Welcome to our monthly newsletter which launched in March 2021. Read about LCF news, projects and people. Send us your stories, news, books and projects. This is your last update in the 2020-21 season. The next LCF newsletter will appear in September 2021 to start the 2021-22 season and academic year. We thank all supporters and event participants!

We are very pleased that our mission to seek co-operation with universities around the world has been received so well.

In 2020-21 we have worked with the following universities:

Sponsors have included : Hart Publishing | Cambridge University Press

June saw the start of our long awaited conference series featuring comparative contract law in the common law world co-organised with Jindal Global Law School, Professor Manasi Kumar. Conference 1 was held on 7th and 8th June dealing with the formation of the agreement in different common law jurisdictions. Professor Mindy Chen-Wishart of Oxford University gave the keynote speech which sparked an inspired debate of good faith in the common law. Each of the three conferences is organised in four discussion panels pairing the authors of the papers to be published in a special issue of the Liverpool Law Review with other subject experts in the field. In Conference 1, Professor Paula Giliker of Bristol Law School presented her paper on good faith in contractual negotiations. Professor Mitja Kovac presented his paper on “the rise of the mailbox rule”. On day 2 we heard about the role of minors in contracting by Professors Shaun Star, Divyangana Dhankar and Shivangi Gangwar of Jindal GLS. Our distinguished discussants included Professor Hector McQueen of Edinburgh Law School, Professor Nigam Nuggehali of BML Munjal University School of Law, Dr. May Fong Cheong of Thomas Moore Law School, ACU and Indian legal consultant and senior law teacher Dr. Nilima Badbhade. The series is still on sale from Eventbrite and our website where some materials such as presentation slides, full programme and speakers information can be found, too.

Our Call for Papers for the 6th Annual Conference on “The Future of the Commercial Contract in Scholarship and Law reform” ended on 30 June 2021.

LCF ‘s book launch and roundtable seminar on Adrian Wooldridge’s book “The Aristocracy of Talent. How Meritocracy made the Modern World” (Penguin, June 2021) on 18th June 2021 can be viewed for free here

The recording of our first conference of the LCF/Jindal GLS conference series is available for a small fee here.

The entire LCF “New Voices” series of four roundtable seminars on financial regulation and civil liability and on venture capital law in China (2020-21) is available for a fee here.

Bookings for our annual conference on “The Future of the Commercial Contract in Scholarship and Law Reform.” in October 2021 can be made at an “Early Bird” discount until 18th July 2021. Use Eventbrite or our own checkout page. Both allow card and PayPal payments.

Bookings continue for our conference series “Contract Law in Common Law Countries - a study in divergence” organised jointly by LCF and O.P. Jindal Global University Law School in India. Two of the three online conferences take place September, and December 2021. They gather a range of internationally renowned speakers and discussants who discussed issues on the formation of contracts in June and will continue to analyse the performance of an agreement (September) as well as remedies and dispute settlement (December). Tickets are available individually or at package prices from Eventbrite. and our website.

LCF now has a governing structure consisting of The Council of the London Centre for Commercial and Financial Law as well as the Academic Board of the London Centre for Commercial and Financial Law headed by the Executive Board of directors. There are also subject specific Advisory Boards. This includes a new book series with Springer Nature called “LCF Studies in Commercial and Financial Law.”

The Council of the LCF is composed of senior lawyers and legal scholars from around the world with an interest in (national or international) commercial and financial law subjects as well as legal practitioners who may work in private legal practice, the judiciary or the national or international governmental or other public institutions and bodies. The purpose of the Council is to contribute to the design and structure of a programme of events, courses and publications to be held and initiated by LCF and generally the mission and longer term operation of the LCF. 

The Academic Board is composed of senior legal scholars from around the world with an interest in commercial law subjects. Its suggestions are taken forward and executed by the Executive Committee consisting of the company directors. The purpose of the Academic Board is to develop a programme of events, courses and publications to be held and initiated by LCF with a focus on legal scholarship. 

The Advisory Boards are subject specific and are composed of legal scholars and practitioners from around the world with an interest in the specified sub-field. LCF welcomes suggestions for subject specialisms.

The purpose of the Advisory Boards is to develop a programme of events, courses and publications to be held and initiated by LCF.

Membership is strictly pro bono and by invitation. Anyone can suggest colleagues to be considered for LCF bodies.

We encourage all readers to try our link to the feedback form on our start page and are looking forward to collecting and evaluating your experiences with and thoughts about our services. Fully anonymous of course.

Should you be interested in supporting the LCF you can now purchase LCF annual memberships from our website. The contribution exceeds the value of the accumulated event fees but will support the accessibility of our events to students and a larger circle of academics and other audiences by making more events available for free.

You might be interested in “The Routledge Handbook of Financial Technology and Law” edited by Professors Iris H-Y Chiu (UCL) and Gudula Deipenbrock (HTW Berlin) which was released in May 2021 and will be introduced at another book launch at the IALS on 3 September 2021, 9.30 am Uk time. The book contains a chapter by our convenor Dr. Joseph Lee called “Law and regulation for a crypto-market. Perpetuation or innovation?” among further contributions by LCF contributors. LCF congratulates all authors on this topical volume!

LCF are announcing the launch of a book series called “LCF Studies in Commercial and Financial Law” with Springer Nature. The first three volumes are in preparation. Volume 1 will be entitled: “Quo vadis commercial contract? Reflections on sustainability, ethics and technology in the emerging law and practice of global commerce.” edited by Dr . Maren Heidemann and Prof. Mads Andenas.

Proposals for edited or authored volumes are welcome. Please contact LCF if interested. Further details and terms will be available from our website soon.

We are very pleased to announce Professor Guido Alpa of the University La Sapienza in Rome, Professor Jan H. Dalhuisen of King’s College London, Catholic University Lisbon and UC Berkeley, Professor Michele Papa and Professor Ettore Lombardi of the University of Florence are the first members of the LCF Council and Academic Board.

Our Forum on financial regulation and civil liability started in December 2020 and consists of a standing panel of subject experts some of whom are now also members of the Advisory Board for this Forum. These include LCF director and founder Professor Mads Andenas QC of the University of Oslo, Professor Olha Cherednychenko of the University of Groningen’s Centre for European Financial Services Law (GCEFSL) which she directs, Professor Guido Alpa of the University La Sapienza in Rome, Professor Jan H. Dalhuisen of King’s College London, Catholic University Lisbon and UC Berkeley, Professor Ettore Lombardi of the University of Florence, Dr. Antonio Marcacci, Senior Compliance Officer of a large bank, Dr. Federico DellaNegra, senior consultant at the ECB, Dr. Marnix Wallinga of Stibbe attorneys in Amsterdam and Dr. Maren Heidemann of LCF, IALS and the CCLS at Queen Mary, University of London.