COVID REPEATS 5: WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL 3: SURVIVE AND THRIVE
Here I am repeating really good, well thought out guidance from the Young Lawyers Group of the Law Society of South Wales. Quite honestly this is the type of guidance that every lawyer starting their career should be given. There…
A LIST OF PRACTICAL GUIDANCE CONCERNING THE OPERATIONS OF COURTS AND TRIBUNALS
There has been a whole host of information relating to the practical operation of courts and tribunals. I am grateful to the barristers at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square for sending me details of their collection and collation of this material….
APPEAL JUDGE OVERTURNS REFUSAL TO EXERCISE SECTION 33 DISCRETION: DELAY AND PREJUDICE HIGHLY RELEVANT FACTORS
In Gregory v H J Haynes Ltd [2020] EWHC 911 (Ch) Mr Justice Mann overturned a judge’s decision not to exercise their discretion under Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980. The claimant had been guilty of culpable delay but…
COVID REPEATS 3: WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL (1)
In 2017 there was a whole series of posts with advice given from Twitter for those starting their careers in the courts. Since many people aren’t getting that experience right now (or getting it in a fairly remote form), this…
COVID REPEATS 2: DEADLINES AND PROCRASTINATION: HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT?
Working in unusual conditions, often away from the office, and in the midst of a pandemic can sharpen the mind. For many of us, however, it makes work more difficult. It is worthwhile repeating a post from last year with…
QUEEN’S BENCH GUIDANCE BULLETINS: SUMMARIES AND LINKS
Inevitably guidance from the QBD on the impact of coronavirus has come in stages. The six Bulletins are summarised below, together with links to the each guidance. Queen’s Bench guidance: This update explains the steps that are being taken in order…
SERVICE ON EU-DOMICILED DEFENDANTS: DIFFICULTIES THAT ARISE WITH THE CLOSURE OF THE FOREIGN PROCESS SECTION
I am grateful to barrister James Beeton for drawing my attention to, and giving me permission to cite from, his post on the International Law and Travel Blog “A BIG PROBLEM FOR SERVICE ON EU-DOMICILED DEFENDANTS” THE CLOSURE OF THE FOREIGN…
EXTENSION OF TIME GRANTED AND HEARING PUT BACK BECAUSE OF COVID-19 PROBLEMS: THE RELEVANT PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED
In Muncipio De Mariana & Ors v BHP Group Plc [2020] EWHC 928 (TCC) HHJ Eyre QC allowed the defendants extra time to serve evidence because of the coronavirus crisis and a hearing date was put back. There is an…
Covid-19 and the immigration tribunals: a working guide for representatives
Barristers Bernadette Smith and Geeta Koska have produced a guide dealing with the legal and practical issues facing those who are practising in immigration tribunals during the coronavirus crisis. THE GUIDE One useful function of the guide is that it…
ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER AMENDMENT TO THE PRACTICE DIRECTIONS: POSSESSION PROCEEDINGS
There have been amendments to Practice Direction 51Z. These provide exceptions to the total ban on possession proceedings. THE AMENDMENTS: 120th UPDATE – PRACTICE DIRECTION AMENDMENTS “The amendments to Practice Direction 51Z supplementing the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 are…
119th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Online Civil Money Claims in support of the Covid-19 effort
The 119th update to the Practice Direction Amendments can be found here. The amendments relate to the the Online Civil Claims (OCMC) pilot scheme. THE CHANGES The changes are best summarised in the Courts and Tribunals Announcements page, available here. …
THE POSTS ON CORONAVIRUS: CATALOGUED AND SORTED (IT HAS BEEN QUITE A MONTH…)
I first wrote about Coronavirus in a post on March 15. This feels like a very long time ago. This blog has, basically, been looking at the issues relating to coronavirus, lawyers and litigation ever since then. This seems like…
COVID REPEATS (1): THE (ALMOST) COMPLETE GUIDE FOR ASPIRANT AND NEW LAWYERS – FROM TWITTER
I have spent some time (probably too much time) watching repeats of cricket matches over the past few weeks. On the whole these remain almost as interesting (or boring, depending on your point of view) as the first time around. …
THE INNS OF COURT COLLEGE OF ADVOCACY: PRINCIPLES FOR REMOTE ADVOCACY
In an extremely short amount of time the Inns of Court College of Advocacy has produced a remarkable guide “Principles for Remote Advocacy”. The document has entered the public domain today, with no restrictions on its use, it is available…
MESSAGE FOR CIRCUIT AND DISTRICT JUDGES FROM THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, MASTER OF THE ROLLS AND PRESIDENT OF THE FAMILY DIVISION
The Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls and President of the Family Division have sent out a message to civil and family judges. This has been made generally available. I provide here highlights of the message, particularly relating to…
COVID-19 and Remote Court Arrangements: 30 tips for dealing with Virtual Hearings: GUEST POST FROM ANDREW KING
I am grateful to Andrew King from Lennons solicitors for allowing me to reproduce his article on dealing with virtual hearings. This was based on Andrew’s experience of being involved in a three day remote trial. As you can see…
HMCTS: UPDATED GUIDANCE ON TELEPHONE AND VIDEO HEARINGS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
HMCTS has updated its guidance on telephone and video hearings during the coronavirus outbreak. The guidance is available here. THE CONTENTS The decision to use telephone and video hearings Using existing technology and making new technology available The rules on…
Covid-19 Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Lincolnshire Protocol HHJ Godsmark QC – Designated Civil Judge
HHJ Godsmark QC has issued the listing and hearing protocol set out below for all Civil courts in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. It is worthwhile having a close look at the annexes in relation to listing priorities and the provision…
MORE ON THE NEW RULES EXTENDING TIME: HOW DOES THE PRACTICE DIRECTION IMPACT ON THE RULES FOR EXTENDING TIME FOR SERVICE OF THE DEFENCE?
A very sensible question was asked on Twitter last week about whether the Practice Direction extending time applied to the very specific rule about parties agreeing an extension of time for filing the defence. THE RULES RELATING TO FILING A…
MORE ON THE NEW STATEMENT OF TRUTH: CAN YOU CHANGE THE WORDING?
I have had questions, from several sources, about whether it is possible to amend the “new form” of the statement of truth when a document is not being signed by a party to litigation. PRACTICE DIRECTION 22. The new…
THE REMOTE ACCESS FAMILY COURT: NOW IN IT’S THIRD EDITION: GUIDANCE ON HEARINGS
It says a lot that the Remote Access Family Court by Mr Justice MacDonald was in its 3rd version by April 3. It remains the case that much that is said there is of relevance to non-family practitioners. For instance…
CIVIL COMMITTAL PROCEEDINGS AND EARLY RELEASE FROM PRISON: CORONAVIRUS A RELEVANT FACTOR
In Chelsea Football Club Ltd v Nichols & Anor [2020] EWHC 827 (QB) Mr Justice Chamberlain held that the applicant’s health condition, current prison conditions and coronavirus were a relevant factor in the early discharge of someone imprisoned for contempt…
THE TRIAL WILL GO ON: JUDGE REJECTS ARGUMENT THAT FIVE WEEK TRIAL HAD TO BE ADJOURNED BECAUSE OF COVID-19
In Blackfriars Ltd, Re [2020] EWHC 845 (Ch) Mr John Kimbell QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court judge) refused an application to adjourn a trial made on the basis of the difficulties caused by coronavirus. The judgment contains a…
CASES PROCEEDING IN BIRMINGHAM HIGH COURT (QBD) AND COUNTY COURT: GUIDANCE FROM THE DCJ
HHJ Worster: the Acting Designated Civil Judge for Birmingham has issued the following guidance in relation to cases proceeding in the QBD at Birmingham High Court and Birmingham County Court. “This local guidance provides some general information about…
SOUTH YORKSHIRE CIVIL: COVID LISTING AND HEARING PROTOCOL
HHJ Robinson, the DCJ for South Yorkshire, has published a listing and hearing protocol for all court users. This is reproduced in full below. “South Yorkshire Civil Covid-19 Protocol 1 His Honour Judge Graham Robinson, Designated Civil Judge (DCJ)…
THE NEW RULES: LINKS TO ALL THE POSTS: MITIGATION, THE STATEMENT OF TRUTH AND WITNESS STATEMENTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
The rules that came into force yesterday seemed to take some people by surprise. I did write about them back in February, but a few things have happened since then. Here are links to the previous posts on the new…
REMOTE HEARINGS AND THE “MacMICRO FRIEND”: A NEW LEGAL CONCEPT IS BORN…
The judgment of Mr Justice Williams in Padero-Mernagh v Mernagh (Divorce: Nullity: Remote Hearing) [2020] EWFC 27 introduces a new legal concept, the ‘MacMicro friend”. In all seriousness this is something that will have to be considered given that family…
CIVIL UPDATE FOR NORTH AND WEST YORKSHIRE: NEW GUIDANCE TODAY FROM THE DCJ
HHJ Gosnell has issued new guidance today for courts in North and West Yorkshire. “These are extraordinary times. My judicial and HMCTS colleagues are attempting to re-invent the wheels of civil justice by completely changing the way the courts…
THE OTHER IMPORTANT RULE CHANGE TODAY IN RELATION TO WITNESS STATEMENTS: AND, HONESTLY, THIS COULDN’T HAVE COME AT A BETTER TIME
Along with changes to the statement of truth the rule changes effective from today now impose a further obligation in relation to witness statements. I have written about this before (but much has happened since). THE NEW RULES From…
GOOD MORNING FOLKS: REMEMBER (TO ADD TO ALL YOUR OTHER TROUBLES) THE RULES CHANGE TODAY…
To add to all the practical difficulties facing litigators the 113th update to Practice Direction Amendments comes into force today. Here are some of the key points. THE AMENDMENT TO THE STATEMENT OF TRUTH This the major change that will…
CIVIL PROCEDURE AND CORONAVIRUS: BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – MARCH 2020
Here I try to round up the key posts, articles and blogs about coronavirus that are of particular relevance to civil litigators. Courts Association for Costs Lawyers Courts to continue sitting despite coronavirus, says Lord Chancellor (19/03/2020) Herbert Smith Freehills COVID-19: Impact on civil…
CIVIL PROCEDURE AND COSTS: BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – MARCH 2020 (CORONAVIRUS FREE EDITION)
Links and articles to blog posts and articles available online in February 2020 (a separate post will deal with the many posts and articles last month on civil procedure and coronavirus). Costs Costs Barrister Hot air Costs Barrister Digital in design Association…
CORONAVIRUS BULLETIN FROM MASTER FONTAINE: ISSUED TODAY: QUEEN’S BENCH MASTERS HEARINGS
CORONAVIRUS BULLETIN 3 INFORMATION FOR QUEEN’S BENCH COURT USERS QUEEN’S BENCH MASTERS HEARINGS AND QB ACTION DEPARTMENT I would like to update QB court users on further developments that I hope will assist all those working remotely. Practice Direction 51ZA…
THE NEW PRACTICE DIRECTION 2: “THE COURT WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC”
Looking at paragraph 4 of the Practice Direction today it, in effect, enshrines commonsense. However there are still steps lawyers should take to protect their clients (and their own) position. “In so far as compatible with the proper administration of…
THE NEW PRACTICE DIRECTION: THE LIMITATIONS ON THE POWER TO EXTEND TIME BY AGREEMENT AND MAKING AN APPLICATION
Although it is welcome the new Practice direction is a bit disappointing. It does not trust litigators at all (or not very much). Parties can agree extensions of up to 56 days, without permission of the Court, but not beyond…
IT IS HERE: EXTENSIONS OF TIME AND THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
A bit late, but still welcome, is the update, applicable from today which allows the parties to agree a longer extension of time and state, expressly, that problems caused by coronavirus will be taken to account when a court is…
COURT OF APPEAL HEAR CASE BY VIDEOCONFERENCING
Fairly soon, I am sure, the holding of hearings remotely will become such a commonplace that they will pass without comment. In the interim, however, it is worthwhile noting that the Court of Appeal heard an appeal on the 26th…
KEEPING THE COURTS RUNNING: THE VIEW FROM THE NORTH
There are two posts on Kings Chambers’ coronavirus and the law blog today which deal with practices put in place to keep the Courts running. Costs and Applications in Manchester: Guidance from the DCJ sets out the note sent out…
THE HIGH COURT CONTINGENCY PLAN: HEARINGS DURING CORONAVIRUS
The previous post referred to the High Court contingency plan. This is available here. “Guidance for the Business and Property Courts in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle” is available from Kings Chambers Blog here. High Court Business Contingency Plan for…
HMCTS GUIDANCE: THE COURT OF APPEAL, HIGH COURT AND SENIOR COURT COSTS OFFICE
HMCTS has seen out the following guidance in relation to the Court of Appeal, High Court and Senior Court Costs Office. The High Court and Court of Appeal will be covering the following work today (1 April 2020). Court of…
CIVIL COURT LISTING PRIORITIES: HMCTS NOTICE TODAY
HMCTS has sent out a list of Civil court listing priorities today. Civil court listing priorities: 1 April 2020 Priority 1 – work that must be done • Committals • Freezing Orders • Injunctions (and return days for ex parte…
THE RULE COMMITTEE: ACTING WITH THE SPEED OF A TORTOISE WITH A WOODEN LEG (AND THAT MAY BE UNFAIR ON THREE-LEGGED TORTOISES).
At a time when we have had major pieces of legislation introduced at remarkable speed the Rule Committee has, thus far, managed nothing. I am asked what response I got to the “Open Letter” to the Rule Committee about the…
CORONAVIRUS, COURT HEARINGS (WITH NO ONE PRESENT) AND SOCIAL MEDIA: ALL IN ONE CASE
The judgment today of HHJ Worster (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Wolverhampton City Council & Ors v Persons Unknown [2020] EWHC 759 (QB) was given after the claimant did not attend the hearing because of the coronavirus crisis….
REMOTE HEARINGS (1): HOW ARE THE COURTS COPING? TWO CASES TODAY
I hope to keep a running record of how the courts are coping with remote hearings. Two cases reported today provide examples. Telephone used in committal proceedings In Anwer v Central Bridging Loans Ltd [2020] EWHC 765 (Ch) Mr Justice…
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT OFFICE NOTICES AND CORONAVIRUS ARRANGEMENTS: USEFUL LINKS ON ILPA WEBSITE
The Administrative Court has issued a number of notices relating to their Covid-19 arrangements. THE NOTICES These are not yet on the court website. However they are available from the ILPA website – available here. … Enjoying this post? Become a…
Priority courts and tribunals start from Monday 30 March 2020
The Government has sent out a press release stating that some courts remain open. (To see the courts click on the Courts and Tribunals Track Checker at the bottom of the release). “Network of priority courts will remain open during…
THE FIRST VIRTUAL TRIAL IN THE COMMERCIAL COURT – READ ALL ABOUT IT
There is an interesting article by Stewarts about an ongoing trial in the commercial court that is continuing remotely. The trial of National Bank of Kazakhstan & Others v The Bank of New York Mellon & Ors is continuing remotely….
CIVIL LITIGATION AND COVID-19: GUIDANCE from 2TG
2TG have kindly sent me a link to their guidance “Civil Litigation in the time of Covid-19: Everything you need to know and consider”. The link is available here. (I have no difficulty in putting up guidance from any …
117th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Coronavirus Pandemic related.
New Practice Direction 51Z to Stay Possession Proceedings The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed Practice Direction 51Z (PD) in relation to housing possession proceedings during the Coronavirus pandemic. It follows the Coronavirus Act 2020 emergency legislation and complements…
Contingency planning – courts and tribunals: Statement from the Lord Chief Justice and President of Tribunals
“Contingency planning – courts and tribunals 1. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid spread of the virus around the country presents an unprecedented challenge to all those involved in the administration of justice. 2. It is vital to maintain a…
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