12 POINTS RELATING TO SERVICE OF THE CLAIM FORM: THINGS THAT YOU REALLY, REALLY, NEED TO KNOW
Today is all about service of the claim form. Following on from the Supreme Court decision in Barton -v- Wright Hassall LLP [2018] UKSC 12 this morning this is a good time to update your knowledge about basic points of procedure. TWELVE…
PRACTISING “DEFENSIVE LITIGATION” : ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS GATHERED TOGETHER
What many (if not most) of the posts on this blog make clear is that there is now precious little room for error in civil procedure. To operate effectively, and profitably, we have to develop systems of “defensive litigation”. That…
MYTHS ABOUT PROCEDURE: THE DATE FOR SERVICE IS NOT CALCULATED FROM THE DAY THE COURT RECEIVES THE CLAIM FORM: IT IS CALCULATED FROM THE DATE OF “ISSUE”
In an earlier post on limitation myths I recounted how I often received phone calls from worried solicitors who feared they had missed a limitation period. The papers had been received by the court within the period, the date of…
FILING FORM H: WHEN DOES A CASE HAVE A VALUE OF “LESS THAN £50,000”? A POINT TO WATCH
There are now several formats for Form H. The “short” one page version is now used in cases where the value is between £25,000 and “less than £50,000”. Some judges are interpreting this strictly to read between £25,000 and £49,999″….
London Seminar for PIBA MEMBERS: It’s all Counsel’s fault: key problem areas and how to manage your practice to avoid them
Title: “It’s all Counsel’s fault: key problem areas and how to manage your practice to avoid them” Speaker: Gordon Exall, Barrister at Hardwicke, London and Zenith Chambers, Leeds. Topics to be covered: * Your name in the law reports…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL X: THE BEST OF THE REST
This series started as a series of tweets from a (cold) train station early last Friday morning. It is fitting I finish it on a Friday evening. Much ground has been covered and we have gathered advice from around…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL IX: IF THEY SAY IT’LL BE “GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR YOU” – WATCH OUT…
Here we have most (but I can’t guarantee all) of the tweets given on what they don’t teach you at law school. You will see it is an eclectic mix. The advice given can be world weary but, for the…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL VIII: BUNDLES, COURTESY & MINTS
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….
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL VII: FLAT SHOES & DOUBLE STUFFED OREOS: SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TWITTER
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…
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL VI: NEVER WRITE ANYTHING DOWN THAT YOU WOULDN’T WANT READ OUT IN OPEN COURT
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…
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 III: THRIVE & SURVIVE: GUIDANCE FROM NEW SOUTH WALES
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…
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…
SURVIVING MITCHELL A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE 2: ASSUME EVERY ORDER OF THE COURT IS A PEREMPTORY ORDER.
Some of the cases on sanctions reported this week have been highly disturbing; with cases being struck out on the morning of the trial because the bundles were not lodged three days earlier. As a result the only safe assumption…


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