PROCEDURE, DAMAGES, LIABILITY, COSTS AND LIMITATION: A SERIES OF WEBINARS THIS YEAR AIMING TO HELP AVOID OR DEAL WITH PROBLEMS IN LITIGATION

The issues arising from many of the cases looked at on this blog are being considered in a series of webinars starting later this month.  The webinars cover  many of the problem areas of litigation:  what to do when things go wrong; witness statements; Part 36; adverse costs; limitation; undersettlement; statements of case; contributory negligence and solicitor and own client costs.

What to do when things go wrong in litigation 2024: 30th APRIL 2024

Booking details are available here.

This webinar looks at:

• The most common kinds of mistake in personal injury litigation.
  • Limitation
  • Breach of court orders
  • Problematic witnesses and clients
• What not to do
• The practical steps you can take to put matters right
• What do you do if the problem can’t be rectified
• Learning from your mistakes

Avoiding mistakes when drafting witness statements: 9th May 2024

Booking details are available here. 

Judges regularly complain that witness statements are inadequate and do not contain sufficient information, alternatively that they contain much information that is irrelevant and the witness is unable to give.

This webinar looks in detail at the rules and practice directions relating to witness statements and:

• The mandatory requirements for witness statements and the consequences of non-compliance
• Protecting the witness from the lawyer
• Protecting the lawyer from the witness
• Witness statements and proportionality
• Where lawyers go badly wrong with witness evidence
• Explaining the significance of the statement of truth
• A checklist for taking a statement

What to do if the Defendant makes an early Part 36 offer in 2024: 13th May 2024

Booking details are available here. 

The making of an early Part 36 offer can cause major problems for claimants and their lawyers. An understanding of the rules, the relevant cases and the steps that need to be taken  when a Part 36 offer is made before a claimant is able to properly assess their case is essential to all those involved in litigation.

This webinar addresses those issues

• Why a Part 36 offer can never be ignored
• The rules relating to late acceptance
• The case law  relating to late acceptance
• The practical steps the claimant’s lawyers can do to mitigate the risks
• Assessing the risks and advising the client

Reducing the risks of adverse costs order in civil litigation: 20th May 2024

Booking details are available here. 

With the changes that came into place in relation to QOCS on the 6th April 2023 it is now more important than ever that claimants avoid adverse costs orders.

This webinar looks at the best and safest means of litigating to avoid costs orders against a claimant. It covers areas relating to extensions of time, relief from sanctions and interlocutory disputes

• Why do adverse costs orders get made?
• Steps to avoid the risks of adverse costs orders
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them
• Mitigating the effect of any costs order.

Avoiding limitation problems and the (possible) lifeline of Section 33:  29th May 2024

Booking details are available here.

This one hour webinar covers

• Basic limitation periods, problems and misconceptions
• How do you miss a limitation period?
• Common myths & misconceptions about limitation periods
• Limitation periods that are less than three years
• Section 33, when can it be used and how to make an effective application

Avoiding undersettlement: A guide for personal injury lawyers: 4th June 2024

Booking details available here. 

“We go back through your claim in fine detail and if we find that your previous solicitor wasn’t thorough enough and your claim was mishandled, we’ll squeeze out all the compensation that you’re entitled to, getting you more money, and we won’t rest until we get you every last penny… All on a no win, no fee basis.’”
(An advertisement looking for clients dissatisfied with the work of their personal injury solicitor)

This webinar looks at those cases where allegations of under settlement have been made against claimant solicitors, looking at the factors that lead to a court finding whether there was negligence when a case was settled or litigated.

• Cases where negligence was found
• Cases where negligence was not established
• The webinar will then look at how you can develop a  strategy for avoiding allegations of under settlement.

Statements of case, drafting, dangers and pitfalls: 14th June 2024

Booking details are available here. 

“… where an issue has clearly not been pleaded and was not relied on at the start of the trial, I consider that the onus lies as much on counsel for the party seeking to rely on it as on their opponent to raise the matter with the judge and seek permission to amend. For the reasons given by Dyson LJ in Al-Medenni v Mars, a party is entitled to rely on the pleaded case as defining the ambit of the issues to be decided at trial.”

Mr Justice Fancourt in  Jacobs v Chalcot Crescent (Management) Company Ltd [2024] EWHC 259 (Ch) 

This webinar takes a close look at the rules relating to drafting statements of case.

• What should be on the claim form?
• What must the particulars of claim contain?
• Problem areas in drafting the particulars
• What must the claimant plead?
• What should the defence contain?
• When do you need to file a reply or a defence to counterclaim?
• Part 18 requests – what can, and what can’t, they contain?
• Amending statements of case
• Statements of case at trial
• Avoiding the pitfalls of pleading

Contributory negligence: Recent cases (2024): 4th July 2024

Booking details are available here. 

Issues of contributory negligence can play an important part in personal injury litigation. This webinar considers the law and practice in relation to contributory negligence.  It then considers the implications for litigators and their clients and:

• The legal principles relating to contributory negligence.
• Pleading contributory negligence
• Where contributory negligence has been established
• Where allegations of contributory negligence have not been successful
• How claimants have responded to allegations of contributory negligence. The importance of witness evidence
• The “reverse allegation of contributory negligence” – using allegations of contributory negligence against the defendant

It also looks at recent cases as practical examples of how the principles are applied.  Cases to be looked at include:

• Owens -v- Lewis – contributory negligence of a passenger on a quad bike
• James -v- Shaw – contributory negligence in a fall from height
• Zgonec-Rojez -v- Pereira – contributory negligence in clinical negligence/psychiatric care context
• FLR -v- Chandran – contributory negligence and the child pedestrian

The costs judge over your shoulder (solicitor and own client costs): Deducting costs from the client’s damages: 15th July 2024

Booking details are available here.

This webinar looks at the regulations and case law relating to the deduction of costs from the client’s damages in a personal injury claim.

• When can a deduction from damages be made?
• Protection for the client
• What must be the client be told?
• What steps need to be taken if court approval is needed?
• How is a “success fee” justified?
• Avoiding difficulties and potential pitfalls
• Where do things go wrong?

The webinar examines the key judgments on this topic and looks at those areas that have proven to be problematic and which have led to litigation and solicitor-own client disputes. It looks in detail at the Legal Ombudsman’s guidance on Good Costs Service and the steps that lawyers have to take to comply.