SOLICITORS, AIRLINES AND LIENS: SUPREME COURT DECISION
In Bott & Co Solicitors Ltd v Ryanair DAC [2022] UKSC 8 the Supreme Court allowed an appeal from the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal had held that the solicitors were not providing a litigation service in the…
NO PUBLIC FUNDING FOR PARENTS WHEN THE LIFE OF THEIR CHILD IS BEING CONSIDERED BY THE COURT: A DECISION THAT HIGHLIGHTS A MAJOR ISSUE
There judgment in the heartbreaking case of The NHS Trust v The Parents & S [2021] EWHC 594 (Fam) raises many issues. Here I want to highlight one aspect of legal funding , (along with pointing to the magnificent steps…
“BUILD IT AND WHO CARES IF THEY COME”: THE REGISTER ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE COURT RULES AND LISTING ONLINE: THE ABSENCE OF “SCHOOL-GRADE WEB SKILLS”
An interesting explanation of why practitioners, and others, are having problems with access to rules of court and listing can be found in The Register – which provides news on technology for I T Professionals. The Register reports that the…
THE RULES ARE BACK IN TOWN: ASKING WHERE THEY COULD BE FOUND…
After some, shall we say “adverse”, comments on the way that the Civil Procedure Rules are presented on the government website the “old” site has has been given a reprieve. ON THE JUSTICE WEBSITE The Rules are still available…
WHERE HAVE ALL THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES GONE? (2): A LONG TIME MAY NOT BE PASSING (AND SOME – MAYBE NOT SO USEFUL – LINKS)
As an update on the decision to move the online version of the Civil Procedure Rules. David Wolfson QC, (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice) tweeted yesterday that the problem had been recognised “I’ve asked my officials to look at…
WHERE HAVE ALL THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES GONE? WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?
From the day this blog started there has always been a link to the Civil Procedure Rules. These were available, in an easily accessible form, on the Ministry of Justice website. They may still be there – but not for…
JUDGMENT ON EXTENT OF POWERS OF HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: THE ACCESSIBLE LANGUAGE SUMMARY
In Just Digital Marketplace Ltd (enforcement – controlled goods agreements – taking control of goods) [2021] EWHC 15 (QB) Master McCloud gave an important judgment about the extent of the powers of a High Court Enforcement Officer. However there is no…
LEGAL AID AVAILABLE FOR RESPONDENT TO APPLICATION TO COMMIT UNDER THE DEBTORS ACT 1869
In Haskell v Haskell [2020] EWFC 92 Mr Justice Mostyn held than application under the Debtors Act 1869 is broadly equivalent to an application for committal and legal aid should be awarded. THE CASE The applicant made an application under…
INSURER WAS ENTITLED TO AVOID EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY POLICY: A RESULT THAT IS “DEFECTIVE AND UNFAIR”
The judgment of Master Davison in Komives v Hick Lane Bedding Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 3288 (QB) highlights an area of law which, as the Master stated, is “defective an unfair”- an insurer was entitled to avoid an employer’s…
THE “NIGHTINGALE COURTS”: WHERE ARE THEY?
Whilst dozens of courts have been closed and sold off (or left to rot) HMCTS has felt it necessary to “innovate” by opening “Nightingale Courts”, details are available here. So far as I can tell only one two of these…
LAW CENTRES AND LEGAL NEED DURING LOCKDOWN: GUEST POST FROM SUE JAMES
Sue James was an early member of the (not so) Lonely Litigator’s Club. Following comments made about law centres yesterday I invited Sue to write a guest post on the role of law centres, generally and during the pandemic. Sue…
COMMITTAL PROCEEDINGS: LEGAL AID IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT ASSESSMENT OF MERITS OR MEANS: BUT WHERE DOES A RESPONDENT OBTAIN REPRESENTATION (LOOK HERE I HOPE)
The problems caused by civil committal proceedings have been a constant theme on this throughout the year (and for some time before). The problems may be reduced, to some extent, by the judgment of Mr Justice Chamberlain in The All…
CIVIL COMMITTAL PROCEEDINGS (YET AGAIN…): COMMITTAL ORDER SET ASIDE BECAUSE DEFENDANT WAS NOT LEGALLY REPRESENTED
Yet another example of the difficulties arising in civil committal proceedings arises in the Court of Appeal decision today in O (Committal: Legal Representation) [2019] EWCA Civ 1721. Legal representation, if requested, is essential if committal proceedings are to be valid….
LEGAL AID MATTERS: SUCH A WONDERFUL LITTLE BOOK – A REVIEW OF 70 YEARS OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF LEGAL AID TO OUR SOCIETY
This small, but important, book from the Justice Alliance is (I imagine) deliberately designed to resemble the campaigning pamphlets that used to be an essential part of public and political debate. It was printed by the Legal Action Group and…
THE ROLE OF THE SOLICITOR IN PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION: IDEAS TAKEN FROM THE SECRET BARRISTER
There was a tweet yesterday from someone (a non-lawyer) asserting that personal injury lawyers did not need to know the law. His purpose, I suspect, was to lead on to an argument that the work could be done by someone…
“THE COURT REFORM PROGRAMME IS MARKED BY RECKLESSNESS AND LACK OF FORESIGHT”: VIEWS FROM THE FRONT LINE: MORE RESPONSES TO THE JUSTICE COMMITTEE
The responses to the Justice Committee review are a virtual gold mine of information for anyone interested in civil procedure and the practical impact of court reforms. The reforms have not meant improvements, far from it. This can be seen…
CLOSING COURTS: MORE MADNESS AND MAYHEM FROM HMCTS: CLOSING MORE COURTS & NO PROPER RESEARCH (BUT THEY’VE PAID £30 MILLION TO “CONSULTANTS” SO EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE
Anyone concerned with access to justice knows that this includes physical access. There have to be courts for people to go to.I want to encourage everyone to read and to respond to the HMCTS document “Fit for the future: transforming…
THE BALLAD OF READING COUNTY COURT LIFT: IN POETRY
Barrister Rawdon Crozier has put the plight of Reading County Court life into a poem. It speaks for itself, as all good poetry should. The Ballad of Reading County Court Lift I never saw a lift which looked With…
THE BALLAD OF READING COUNTY COURT LIFT: THIS IS A TRAGEDY NOT A COMEDY
The earlier post about the Twitter account of broken lift in Reading County Court has already led to a lot of responses. This is a battle being fought with humour, however its consequences are serious, profoundly serious. Many people have…
THE BALLAD OF READING COUNTY COURT LIFT: THE LIFT WITH ITS OWN TWITTER ACCOUNT – AN ESCALATING PROBLEM
Last week I went to Reading County Court. This was a new court to me and I asked the Legal Twitterati for directions (“out of the station turn left at Snappy Snaps”, for anyone who needs to know). What was…
“THE STATE HAS SIMPLY WASHED ITS HANDS OF THE PROBLEM, LEAVING THE SOLUTION… TO THE GOODWILL, AND CHARITY, OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION”
Every sensible citizen should read the judgment of Sir James Munby in M v P [2019] EWFC 14. It is a classic case of the government creating a problem and leaving the victims unsupported (whilst it employs a formidable legal team…
WHEN THE COURT LETS YOU DOWN: A WORRYING CHRONOLOGY
In BC v BG [2019] EWFC 7 the court rejected an application to set aside an arbitration award made in ancillary relief proceedings. The application was unsuccessful (and the applicant awarded to pay costs). However the issue of concern is the…
THE LANGUAGE OF LAW: A JUDGMENT THAT IS WRITTEN FOR THE BENEFIT OF A CHILD
A short tweet I did yesterday has caused dozens of comments. It is not about a civil case but a family case. However it is a matter of universal interest, the language of law. In this case the judgment had…
“CIVIL JUSTICE IS A PUBLIC GOOD”: SPEECH BY LORD JUSTICE GROSS: WHY WE ARE WORKING IN THE “CINDERELLA” SECTOR
This morning I am encouraging you all to read the speech of Lord Justice Gross given to the London Common Law & Commercial Bar Association Annual Lecture. It is a wide-ranging speech, the essential theme is that Civil Justice is…
ARROGANT, RUDE, SEXIST (AND AT TIMES BARELY LITERATE): THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE: WE ALL DESERVE BETTER MUCH, MUCH BETTER
My “litigator’s New Year’s resolution” for 2019 was to recommend that everyone read more of Emily Dugan’s work on exposing the impact of the cuts at the Ministry of Justice. When I wrote the “resolution” I could not have conceived…
A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION FOR LITIGATORS: READ BUZZFEED MORE OFTEN: FIND OUT WHAT JUDGES REALLY THINK AND THE MOJ’S HIGHLY “SELECTIVE” USE OF STATISTICS
I have written before about the impressive work done by the journalist Emily Duggan on Buzzfeed News. Emily is one of the people who keeps a close, and sceptical, eye on what we are being told about reforms to the …
THE JUSTICE PAPERS FOR JUSTICE WEEK: ESSENTIAL READING: VIEWS FROM THE SHARP END
The Bar Council has circulated links to a number of papers written in support of Justice Week : “a series of personal accounts giving first-hand insight into the crises occurring across the system.” Every one of these deserves the widest publicity…
“EFFICIENCY” AND THE COURT SYSTEM 3: WANT TO BE A LAWYER? BUY YOURSELF A SELFIE STICK
In the third (and I suspect not the last) I want to set out a series of tweets which arose from the earlier posts on this topic. There were a series of tweets about the problems caused by courts losing…
“EFFICIENCY” AND THE COURT SYSTEM 2: A COMEDY OF ERRORS – YOU BE THE JUDGE
Yesterday I did a short post on court errors. I have been given permission to post another one. Again I will let the facts speak for themselves. A series of tweets from Mairead @m417ead 10 repeated with their permission. A SAD SAGA Trial 1…
PROVING THINGS 118: IT SEEMS THAT EVEN THE LORD CHANCELLOR DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO PROVE THINGS: “THAT FINAL SENTENCE WAS BOTH INACCURATE AND MISLEADING”
A body charged with the delivery of legal services to some of the most vulnerable people in our society (and which, incidentally, is in charge of the justice system) should be making decisions that are logical and justifiable – you…
LITIGANTS IN PERSON & FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: MINISTRY OF JUSTICE COULD BE ON THE NAUGHTY STEP
Just to keep people up to date with the recent posts about the Ministry of Justice and the disclosure of the research in relation to litigants in person. The MOJ has now been reported to the Information Commissioner. A RECAP…
LITIGANTS IN PERSON: THE FULL STORY EMERGES: LITIGANTS IN PERSON COST THE JUSTICE SYSTEM MORE
Last week I commented on Buzzfeed’s piece on research that the MOJ carried out on litigants in person. After a freedom of information request the MOJ, reluctantly, handed over a six page summary of research it carried out on litigants…
HATS OFF TO BUZZFEED: GOVERNMENT RESEARCH ON LITIGANTS IN PERSON FINALLY “DISCLOSED” (IN A MANNER)
This weekend I reported on the decision of District Judge Read that expressed profound concern about the fate of litigants of person in a family law case. Hats off to BuzzFeed which, after a tussle and an appeal to the…
“UNSATISFACTORY IN TERMS OF PROCEDURAL HISTORY, PREPARATION, PROCESS AND OUTCOME”: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TAKE LEGAL REPRESENTATION AWAY
John Vater QC, writing on Twitter, has – rightly- categorised the District Judge Read as a “hero”. When giving judgment in JY v RY [2018] EWFC B16 the judge made a number of telling observations about the profound implications of lack…
THE GAVEL, THE WIG AND THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE: PERPETUATING INACCURACY IS NOT ITS ROLE
It comes as a surprise to many that judges in England and Wales do not use gavels. It is a widespread myth. Many images of judges in the media have a judge with gavel in hand. There is a Twitter…
THE SECRET BARRISTER – WHERE DO I START? (1) LETS TRY LISTING
Like many of the legal fraternity I have spent this weekend reading the Secret Barrister’s “Stories of the Law and how its Broken”. The book is about criminal law and criminal procedure, however there is much for civil litigators to…
COURT WATCH: DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE: REPORT CANCELLATIONS AND LISTING ISSUES HERE
There have been constant, and consistent, grumblings on social media about problems with court listing. Cases are cancelled at the last moment. Courts are overbooked. There appears to be no, or very little, thought given to the expense involved and…
MOVING THE APPEAL TRIBUNAL FURTHER & FURTHER AWAY FROM THE APPELLANT’S HOME: PROCEDURAL UNFAIRNESS
Earlier this week I paid tribute to Sir Henry Brooke. This included his most recent work dealing with PIPs and ESAs. He wrote in his blog: “Readers of these blogs will know I have been telling stories of the injustices…
SIR HENRY BROOKE: A TRIBUTE TO HIS ONLINE PRESENCE
There are many moving obituaries to Sir Henry Brooke, to his work as a lawyer, a judge and campaigner. Here I want to pay tribute to his online work. It is significant that Sir Henry had a very full and…
ARRANGEMENTS FOR VULNERABLE WITNESSES: HURDLES IN THE WAY OF SENSIBLE ARRANGEMENTS
The very title of the case Ajayi v Abu & Anor (labour exploitation : human trafficking : modern slavery) [2017] EWHC 1946 (QB) gives a clue that this is going to be an important and difficult issue. The judgment, however, highlights…
THE STRENGTH OF ENGLISH LAW: GUIDANCE WHICH NEEDS TO BE GIVEN AT HOME NOT JUST ABROAD
The Courts and Tribunals service have today produced a short guide – essentially selling the English courts* and the UK Jurisdiction. In essence it is a marketing booklet to persuade foreign litigants to use court in the UK and to…
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