Addleshaw Goddard at London Arbitration Week

Session 1 : Rehearsal or reality? Navigating the line between witness performance, preparation, and coaching.

“Witness preparation” means very different things in different legal cultures – and tribunals are watching. This session will explore the ethical boundaries on coaching and rehearsal across key jurisdictions, asking how far counsel can go before they risk undermining the integrity of the evidence. Drawing on counsel and tribunal experience, we will examine how style of preparation, witness demeanour and apparent “polish” can shape the performance of witnesses and credibility assessments in international arbitration. The panel will also provide cutting edge psychological insights into the fallibility and reconstructive nature of memory, looking at how preparation for cross examination can both clarify and distort recollection. Combining practical perspectives from advocates and arbitrators with cognitive science, the discussion will ask whether current ethical rules adequately protect the search for the truth – and what tribunals should infer when they suspect the witness has been prepared a little too well.

Speakers

Rick Gal - Legal Director, Addleshaw Goddard LLP (London)
Yvette Borrius - Partner, Addleshaw Goddard LLP (The Netherlands)
Sean Sheely - Partner, Holland & Knight
Andy Hobbs - Managing Director & Performance Psychologist, Assurety
Jeremy Brier KC - Essex Court Chambers
Wendy Miles KC - Twenty Essex

Session 2: The engineer in the dock: Is FIDIC's gatekeeper designing-in disputes?

On almost every major infrastructure arbitration, one character is always on the witness list: the Engineer. Supposedly neutral, contract‑empowered and technically in charge, the FIDIC Engineer is meant to keep projects moving and disputes under control. Yet by the time a case reaches arbitration, the Engineer is at the centre of the dispute.

This session puts the Engineer “in the dock” and asks a blunt question: Under FIDIC, is the Engineer a dispute‑avoider – or the single biggest reason construction cases end up in arbitration? In a fast‑paced, question‑driven debate involving industry experts, we will stress‑test the Engineer’s role against the reality of major projects and key FIDIC provisions, especially Clauses 3.1, 3.5 and 20.1.

The session is deliberately candid. The aim is not to simply blame the Engineer, but to test – honestly and in public – whether the way the FIDIC Engineer is engaged, constrained and used is quietly designing arbitrations into projects from day one.

Please be advised that registration for this event will be administered by London Arbitration Week. As part of the registration process, your details will be shared with them.

Speakers

Andrew Greaves - Head of Construction & Engineering Group, Addleshaw Goddard LLP
Austin Duffy - Director, FenwayX
James Shackleton - Partner, Addleshaw Goddard LLP
Sandy Webster - Associate Director, Secretariat
Charlie Aitchison - Partner, Addleshaw Goddard LLP

If you have any queries about this event, please contact our Events team.