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Updates and Commentary on Civil Procedure, by Gordon Exall, Barrister, Kings Chambers
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“A SOLICITOR, NO MATTER HOW EXPERIENCED OR INEXPERIENCED, MUST BE TAKEN TO KNOW THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES "(ii): A REMINDER OF THE BACK TO BASICS SERIES

“A SOLICITOR, NO MATTER HOW EXPERIENCED OR INEXPERIENCED, MUST BE TAKEN TO KNOW THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES “(ii): A REMINDER OF THE BACK TO BASICS SERIES

December 16, 2021 · by gexall · in Avoiding negligence claims, Civil evidence, Civil Procedure, Members Content

The post yesterday on the case where it was stated that every lawyer is taken to know the Civil Procedure Rules has led to me re-visit the “Back to Basics” series on this blog.  The series now has 91 posts*…

PRACTISING "DEFENSIVE LITIGATION" : ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS GATHERED TOGETHER

PRACTISING “DEFENSIVE LITIGATION” : ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS GATHERED TOGETHER

November 2, 2017 · by gexall · in Avoiding negligence claims, Case Management, Civil evidence, Civil Procedure, Costs, Costs budgeting, Members Content, Witness statements

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…

MORE ON FISH FILES: "LEAVE THEM IN THE CORNER UNTIL THEY START TO SMELL": RECOGNISING THE PROBLEM AND SOLUTIONS

MORE ON FISH FILES: “LEAVE THEM IN THE CORNER UNTIL THEY START TO SMELL”: RECOGNISING THE PROBLEM AND SOLUTIONS

August 9, 2017 · by gexall · in Avoiding negligence claims, Civil Procedure, Members Content

Everyone, at some stage, has a “fish file” –  a file that has been left for so long it has started to smell (sometimes literally). Consequently the litigator avoids it and it gets smellier and smellier. These files are always ripe….

WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL IV: OWNING AND FIXING YOUR MISTAKES

WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT LAW SCHOOL IV: OWNING AND FIXING YOUR MISTAKES

January 16, 2017 · by gexall · in Avoiding negligence claims, Case Management, Members Content, Useful links

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…

LITIGATORS: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THINGS GO WRONG? 10 KEY POINTS

January 5, 2017 · by gexall · in Applications, Avoiding negligence claims, Members Content, Uncategorized, Useful links

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…

FRAUDULENT CLAIMANTS AND THE NEED FOR SELF-PROTECTION BY LAWYERS

FRAUDULENT CLAIMANTS AND THE NEED FOR SELF-PROTECTION BY LAWYERS

August 30, 2016 · by gexall · in Avoiding negligence claims, Civil evidence, Members Content, Professional negligence,, Uncategorized, Witness statements

A report in Litigation Futures last week illustrates the need for “self protection” by lawyers. The headline says it all “Insurance Fraudster who tried to blame his solicitor jailed for 18 months”. “IT WAS ALL MY SOLICITOR’S FAULT” The claimant…

IN LITIGATION, AS IN LIFE, THINGS WILL GO WRONG: HAVING A STRATEGY IN PLACE

IN LITIGATION, AS IN LIFE, THINGS WILL GO WRONG: HAVING A STRATEGY IN PLACE

February 7, 2016 · by gexall · in Applications, Avoiding negligence claims, Members Content, Uncategorized, Witness statements

There has been a lot of publicity recently about lawyers who have been struck off for, effectively, making things up to cover up mistakes.  In the most recent case a time limit was missed for the First Tier Tribunal and…

FOUR IMPORTANT POINTS FOR THOSE HASTILY ISSUING PROCEEDINGS THIS WEEK

March 3, 2015 · by gexall · in Applications, Avoiding negligence claims, Civil Procedure, Members Content, Service of the claim form, Serving documents

Twitter and other sources have been full of stories of solicitors issuing numerous proceedings to avoid the (wholly ridiculous) price hike next week.  There are a few things that should be borne in mind by all those who have issued…

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