The Guideline Hourly Rates changed on 1st January 2026. These are set out below. The 2025 and 2024 rates can be found underneath. Guideline hourly rates 2026 (with previous year’s rates in brackets) Grade Fee Earner London 1 London 2…
This section looks at decisions in relation to relief from sanctions and the general principles of CPR 3.9. Often there are links to the decisions themselves, together with links to posts on this blog. CASES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER May 2026…
A blog about civil procedure has to have balance. The previous post considered applications to amend from the applicant’s perspective. Here we consider the position of those opposing an application. Litigators are as likely to be opposing an application as…
There are some cases that have the flavour of a legal question posed by a law lecturer who is anxious to stretch their students to the limit. This is one of those cases, involving (alleged) abuse of process, separate corporate…
The posts earlier this morning highlighted the major obstacles facing a litigant who wants to amend their pleadings at a very late stage. This is a good time to look at previous posts on amendments, together with links to the…
We have already look at this case in relation to the claimant’s application for relief from sanctions. The claimant was granted relief in relation to late service of the proposed amendments. However that did not, in fact, get the claimant…
This is a case we are looking at in two parts. Firstly we are looking at the claimant’s application for relief from sanctions when it served amended Particulars of Claim outside the time period ordered by the court. A second…
HM Courts and Tribunal Service have prepared an updated list of forms to be used in the Business and Property Courts. The forms are now in one useful place. THE UPDATED COLLECTION The updated collection can be found here. THE…
The post earlier this morning where the Upper Tribunal considered the problems with very authentic looking documents being produced by Artificial Intelligence is illustrative of a very real problem for civil practitioners. The judgment contains a timely reminder that documents…
Much of the discussion in relation to Artificial Intelligence to date has related to its ability to “hallucinate” false cases. However it can also be used to create extremely realistic false documents. This is an issue considered by the judges…
What steps should be taken if a witness has identified an error in their witness statement? Does it matter if that is an error of fact in relation to the matters described or a significant omission? Here we review the…
We have recently been looking at a few cases that have made the headlines. However we examine them from a particular CLB point of view – that is are there any practical lessons for working litigators? There are some interesting…
It is wise for a party that is likely to be on the losing side of a case to make a Part 36 offer. A court is unlikely to have much sympathy for a litigant that has failed to protect…
This post is (obviously) the mirror image to the earlier post on applying to rely on expert evidence. Here we look at guidance for those opposing an application to rely on expert evidence. Again there are links to posts that…
There are cases where a party has to prove dishonesty. This can be a difficult task, as this case shows. The test is very different to negligence or recklessness. The failure to address this test fully led to the overturning…
A post yesterday dealt with an unsuccessful application to rely on expert evidence. This is an opportune moment to review the steps that a party seeking to rely on expert evidence should take. In the interest of balance a later…
There are certain cases that litigators should keep in their cabinets to show to clients who are overkeen to litigate. This is one of them. The parties were arguing over a boundary line, with one of the issues being whether…
We are looking at a case where the tribunal considered whether a party should be granted permission to rely on expert evidence. The judge went back to first principles to consider the issue. It was a high value case with…
The rules allow the parties to disclose the existence of a Part 36 offer after a split trial. However the judge cannot be told the “terms” of the offer. Here the court considered the interesting (and important) issue of whether…
The post last Friday about the inadequate drafting of a defence was the 19th this year on the way in which defences are pleaded. This is a useful time to visit some basic principles in relation to how a defence…
I first wrote about the “true meaning” of entries into directories eight years ago. Since they are in the news this week this is a good opportunity to remind people of what those phrases actually mean. However recent developments have…
This is the second post on experts today. Here we are in a very different context – the law of dilapidations. This is an area that often requires expert input. In this case we see manifold problems with the way…
The post earlier this morning identifying a case, from 2015, where a claimant failed to prove any damages, highlighted the need for a recap on this topic. There are a large number of posts on this very topic. In the…
Here we look at an issue that has given rise to numerous posts on this site over the years – a party fails to prove an essential element of their case. Here the failed to adduce evidence that they had…
We are in unusual territory here in looking at a Criminal Appeal Case from Northern Ireland. However, the importance of the role of the expert knows no real geographical or jurisdictional limit, and the issues raised here are of major…
This is an important decision for those who represent respondents to committal proceedings. The Court of Appeal have overturned previous decisions that states that a successful respondent’s costs are confined to legal aid rates. They are, instead, entitled to recover…
Today is the first day that we don’t have a Chancery Division. Here we look at a Practice Note that set out some practical changes. “Ah, cousin, cousin, it’s a weary word this Chancery!” — Charles Dickens, Bleak House, Chapter…
Here is a classic case of a failure to draft a Defence properly. It contains a number of surprising elements. Firstly the defendant, having filed an inadequately particularised Defence, stated it would provide further particulars only if the claimant paid…
Issues relating to the use of AI continue to “interest” the legal profession. They also interest judges. Here I summarise Lord Briggs’ Keynote Address to the Oxford Civil Justice Systems in the 21st Century Conference. “… if human judges want…
The post earlier this morning set out the major elements of the new Practice Direction on the Online Procedure Rules for Possession Proceedings. At the moment these have limited geographical scope. However it is likely that they will apply more…
The Practice Direction: Online Procedure Rules for Possession Proceedings, updated on 29 September 2026 (and came into force at 12.00 that very day), introduces a procedural framework for specified County Court possession claims. It supplements the Online Procedure Rules 2026…
Yesterday we looked at an issue in the news to review questions of witness credibility. We do the same today in a wholly different context: football and the decision in the proceedings brought against Manchester City Football Club. However we…
This webinar provides a practical and detailed examination of claims for care and assistance in personal injury and clinical negligence litigation. It explores the legal principles underpinning such claims while focusing on how they should be properly prepared, evidenced, and…
Here we look at specific issues as to the payment of costs arising from cryptocurrency, Bitcoin in particular. Firstly the costs order made had the effect of ordering a party (who had not been ordered to pay costs) to, in…
The issue of how far a court can take witness statements at face value at an interlocutory hearing is always an interesting one. Similar issues arise in considering the question of the extent to which a court can take into…
There is a lot of controversy at present in relation to recollections about telephone conversations that took place three decades ago. We are staying away from that particular dispute. However it highlights a common issue in litigation. People can have…
We are likely to see much litigation, and quite a few procedural wrangles, arising from Bitcoin and similar “currencies”. Here we have an interesting, and important, question under CPR 40.9. Firstly in relation to whether a party was “directly affected”…
The latest (the 5th) edition of the Guide to Fatal Accidents is now available to pre-order. Details are available here. Fatal accident litigation presents lawyers with legal, evidential and practical problems that are distinct from those encountered in non-fatal…
The Supreme Court announced, on the 21st September 2026, that the Court’s Practice Directions had been amended on the 18th September 2026. To stop anyone being taken by surprise here is a summary of the changes. Those responsible for preparing…
There are much more specialist blogs available for housing lawyers and I’m glad to say that “Nearly Legal” is recommencing next month. The posts on this site concentrate on procedure and costs and the Ten Key Points here reflect that. …
Lord Denning once observed of Cashflow that “It is the very lifeblood of the enterprise”. This remains the case for most modern businesses. In this respect an application for an interim payment can be a powerful tool. Sometimes essential to…
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court is usually the most genteel of courts particularly when it comes to the treatment of expert evidence. That is one of the reasons this judgment comes as somewhat of a surprise. The strategy adopted in…
Agreeing a trial or application bundle can have consequences that are easy to overlook. Documents in an agreed bundle are usually admissible as evidence of their contents. That does not mean that the parties agree that everything written in them…
The very word “proportionality” still plays a major part in many cost assessments. The Points of Dispute state, often vehemently, that the costs are wholly disproportional. The Points of Reply respond, usually twice as vehemently, that proportionality is not just…
If the parties have agreed to an arbitration clause and one of them issues proceedings then the right to seek a stay of that action can be lost if the defendant takes a “step in the action”. This case considers…
Here we look at difficult conduct issue. This is in the context of applications for judicial review. However some of the problems are universal. What does the lawyer do if there are “red flags” that indicate that the solicitor is…
Some, apparently, minor updates to Practice Directions have a major significance for housing law practitioners in particular. Here we look at the major change, which relates to housing disrepair claims and the minor corrections. KEY PRACTICE POINTS The addition…
This is another case relating to pleading damages. Here the objection was that the judge had awarded the claimants more than they had pleaded. In some circumstances this may have made a difference. On the facts of this case it…
If a party is going to object to their opponents relying on expert evidence this is best done promptly. Leaving it to the appeal stage is dangers – as this case shows. The defendant received a report, commented on the…
Here we look at a post from 2015 about a missing page in a trial bundle. The claimant argued that the missing page meant that damages had been too low. The judge held that that an application the day after…
There is surprisingly little practical guidance for litigators on how to reduce their own client’s liability to pay their opponent’s costs. This webinar, book and toolkit aims to help fill that gap. Starting from the premise that potential liability for…
Here we look at those points and posts of particular interest to those representing a paying party. It is the forerunner to the webinar on the 12th November and the accompanying book “The Paying Party’s Handbook”. At the foot of…
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