From ruling to reality: challenges and strategies in global enforcement

As part of London International Disputes Week 2025 (LIDW25), on 4 June 2025 Clyde & Co is delighted to be joined by Nicholas Burkill (Ogier), Louise Trayhurn (Crescient), Charles McKeon (Thorndon Partners) and Aakash Brahmachari (Ankura) who along with Clyde & Co’s Ian Hopkinson will explore the challenges and strategies involved in enforcing awards and judgments across jurisdictions. Ahead of this panel event at LIDW25, we reflect on a handful of the key strategic questions shaping enforcement in 2025 and beyond.

1. Start early and maintain a parallel enforcement strategy

Awards and judgments are only as valuable as their enforceability and so an effective enforcement strategy is an indispensable part of the dispute resolution process. However, many claimants underestimate the challenges they may face after securing their initial legal victory, and leave enforcement planning too late. Too often, enforcement is only considered once an award or judgment has been rendered, rather than being considered as part of a claimant’s initial and ongoing strategy. Parties who begin asset profiling when a dispute first arises, and who continue to consider enforcement options during proceedings, are more likely to succeed with enforcement. From selecting the right forum, to preserving interim relief options, early thinking makes preservation of assets and enforcement against assets less reactive, and more results-driven.

2. Consider where to enforce – on paper and in practice

Jurisdictions with a reputation for being ‘enforcement-friendly’ are not always the most effective in reality, and jurisdictions perceived as difficult are not always so. Delays, costs, local politics and the responsiveness of the courts can hinder successful enforcement, while many jurisdictions are developing new rules to meet new enforcement challenges. When deciding where to preserve assets or enforce against assets, claimants must not only identify potentially available assets but also consider whether enforcement will be effective in practice, which includes an ongoing assessment of the resources and the commercial experience of the courts and local laws.

3. Digital assets are changing the rules

Enforcement is entering a new phase as a result of the continuous rise of digital assets, where assets can be hidden and value can be moved at speed. English courts are beginning to issue freezing orders over crypto assets, but enforcement against crypto assets remains rare. To increase the likelihood of successfully enforcing against crypto assets, claimants should prioritise gathering clear and convincing evidence with the help of sophisticated tracing experts.

4. Enforcement is now multi-dimensional

Turning an award into recovery requires a multidisciplinary approach: lawyers, investigators, funders, offshore experts, and communications advisors all potentially have a role, and any serious claimant should have preliminary conversations with each. Coordinating action across multiple jurisdictions requires not only legal expertise but clarity of narrative, stakeholder alignment and sometimes carefully managed public pressure.

5. Innovation is reshaping the toolkit

From AI-powered asset tracing to the strategic use of sanctions regimes, the enforcement space is evolving. Funding and insurance models are also becoming more flexible, enabling claimants to pursue recovery in situations that would have been financially unviable just a few years ago.

Join us at LIDW25 as our panel further explores these themes. Because in a globalised, digital world, enforcement is not the end of the story, it is the turning point.