CIVIL JUSTICE COUNCIL REPORT ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CIVIL COURT USERS
It is not possible to have anything but admiration for the way in which the Civil Justice Council have produced their report on the impact of COVID-19 on civil court users. The report is available here. It carried out what…
CORONAVIRUS LAW: DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION TO ADJOURN TRIAL REFUSED: TRIAL CAN GO AHEAD IN PERSON (AND WOULD GO AHEAD EVEN IF HELD REMOTELY)
In the judgment in SC v University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (Rev 2) [2020] EWHC 1445 (QB) given yesterday Mr Justice Johnson refused the defendant’s application for an adjournment on the grounds that a trial held remotely would be…
CORONAVIRUS LAW: COVID NOT A GOOD REASON TO CHANGE NORMAL RULE AS TO COSTS FOLLOWING DISCONTINUANCE
In Khan v Governor of HMP The Mount & Anor [2020] EWHC 1367 Mr Justice Spencer considered, and rejected, an argument that a different costs order should be made because of the impact of coronavirus. THE CASE The claimant…
SOME LAWYERS HAVE WRITTEN POEMS ABOUT COVID AND THE LAW, I’VE JUST READ IT TWICE NOW AND I’M SIMPLY IN AWE
Quite a few decades – possibly to the day – since I finished my A Level English Literature exam I find myself reviewing a book of poetry. (Mrs Turner and Mr Payne were right, these skills would come in handy…
CIVIL PROCEDURE (CORONAVIRUS): BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – MAY 2020
Articles and posts of interest to litigators in relation to civil procedure and Coronavirus. THE POSTS Courts Litigation Futures Court issues guidance on e-bundles for short applications Remote Hearings Litigation Futures “Uphill battle” to engage judges in remote JR hearings Litigation Futures ……
NO VARIATION TO COURT ORDER BECAUSE OF CORONOVIRUS: RESPONDENT DOES NOT GET TWO BITES OF THE CHERRY
It is likely that the Coronavirus epidemic is going to give rise to many issues in litigation. Some of them unusual and unprecedented. An example can be seen in the judgment today in Dinglis v Dinglis & Ors [2020] EWHC…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 26: GABOR COVAKS: THE MANDOLIN PLAYING SOLICITOR’S TALE
The Club may be unique in legal history because, in addition to promoting knowledge and skills about litigation, the constitution also has the aims of promoting laywers playing and listening to mandolin music. That is just one of the reasons…
AUTOMATIC STAY OF POSSESSION HEARINGS APPLIES TO APPEALS: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION THIS MORNING
In London Borough of Hackney -v- Okoro [2020] EWCA Civ 681 the Court of Appeal found that the automatic stay on possession proceedings also applies to appeals against possession orders. THE CASE The Court of Appeal were asked…
CIVIL UPDATE FOR NORTH AND WEST YORKSHIRE: UPDATED GUIDANCE FROM THE DESIGNATED CIVIL JUDGE
HHJ Gosnell has issued new guidance for civil courts in North and West Yorkshire. It is reproduced in full below. “Introduction The purpose of this document is to update you on events since my last update on 6th April…
HMCTS GUIDANCE “Keeping court and tribunal buildings safe, secure and clean”
HMCTS have recently updated their guidance about security, cleaning and social-distancing arrangements in court and tribunal buildings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Some of the guidance puts obligations on lawyers and court users. Having successfully avoided the pun for two…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 24: ROBERT MALES: THE MANAGING PARTNER’S TALE
The latest member of our club is Robert Males. As you may be able to guess from the photo Robert is managing partner of Underwoods Solicitors of Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire and Cape Town, South Africa. Where are you working…
GENERAL GUIDANCE ON PDF BUNDLES FOR HEARINGS IN COURTS: GUIDANCE ISSUED TODAY
Mr Justice Mann has issued the following guidance on PDF bundles today. It provides practical guidance as to the matters that should be included in bundles, including the need for optical recognition, the need for the documents to be in…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 23: SASHA BEAUMONT-HODGES: THE LAW STUDENT’S TALE
It is important for the future of the club that we encourage young members and are aware of the difficulties that they are going through at the moment. For that reason I invited law student Sasha Beaumont-Hughes to become a…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 22: PAUL MAGRATH: THE LAW REPORTER’S TALE
It occurred to me that a law reporter would would be a very helpful, in not essential, addition to our club ( I have checked and the club rules allow this). So I asked Paul Magrath to join. Paul is…
COVID REPEATS 21: OPENING LINES OF JUDGMENTS (WITH SOME NEW ONES THROWN IN): BJORN AGAIN
Today we are looking at opening lines of judgment. We also have a new opening line from earlier this year. ABBA: (ALTHOUGH THE WINNER DIDN’T TAKE IT ALL…) In April this year in a judgment about an inheritance dispute…
COVID REPEATS 20: CIVIL LITIGATION BRIEF 26 YEARS AGO: PROCEDURAL DEVELOPMENT IN 1994
Six years ago I reviewed the annual output of Civil Litigation Brief in 1994 so, in essence, this is a repeat of a repeat. There were no “blogs” back. Twenty six ago CLB was a monthly column in the Solicitors…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 21: DONNA SCULLY: FROM DUBLIN TO LIVERPOOL
Our newest member practices in Liverpool. Donna Scully. Originally from Dublin Donna qualified as a solicitor at the age of 30 and is now director of the Carpenters Group. I am Irish, from Dublin. I am a joint owner/Director…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 20: SNIGDHA NAG: THE LAW LECTURER’S VIEW
It is well known that the constitution of the Club requires us to “encourage and educate the legal profession and public in the importance and rules of civil procedure”. Naturally, therefore, the Club needs law lecturers to help us in…
COVID REPEATS 17: SEDLEY’S LAW OF DOCUMENTS
It was clearly his extensive experience with trial bundles that led Sedley L.J. to write “Sedley’s Laws of Documents”. These are laws that should be considered, in detail, by every litigator. For many, many years, a post I wrote on…
COVID REPEATS 16: THE DOG THAT GOT A BETTER MASTER’S DEGREE THAN A WITNESS (WHEN WITNESSES DIG REALLY DEEP HOLES FOR THEMSELVES)
To lighten up a Saturday we are looking again at the judgment of Mr Justice Ramsey in BSky B -v- HP Enterprises Ltd [2010] EWHC 86 (TCC). This contains some interesting comments on the credibility of witnesses and how the…
THE NOT SO LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 19: TIM O’CONNOR: BARRISTER ON THE CORK CIRCUIT
Our club has no jurisdictional boundaries*. So it was a pleasure to ask Tim O’Connor a barrister at the Bar of Ireland,on the Cork Circuit, to become our latest member. Tim specialises in judicial review and sports law. He has…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 18: CORI McKEOWN: THE TRAINEE SOLICITOR’S TALE
Our club clearly needs a wide range of members. We have had a pupil barrister join and now we have a trainee solicitor. I wanted some insight into the problems of just starting off in your career and then having…
THE NOT SO LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 17: GORDON DALYELL: MEMBERSHIP FROM NORTH OF THE BORDER
Membership of our club is not confined to any one jurisdiction. Gordon Dalyell was invited to become our first club member in Scotland (and also because there can never be enough Gordons in any organisation). Gordon is a partner with…
ARTICLE IN THE BARRISTER MAGAZINE: “THE BAR IN A TIME OF CRISIS: A RESPONSE WE CAN BE PROUD OF”
I have written an article in The Barrister magazine available here. It deals with the many remarkable responses individual chambers made to the COVID-19 crisis, providing a wealth of online material and resources WHY I HESITATED I explain the…
CIVIL PROCEDURE (CORONAVIRUS): BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – APRIL 2020
We may not have been getting out much this month but there has been plenty of material on civil procedure, the courts and coronavirus. Courts Herbert Smith Freehills Courts relax rules on agreeing extensions to procedural deadlines in light of COVID-19…
COVID REPEATS 10: DON’T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THINKING A JUDGE IS THE USHER: MORE ADVICE FROM MORE WISE PEOPLE
Here we are looking at advice given in January 2017 from contributors across Twitter all of whom volunteered advice to young lawyers. Every one of these is basically a pearl of wisdom. It is important that I point out that…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 16: SHAYLLA SHABBIR: THE PUPIL’S VIEW
This is the time of year when pupil barristers are starting to be let lose to hone their skills in courts and tribunals up and down the country. At the moment they are stuck at home. I asked pupil barrister …
REMOTE HEARINGS: CHILDREN CASES: GUIDANCE FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL
Civil litigators may well be able to gain some assistance from the guidance being given in children cases. The Court of Appeal gave judgment today in Re A (Children) (Remote Hearing: Care and Placement Orders). a-children-judgment-300420 [2020] EWCA Civ 583…
LITIGATION, CASHFLOW AND COVID 2: INTERIM PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF COSTS
It is often said that cashflow is the lifeblood of business and this is never more so than in the current situation. Here we are looking at orders for interim payments when a case, or an issue in a case,…
COVID REPEATS 9: A LOT OF WISDOM ABOUT LEGAL PRACTICE FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE
This is a repeat of a post that contained a lot of wisdom from a lot of people. Lawyers (including judges) on Twitter sent in dozens of contributions on advice to young lawyers. All of it is worth repeating (and…
COVID REPEATS 8: “NEVER WRITE ANYTHING DOWN THAT YOU WOULDN’T WANT READ OUT IN OPEN COURT”
I am repeating this because it is important. 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….
PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATORS AND THE CORONAVIRUS (LIVE WEBINAR): 13th MAY 2020
On the 13th May I am giving a webinar looking at the practical implications for personal injury litigators of coronavirus and social isolation. This looks at the rule changes, relevant legislation, case law and guidance in relation to coronavirus. It…
The Virtual Workspace: 50 Tips for Effective Video Conferencing: BOOK REVIEW – “BUY” IT QUICKLY…
Andrew King’s book is a testament to the speed at which it is possible for lawyers to act. Just over a fortnight ago Andrew wrote a thread on Twitter setting out his experience of being involved in a virtual trial,…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB : CENRIC CLEMENT-EVANS: ein haelod cyntaf o Gymru
I am keen we have as wide a geographical spread of members as possible, so the next member is based in Wales. Cenric Clement-Evans, solicitor, lecturer and campaigner, based in Cardiff. Where are you working from now? I was…
CONCENTRATION, CORONAVIRUS AND WORK: SOME SITES THAT MAY HELP
One of the difficulties caused by coronavirus is a problem in concentration and focusing. Even people who habitually work from home have increased problems in settling down. Here is a list of links that may help. The advice given may…
A LIST OF PRACTICAL GUIDANCE CONCERNING THE OPERATIONS OF COURTS AND TRIBUNALS
There has been a whole host of information relating to the practical operation of courts and tribunals. I am grateful to the barristers at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square for sending me details of their collection and collation of this material….
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 10: PAUL NICHOLLS
The normally ebullient solicitor Paul Nicholls joins our club as a very special member. Paul has been seriously ill with coronavirus, hospitalised, ventilated and was given a 50% chance of survival. He is now back at home and working. Against…
GUIDANCE FOR THE CONDUCT OF REMOTE COSTS HEARINGS: READ ALL ABOUT IT
The Association of Cost Lawyers has a link on its site to agreed guidance for the Guidance of Remote Hearings. This is designed to ensure that assessments can continue remotely during social isolation. Litigation Futures has a useful summary of…
REMOTE HEARINGS: ARE THERE “TWO NATIONS” OPERATING WITHIN THE COURT SYSTEM (OR MORE THAN THAT…)
The ability of the courts to proceed using remote hearings has to be celebrated. Sometimes, however, it is interesting to contrast the very real technical difficulties being experienced by county courts up and down the country with what appears to…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 8 : ANDREW KING
The next to join the club is Andrew King co-owner of Lennons Solicitors. Working from home with his wife and four young sons (6, 2 and 1 year old twins…) Andrew has been involved in a remote trial during this…
A HEARING THAT “COULD NOT BE CONDUCTED FAIRLY OR PROPERLY” WITHOUT A PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE COURTROOM: IDEA OF REMOTE TRIAL REFUSED
The judgment of Sir Andrew McFarlane in P (A Child: Remote Hearing), Re [2020] EWFC 32 shows that remote hearings are not suitable for every case. “It seems to me that to contemplate a remote hearing of issues such as…
KEEPING YOUR LAW FIRM GOING IN THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS (10): GUIDANCE FROM NEW ZEALAND
Here we look at guidance to lawyers from New Zealand. The series on “Lawyers in Lockdown” is particularly illuminating, it shows that these issues are universal. We are far from alone. New Zealand The New Zealand Law Society has a…
Covid-19 and the immigration tribunals: a working guide for representatives
Barristers Bernadette Smith and Geeta Koska have produced a guide dealing with the legal and practical issues facing those who are practising in immigration tribunals during the coronavirus crisis. THE GUIDE One useful function of the guide is that it…
ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER AMENDMENT TO THE PRACTICE DIRECTIONS: POSSESSION PROCEEDINGS
There have been amendments to Practice Direction 51Z. These provide exceptions to the total ban on possession proceedings. THE AMENDMENTS: 120th UPDATE – PRACTICE DIRECTION AMENDMENTS “The amendments to Practice Direction 51Z supplementing the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 are…
CORONAVIRUS AND SOCIAL CARE: ESSENTIAL GUIDANCE FROM MY COLLEAGUES
Whilst this blog deals, primarily with procedural issues and problems arising from Covid-19 there are major issues relating to substantive law. The law on social care, in particular, is now a major issue. On the Kings Chambers site Coronavirus: Guidance…
KEEPING YOUR LAW FIRM GOING IN THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS (9): CANADA
In the 9th in this series we look at advice to and from lawyers in Canada. All of these links offer practical advice which can be used in the UK, and beyond. Canada In ‘COVID-19: law firms going remote, some…
THE POSTS ON CORONAVIRUS: CATALOGUED AND SORTED (IT HAS BEEN QUITE A MONTH…)
I first wrote about Coronavirus in a post on March 15. This feels like a very long time ago. This blog has, basically, been looking at the issues relating to coronavirus, lawyers and litigation ever since then. This seems like…
KEEPING YOUR LAW FIRM GOING IN THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS (8) ADVICE FROM AUSTRALIA THAT MAY BOWL YOU OVER
I have spent part of lockdown watching “The Test” – a series about Australia’s cricket team. I have been rooting for the Aussies all the way (except when they played England of course). With the degree of planning and preparation…
KEEPING YOUR LAW FIRM GOING IN THE CORONAVIRUS (7): GUIDANCE THAT IS BORN IN THE U.S.A.
The thing about an international pandemic is that many of the problems we face are universal. Lawyers across the globe are dealing with very similar issues in relation to maintaining a firm throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Here we look at…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 7: SIMON (“SPIKE”) MULLINGS
The seventh member of the club is legal aid practitioner, Simon Mullings, who describes himself as “a long-beard housing law caseworker and newly anointed co-chair of the Housing Law Practitioners’ Association.” 1. Where are you working from now? I am…
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