You’re invited to join us for the Third Annual Levine Lecture, where Nick Gardner will present “26 Years of Deciding UDRP Cases: What Does a Panelist Actually Do, and Why? How Will AI Change This?” Nick’s career spans from one of the first landmark domain name cases in the English courts to presiding over hundreds of global disputes as a leading WIPO and Nominet panelist.
Nick will be introduced by Tony Willoughby, a long-time colleague who also presented the inaugural Levine Lecture in 2024, with a short introduction from Zak Muscovitch, and closing remarks from Gerald Levine himself.
The Levine Lecture series invites distinguished panelists who have shaped UDRP jurisprudence to share their reflections on the Policy. The series honors Gerald Levine, a preeminent UDRP scholar and recipient of the ICA Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the author of Domain Name Arbitration and The Clash of Trademarks and Domain Names on the Internet.
You can watch previous Levine Lectures through the below links:
We look forward to your participation!
More about Nick
Nick Gardner is an English lawyer and former Worldwide Head of Intellectual Property at Herbert Smith Freehills, where he spent over 20 years as a partner. A true pioneer in the field, Nick’s involvement in domain disputes dates back to 1996, when he successfully recovered harrods.com in one of the earliest landmark English court cases involving domain names.
Nick is highly regarded across the domain industry for his extensive and balanced work as an arbitrator. He was appointed as an inaugural panelist for WIPO shortly after the UDRP’s inception and continues to serve as a panelist for Forum and Nominet. To date, he has determined over 500 UDRP cases, denying the complaint in approximately 20% of those matters. He currently serves as the Chair of Nominet’s panel of experts, where he presides over complex .uk appeals.
Nick retired from full time legal practice in 2012 and now his work largely involves the adjudication of domain name disputes. Outside legal work he enjoys his family, skiing, sailing, working on sports cars, and reading, or watching great science fiction.