FIXED RECOVERABLE COSTS SEMINAR WITH LORD JUSTICE JACKSON: LEEDS, 6th FEBRUARY 2017
There are a limited number of places available for solicitors at the : Fixed Recoverable Costs Seminar with Lord Justice Jackson – Monday 6 February 2017 – 1.30pm to 5pm at DAC Beachcroft St Paul’s House. DETAILS Fixed Recoverable Costs…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL V: WEAR SUNSCREEN AND HAVE A PLAN: GUIDANCE FROM KUALA LUMPUR
I said at the outset of this series that we would draw inspiration from the world. Here we go to Kuala Lumpur. I am encouraging you to read a report of a talk in 2010 given by Brendan Navin Siva…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL IV: OWNING AND FIXING YOUR MISTAKES
The Fourth in this series goes to Pennsylvania and looks at an article by Elizabeth Collura in Lawyerist.com – Recognisizing, Owning and Fixing Your Mistakes. This is short but to the point. Mistakes happen, they are rarely disastrous. It is…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL II: PARETO, PARKINSON AND YOU’ll BECOME WHAT YOU THINK YOU’LL BECOME
The first post in this series looked at a number of writers who had given guidance to the tyro lawyer. Here I want to recommend a specific article by Susan Carter Liebel written on “Solo Practice University”. “9 Things I…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU IN LAW SCHOOL: TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK
I have written several times on the risks, and advantages, of using social media for litigators. It carries risks and advantages in equal measure for litigants and litigators. I should not, therefore, have been surprised when a few tweets from…
WE HAVE MOVED (& DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD GET ALL POSTS ON THIS BLOG BY EMAIL)
This site has recently moved to civillitigationbrief.com The move appears to have gone smoothly and all email and Wordpress subscribers appear to have stayed on board. If there is a problem with receiving emails this is probably due to the…
LITIGATORS: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THINGS GO WRONG? 10 KEY POINTS
There has been an unusual amount of sympathy today on Twitter for the report of a newly qualified solicitor who was struck off. The solicitor “had ‘messed up’ on a handful of the 170 cases he was handling and did…
A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION FOR 2017 : EX PARTE APPLICATIONS ARE NO PARTY (AND CAN LEAD TO CRYING)
Last year I had 10 new year’s resolutions for litigators. This year I have one. (The resolutions from last year remain current but one resolution is easier to keep) THINK VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER, MAKING AN EX-PARTE APPLICATION…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW X: 10 KEY POINTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
This is the last in the series of Advocacy the Judge’s view. We have looked at advice given by judges from around the world. Here I select a key point from each. 1. ADVICE FROM CANADA – MANNERS MATTER It…
NO RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WHEN COSTS BUDGET FILED LATE: THE DECISION IN DETAIL
We have looked, briefly, at the Court of Appeal decision in Jamadar -v- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust [2016] EWCA Civ 1001. I am grateful to Aaron Vodden of Hempsons for sending me a copy of the transcript which…
ADVOCACY THE JUDGE’S VIEW IX: WHAT YOU WEAR MATTERS
This is the ninth (and penultimate) post in this series. It is inspired by a search term on this blog today “Can a solicitor dress casually in county court”. This caused a lot of attention when I mentioned in on…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW VIII: "CREDIBILITY IS ALL YOU HAVE"
This post looks at at an article by Sidney Butcher in the ABA publication “Views from the Bench: Tips for Young Lawyers on How to Make a Good Impression.” The Honorable Lynne Stewart, a District Court Judge and the Honourable…
LOOKING AT LITIGATION FROM THE LITIGANT'S VIEWPOINT 2: THE STRESS OF LITIGATION: GUIDANCE AND LINKS
The earlier post on looking at litigation from the litigant’s viewpoint led to some interesting comments, on the blog itself; on LinkedIn and on twitter. It was particularly interesting to hear from lawyers who had been involved in litigation…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW V: TO PERSUADE A JUDGE THINK LIKE A JUDGE
This series looks at the views from judges around the world and the advice they give to advocates. Here we look at the article from J. Frederic Voros, jr for the Utah State Bar: To Persuade a Judge, Think Like…
APPLICATION TO DISCLOSE THIRD PARTY FUNDER REFUSED
The opening passages of the judgment of H.H. Judge Keyser Q.C. in Dawnus Sierra Leone Limited -v- Timis Mining Corporation Limited [2016] EWHC B19 (TCC) deal with the issue of disclosure of details of third party funding. KEY POINTS A…
BREXIT: THE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES: USEFUL LINKS
The vote to leave the EU has legal consequences across a wide range of practice areas. Here I aim to provide links to useful posts and articles that discuss those issues. This post is updated regularly. THE INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS There…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW IV: "AVOID BULLSHIT, SMOKE AND MIRRORS" (OH AND BEWARE OF "WELL PADDED VANITY")
In the fourth in this series we are returning to Australia and looking at the guidance given by the Hon Chief Justice Pat Keane in his keynote address to the Australian Lawyers Alliance Queensland State Conference in February 2013. Remember…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW III: MORE GUIDANCE FROM CANADA
As part of the series looking at the advice that judges give to advocates (and how this relates to civil litigators in particular) we return to Canada. Judge Carol Baird Ellan collected the views of 12 of her colleagues in…
WITNESS EVIDENCE, RELIABILITY AND CREDIBILITY: WHY EVERYONE SHOULD READ GESTMIN (OR FAILING THAT, MY SUMMARY)
I spent the afternoon lecturing to a group of enthusiastic lawyers about the importance of witness statements (and where things can, and do go wrong). I was worried that the enthusiasm could be waning waning when I took them, in…
THE THIRD PARTIES (RIGHTS AGAINST INSURERS) ACT 2010 1: 5 INITIAL POINTS
The Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 is shortly to come into force. Here are 5 key points. Here we look at the implementation date, legislative history and basic definitions of the Act. A BRIEF OVERVIEW The Act allows…
FUNDAMENTAL DISHONESTY: THE PAST 12 MONTHS: A ROUND UP
On May 10th last year I did a round up of cases and commentary on the issue of fundamental dishonesty. Here we look at cases and commentary in the past 12 months. CASES Most of the cases are inevitably first…
COURT CLOSURES, POOR DECISION MAKING AND BEECHING: AN EVISCERATING ANALOGY
I have already written about how court closures will undermine the fabric of the civil justice system. Justice will be imposed on communities from afar, rather than being an integral part of the local community. However I thought it important…
THE SHORTER TRIALS SCHEME: SCOPE AND PROCEDURE
The Shorter Trial Scheme is both interesting and exciting. Providing as it does a possible blueprint for getting appropriate cases to trial much quicker, and a much lower costs. The scheme is discussed in detail in the short judgment of…
MOVING FROM LEGAL AID TO CFAS: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
NB see the appeals in relation to these issues discussed here . There have been recent developments in relation to the issue of the reasonableness of claimant solicitors moving from legal aid to conditional fee agreements. The first case upholds a…
LORD CHIEF JUSTICE'S REPORT 2015: CIVIL WORK
The Lord Chief Justice’s Report 2015 covers a number of issues. Of particular interest to civil practitioners. The Briggs Review is summarised. There is an emphasis on control of litigation costs and court fees “The Jackson review reforms have now…
DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG?
This blog has a free subscription service whereby each post can be e-mailed to you directly when published. TO SUBSCRIBE On the right hand side of the blog there is a panel. If you scroll down to the bottom you…
GOOD WITNESS STATEMENTS ARE NOT JUST FOR CHANCERY LAWYERS: THE CHANCERY GUIDE TO WITNESS STATEMENTS
In a post last week we looked at a comment in the judgment of HHJ Behrens in Royal National Institute for Deaf People -v- Turner [2015] EWHC 3301 Ch which concluded “In so far as there is a criticism of the preparation it…
ASSESSING EXPERT EVIDENCE: GUIDANCE FROM VICTORIA
There are many cases where a judge has to determine differences between experts. It is helpful for practitioners to know what factors are taken into account when assessing evidence . The Judicial College of Victoria puts all its guidance to…
NEW BILL OF COSTS CONSULTATION: A USEFUL LINK
A pilot scheme is being introduced for a new bill of costs model. Initially voluntary the scheme may become compulsory. THE DRAFT BILL AND GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS Useful guidance is available on the Hailsham Chambers website. The draft bill and guidance…
ESSENTIAL READING: "FEES A CROWD WHEN JUSTICE AND POLITICS COLLIDE": A NLJ & LSLA PUBLICATION
There is a section on this blog devoted to links to posts on procedure and costs. Occasionally, however, a post is so important that I feel compelled to draw attention to it. This definitely applies to the publication “Litigation Trends…
"FUNDAMENTAL DISHONESTY" A ROUND UP OF CASES & COMMENTARY
The earlier post on the procedural aspects of “fundamental” dishonesty led to the most visitors to the blog in a weekend ever. Here we look at posts, articles, comments and cases in relation to the concept of fundamental dishonesty. REPORTED…
CHANGES TO THE PRE-ACTION PROTOCOLS THAT WE KNOW ABOUT: LOW VALUE ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Important changes have been made to the Pre-Action Protocols which came into force yesterday. At the moment the whereabout of the the Protocols is a mystery in that they have not been published generally. However there are some changes to…
LATE SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: EXTENSION REFUSED: REMINDER TO SERVE PROMPTLY AND PROPERLY
The case of Bellcrown Associates Ltd -v- Royal Bank of Scotland (QBC) 17/03/2015 is reported on Lawtel today*. It provides another example of the dangers of not serving a claim form properly. THE CASE The claimant was bringing an action…
YET MORE ON COURT FEES: SME'S AND "SECOND WAVE" OF PROPOSED INCREASES
There are more interesting posts on the impact of the new court fees regime. I propose to post on this issue regularly. If anyone has any comments, views or links please let me know. The SI itself (with the new…
MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF THE COURT FEES INCREASE 1: LIMITATION STANDSTILL AGREEMENTS
The general view of the court fee increases is well known. The increases are based on inadequate research and will have a major detrimental effect on the economy as well as the interests of justice. Since the increases are likely…
PROPOSALS FOR INCREASED COURT FEES: MONITORING THE PROPOSALS AND THE DEBATES
There is a section on this blog which provides regularly updated links to posts and articles on civil procedure. However the issue of the major proposed increase in court fees is such a major issue I am giving this its…
WITNESS "PREPARATION" IN A CIVIL CONTEXT: HOW DO WE HELP THE UNDERDOG WHILST WORKING ON A SHOESTRING?
The controversy surrounding the new guidelines by the CPS for the preparation of witnesses in serious cases has led me to consider the rules and principles relating to witness preparation in the context of civil litigation. This is always a…
SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: WHAT CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG? TEN SIMPLE POINTS TO MAKE LIFE EASIER
Service of the claim form remain a major cause of problems. Here we re-cap on the basic causes of many of the problems, with links through to the many posts on this subject. 1. NOT SERVING THE CLAIM FORM IN…
AVOIDING NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS: A SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS POSTS
There are now over 640 individual posts on this blog. Occasionally it helps to recap. Here I provide links to the series on “avoiding negligence” claims written at the end of 2013. THE SERIES The series was primarily aimed at…
THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE'S REPORT 2014: CIVIL JUSTICE
The Lord Chief Justice’s Report for 2014 is available online. It covers many aspects of the judicial system. Here we look at the report in relation to civil justice, THE REPORT On civil justice the Report identifies 5 key areas:…
THE NEW PART 36: PART 8: STRUCTURE OF THE NEW RULE AND A RECAP OF POSTS TO DATE
Here we look at the structure of the new Part 36. The section part of this post recaps and provides links to the earlier posts on the new Part 36. Future posts will deal with the impact of the new…
CIVIL COURT STATISTICS: ABOUT 3% OF ISSUED CLAIMS PROGRESS TO TRIAL
The most recently available Civil Court Statistics from April to June 2014 makes interesting reading. The number of claims is decreasing; around 3% of claims go to trial; the average time between issue and trial is 54 weeks; about 10…
PROPORTIONALITY & SURVIVAL FOR LITIGATORS: LITIGATING WITHIN A BUDGET: PART 1 OF WHAT MAY WELL BE A MULTI PART SERIES
There is now plenty of material on costs budgeting, much of it can be found in links on this blog. However I have not found any guidance for litigators on how the requirement for “proportional” costs will affect their work…
DEVELOPMENTS SINCE DENTON: ALL THE POSTS AND CASES IN ONE PLACE
We are now exactly one year on since Mitchell and 237 days since Denton. This is a good a time as any to review the Post Denton decisions on this blog. It is interesting that there were no reports in…
STRESS, LITIGATION AND LITIGATORS: USEFUL LINKS TO AVOID AND DEAL WITH PROBLEMS
The post earlier this week on the solicitor who went to great lengths to make up litigation led to the most visitors to this blog in one day. It also led to wide coverage on twitter. What was noticeable was…
THE USE OF EXPERT WITNESSES: STEALING FROM THE CPS
It would be a good idea for those involved in civil litigation to read the Crown Prosecution Service: Guidance on Expert Evidence. Many of the points in that guide apply, with equal force, to instructing experts in civil proceedings. It…
COURT ORDERED MEDIATION: DRAFT PRECEDENTS
In Bradley -v- Heslin Norris J set out , in strong terms the desirability of a formal order for mediation. Here we look at the precedents available. THE OBSERVATIONS IN BRADLEY In Bradley -v- Heslin [2014] EWHC 3276 (Ch) “If in…
TRIAL PREPARATION, BUNDLES & WITNESS STATEMENTS: THE JUDGE'S LAMENT
The earlier post on the decision in Weathford -v- Hydropath concentrated upon the application for a non-party costs order. However in the primary judgment on liability the judge made some all too common criticisms in relation to trial preparation, skeleton…
TALK ON SANCTIONS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM: LEEDS 23rd OCTOBER 2014
I am taking part in the Costs and Litigation Funding Update organised by Clarion solicitors and K2 Legal Support in Leeds on the 23rd October 2014. I am talking on “sanctions and how to avoid them” .Other speakers are dealing…
MAKING AN APPLICATION IN THE CHANCERY DIVISION AFTER THE 1ST OCTOBER 2014: NO BUNDLE NO HEARING
The Chancery Division has introduced strict new provisions which apply from 1st October 2014. No bundle no hearing. Here we look at the essential elements of the guidance and application bundles. THE PRACTICE NOTE The Practice Note states: “Old and…
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