Partner Mathew Ditchburn elected chair of the Property Litigation Association
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| 15
November
2021
London, 15 November 2021 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells is pleased to announce that partner Mathew Ditchburn, head of the Hogan Lovells real estate disputes team and one of the UK's leading practitioners in property litigation, has been elected chair of the Property Litigation Association (PLA).
The PLA is the trade body representing around 1400 specialist property litigators UK-wide. It’s objectives are to promote specialist property litigation skills within the industry, provide a network for the exchange of information among members, encourage education and training in property litigation and help develop a public voice of property litigation.
Commenting on his appointment, Mathew said: “It is truly an honour, and a momentous time to be chair of the Property Litigation Association. There is so much going on, and the pace of change is quickening.
“We’ve already seen the Government start to overhaul long residential leaseholds. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has its sights on reviewing commercial landlord and tenant legislation, including the 1954 Act. This is something which the PLA has been pushing the Law Commission to tackle for some time, and it looks set to feature in their upcoming 14th Programme of Law Reform.
“Only just this week we have seen a first-of-its-kind mandatory arbitration scheme launched to settle pandemic rent arrears. We have major appeal cases on the horizon dealing with telecoms and CVAs, and much more besides.
“These changes could affect the entire property industry for years to come, and they all fall squarely within the PLA’s field of expertise.
“The PLA must use its public voice to influence change in the best possible way, and its commitment to quality and specialist training to equip the profession for what is to come.
“There has been no more important time in recent memory to be a property litigator. Fortunately, we have an amazing team in place to rise to the challenge, backed up by an active and highly engaged membership.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mathew said: “It is truly an honour, and a momentous time to be chair of the Property Litigation Association. There is so much going on, and the pace of change is quickening.
“We’ve already seen the Government start to overhaul long residential leaseholds. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has its sights on reviewing commercial landlord and tenant legislation, including the 1954 Act. This is something which the PLA has been pushing the Law Commission to tackle for some time, and it looks set to feature in their upcoming 14th Programme of Law Reform.
“Only just this week we have seen a first-of-its-kind mandatory arbitration scheme launched to settle pandemic rent arrears. We have major appeal cases on the horizon dealing with telecoms and CVAs, and much more besides.
“These changes could affect the entire property industry for years to come, and they all fall squarely within the PLA’s field of expertise.
“The PLA must use its public voice to influence change in the best possible way, and its commitment to quality and specialist training to equip the profession for what is to come.
“There has been no more important time in recent memory to be a property litigator. Fortunately, we have an amazing team in place to rise to the challenge, backed up by an active and highly engaged membership.”
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