This is the second review of guidance to young lawyers given on Twitter. There is lots of interest here. Some common themes appear to be: bundles; courtesy; be very nice to court staff; manage client expectations; don’t work too hard….
The judgment of Sir Anthony Edwards-Stuart in Lloyds Bank -v- McBains Cooper [2017] EWHC 30 (TCC) considers the question of issue based costs orders. What is interesting here is: Neither party appears to have made a valid Part 36 offer….
This series started off as a series of Twitter interactions. I am gradually making my way through them. Not all the contributions received were serious. However most have a underlying truth. I will try to put the remainder of the…
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…
The second post on the Court of Appeal decision in Manna -v- Central Manchester Hospitals NHS Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 12 relates to the Court’s upholding of the trial judge’s award of indemnity costs. “A judge should in my view be…
We will be looking at the Court of Appeal decision in Manna -v- Central Manchester Hospitals NHS Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 12 twice today. Here I want to look at the difficulties the defendant had in arguing a point in…
One rule that every lawyer should learn is that if you write, type, email or text anything you live with the risk that it could end up being read out in court. There are plenty of examples of emails, attendance…
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…
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…
This series is designed to help lawyers, and litigators in particular, in the initial stages of practice. We will be looking at guidance from around the world. Many of the problems that young lawyers face are universal. In this…
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…
In Michael Wilson & Partners -v- Sinclair [2017] EWCA Civ 3 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision to strike out the claimant’s case. The fact that there had been earlier arbitration proceedings did not, in this case, render a second…
There are some examples of ingenious attempts to introduce expert evidence into cases. Mr Justice Arnold commented on this in his judgment in Teva UK Ltd -v- Gilead Sciences Inc [2017] EWHC 13 (Pat). A “factual” report from an expert is…
There have been strong words issued by the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) Chamber recently in relation to non-compliance and the imposition of sanctions. The Tribunal has more problems in imposing sanctions than most because of the overwhelming need for…
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…
There are aspects of the judgment of Mr Justice Coulson in Palmer -v- Nightingale [2016] EWHC 2800 (TCC) that justify closer examination. In particular the source of information of the expert’s information was illustrative. It highlights the importance of examining…
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…
The judgment of Mr Justice Coulson in Palmer -v- Nightingale [2016] EWHC 2800 (TCC) is another example of a claimant failing to prove their case. More curiously, in some respects, the claimant’s own evidence contradicted their case. “In circumstances where there…
Every year brings a batch of cases relating to service of the claim form. This year starts with an unusual issue. In Brightside Group Ltd -v- RSM UK Audit LLP [2017] EWHC 6 (Comm) Mr Justice Andrew Baker considered issues…
In GH -v- The Catholic Child Welfare Society (Diocese of Middlesbrough) [2016] EWHC 3337 (QB) HH Judge Gosnell considered the exercise of the Section 33 discretion in a case where there was allegation of sexual abuse that took place in…
“This may be an interesting year for the consideration of issues relating to the accuracy of memory. An interesting case where the relevant principles were considered in detail can be found in the judgment in EF -v- The Catholic…
The post on “Lawyers, litigation and memory”clearly struck a chord. It had many hundreds of readers (on a Sunday too). It highlights the fact that a failure to be trained in, and consider, issues relating to memory, causes litigators numerous…
The post written yesterday on litigators and memory has already given rise to a large number of responses, particularly on Twitter. It is worthwhile taking the matter further by considering how and when a litigator should take stock of the quality…
A single moment of logical thought will lead to the conclusion that it is strange that lawyers don’t learn about memory. Much (indeed most) litigation relies on the memory of the parties. Judges are, more often than not, called upon…
There is a brief report on Browne Jacobson Insurance Law about a case that struck out because of a failure to pay the correct fees. THE REPORT The report is brief and does not give the date of the judgment…
There have been a series of judgments in the civil courts, notably from Jackson L.J., commenting on the length of skeleton arguments. The criminal courts are not immune. In R -v- Brandford [2016] EWCA Crim 1749 the Court of Appeal…
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…
The judgment of Master Matthew in Phelps -v- Button [2016] EWHC 3185 (Ch) emphasises the dangers of delay and non compliance. “…I will observe that the Court ethos has changed enormously since the days of Lord Denning and the two…
There is an interesting judgment by Stuart Brown QC (sitting as a judge of the High Court) in Nesbit Law Group LLP -v- Acasta European Insurance Company Limited (Leeds Mercantile Court 15.9.16). The judgment is available here nesbitjudgment A judgment on…
There were many important cases on procedure and costs in 2016. Choosing a case of importance to litigators was not an easy task. However I kept coming back to the judgment of Master Matthews in Adepoju -v- Akinola [2016] EWHC 3160…
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…
It is surprising how often cases that have been looked at because of issues in relation to the evidence at trial are reported again on the issue of costs. The Ocensa Pipeline Group Litigation case is such an action. I…
There are some procedural issues where you would assume that there was clear pre-existing authority in existence. However, on examination (usually just before the hearing) it transpires that the point is a “novel” one. In Agents Mutual Limited-v- Moginnie…
I am grateful to Thomas Jervis of Leigh Day for sending me a copy of the judgment of Mr Justice Goss in Lewin -v- Glaxo Operations UK Limited [2016] EWHC 3331 (QB), an interesting decision in relation to limitation. (A…
In Harlequin Property (SVG) Limited -v- Wilkins Kennedy [2016] EWHC 3233 (TCC) Mr Justice Coulson reduced the claimant’s costs by 40% to reflect the lack of success on many of the key issues in the case. On the three main…
One important, but often overlooked, element of procedure and legal drafting is the preparation of the schedule of damages and the counter-schedule. The rules relating to these documents are sparse. However these are important documents, often impacting upon the credibility…
This is the third annual review of the year on this blog. 2016, as ever, has been an interesting year. As ever, a comprehensive review can be found in Herbert Smith Freehills A litigator’s yearbook: 2016 (England and Wales). PREDICTIONS…
In Barkhuysen -v- Hamilton [2016] EWHC 3371 (QB) Mr Justice Warby considered matters relating to costs after a trial. The defendant’s conduct led to an order for indemnity costs being made. The judge also identified those areas in which the claimant…
There have been a number of cases in relation to the consequences for a claimant when the correct court fee has not been paid upon issue. This issue was considered by His Honour Judge Robinson this week in an appeal…
There are several posts on the blog which deal with the approach the trial judge takes when certain witnesses are not present. In some cases it leads the judge to draw adverse inferences, in others it does not. In Welds…
Some aspects of litigation are highly reliant upon experts. Medical causation is on of those areas. The issues between experts should be clarified in the joint statement. In Smith -v- Tesco PLC & Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust [2016]…
This series (and this blog) have looked at several cases where a party has asserted a loss but not been able to prove it. There are a large number of cases where a party fails to put the basic information…
Thanks to Kerry Underwood for pointing out the provisions of The Civil Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2016 which comes into force on the 6th March 2017. There is a hidden “tax” in that the repayment of court fees has ended….
The need to take care when drafting witness statements has been a regular theme of this blog. The delegating of witness statements to a party or client is an extremely dangerous (and foolish) practice. I have also examined, regularly,…
Entries closed at 4.00 pm (a traditional time for civil lawyers). Before I send the entries off for the rigorous judging process can everyone who entered make sure they are here. Some people did not use the #lawsongs hashtag and…
The judgment of Mrs Justice Slade in Aviva Insurance -v- Randive [2016] EWHC 3152 (QB) involves no findings of fact. However it does demonstrate the dangers inherent in being involved in the drafting of witness statements and replies to Part…
The judgment today of Mr Justice Coulson in Harlequin Property (SVG) Limited -v- Wilkins Kennedy [2016] 3188 EWHC (TCC) shows the importance of the judge’s assessment of witnesses. The judge made a clear and robust assessment of the witness evidence,…
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…
In Marathon Asset Management LLP -v- Seddon [2016] EWHC 2615 (Comm) Mr Justice Leggatt rejected an argument that the claimant’s acceptance of a Part 36 offer meant that a defendant was entitled to judgment on its counterclaim. KEY POINTS The…
The deadline for the Legal Christmas song contest expires at Wednesday. Here is a review of the entries to date.* These should inspire you to enter. There are only a few days left to win the unique prize (and a…
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