Most litigation ultimately settles. It is all about getting the best deal for your client at that point. Let the experts assist you. Recent reforms by the High Court aim to ensure that disputes are resolved justly and efficiently. Gain expert guidance on conducting mediation and alternative dispute resolution that is both fair and effective. Strengthen your advocacy skills for mediation, understand the procedural requirements and master Without Prejuce Offers. Be prepared to achieve a successful settlement.
Thursday, 26 March 2026
Early Bird Discount ends 19 Dec 2025
2.00pm to 3.00pm Settling under the Reformed High Court Amended Rules
- Key changes introduced by the High Court (Improved Access to Civil Justice) Amendment Rules 2025
- The shift from judicial determination to the ‘just resolution’ of cases
- How the new rules will facilitate earlier and more effective alternative dispute resolution
- Advocacy under the new regime
Presented by Jeremy Bell-Connell, Senior Associate, Dentons
4.00pm to 4.15pm Break
4.15pm to 5.15pm Without Prejudice (and the exceptions to it)
- Issues to consider when conducting negotiations Without Prejudice
- Recent case law updates: When will the Courts allow WP communications to be admissible evidence?
- Making without prejudice save as to costs offers
Presented by Alex Nelder, Special Counsel, Gilbert Walker
Learning Objectives:
- Gain an expertise in settling litigation from mediation through to the offer
- Be guided through the new regime for settling litigation under the Reformed High Court Amended Rules
- Develop more advanced understanding and skills for Mediation and Settlement negotiations
3.00pm to 4.00pm Mediation and Settlement
- Litigation settlement or dispute resolution?
- How hard is it to split the claim 50-50?
- Making the most of your mediator
Presented by John Walton, Arbitrator and Commercial Mediator, Bankside Chambers
Chair
Martin Dillon, Barrister, 109 Chambers
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD hours
Presenters
John Walton, Arbitrator and Commercial Mediator, Bankside Chambers
John Walton is a barrister, at Bankside Chambers in Auckland, practising as an arbitrator (both domestically and internationally), construction contracts adjudicator and commercial mediator. He also probity audits and peer reviews major construction and public procurement projects as an independent advisor. John is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales and in Hong Kong; he is a past President of AMINZ, Fellow of AMINZ, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in the UK and of the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution. He is also a member of the Society of Construction Arbitrators in the UK, and in 2019 was made an Honorary Life Member of the Society of Construction Law.
Jeremy Bell-Connell, Senior Associate, Dentons
Jeremy specialises in commercial litigation and private wealth disputes. Much of his formative experience was gained in London and the Channel Islands, where he worked at an international firm on high-stakes, cross-border matters. His practice covers contractual and negligence claims, breach of directors’ duties, shareholder and trust disputes, and civil asset recovery, including Norwich Pharmacal Orders and freezing injunctions. He is dual-qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor in New Zealand (2012) and as a Solicitor in England and Wales (2019).
Alex Nelder, Special Counsel, Gilbert Walker
Alex joined Gilbert Walker in 2025, having returned to New Zealand after nearly six years as a senior associate at the London office of the global disputes firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Previously, he worked for eight years in the litigation team at Russell McVeagh. Alex acts on a broad and varied range of civil and commercial disputes, with particular expertise in contractual claims (including warranty disputes), disputes involving fraud, and disputes arising out of complex insolvency and restructuring situations. As part of Quinn Emanuel’s highly regarded insolvency and restructuring team, he was listed as a “key lawyer” in both the 2023 and 2024 editions of the UK Legal 500. While in the UK, he was also a contributing author to the 2nd edition of International Asset Tracing in Insolvency (OUP, 2025).
Martin Dillon, Barrister, 109 Chambers
Martin began practising in 2007. He has worked in private practice, as in-house counsel and as a Crown Prosecutor. These roles have involved a range of clients and cases, from relatively minor disputes to large-scale litigation. He joined the independent bar in 2018. Access to justice is a particular concern: Martin is a legal aid provider, published CourtKeys.com and wrote Civil Litigation for Non-Lawyers.
