson and Ernst & Young head of fraud investigation John Smart.

The event, now in its sixth year, will cover a number of topics including the Bribery Act, the Jackson review of civil litigation costs and the ways in which businesses can deal with tougher regulatory enforcement.

CC litigation partner and panel member Luke Tolaini commented: "The leading area everyone is looking at currently is the Bribery Act, resulting in a lot of companies revisiting where they stand on bribery and corruption and the systems and controls around managing that risk."

He added: "It is the leading corporate compliance issue at the moment as regulators and prosecutors try to sharpen their enforcement regimes."

Other topics covered will include the future prospects for litigation funding, alternative fees, litigation outsourcing and 'wiki-litigation'.

Eversheds commercial disputes partner John Heaps, who will chair a panel debate on disaster litigation, commented: "There are various competing interests once disaster strikes, from the company to its customers, insurers, potential claimants and press relations. The session will explore the tension and various disciplines that get involved when disaster litigation occurs."

The event, which was drawn up by an advisory board including Grabiner, Peddie, Herbert Smith head of disputes Sonya Leydecker and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer litigation partner Raj Parker, will take place at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London on 15 September.