Litigation/Dispute Resolution
High Court criticises City firm for breaching judgment embargo
A well-known City law firm has been heavily criticised by the High Court for distributing a confidential embargoed draft judgment to journalists before it was handed down.
HMCTS: Some progress likely on “unacceptable” court backlogs
HM Courts and Tribunal Service expects to make “reasonable progress despite the challenges” in cutting court backlogs, its operations director said yesterday.
Court dismisses negligence claim against law firm over causation
A negligence claim against a well-known London law firm over erroneous information it gave to a client’s mortgage lender has been dismissed on the basis of causation.
Arbitration specialists split on faster procedures but see role for AI
The arbitration community is split down the middle on early determination and expedited procedures, but expects AI to play more of a role in its work, a major global survey has found.
Law firm boss “misled court” in effort to push through prepack sale
A judge has strongly criticised the boss of a consumer claims law firm for giving false evidence and trying to force through a prepack administration sale in favour of his own newly incorporated firm.
CJC calls for “single digital court” to enforce judgments
The Civil Justice Council has called for a “single unified digital court” to enforce civil judgments, whether the judgment was obtained in the county court or High Court.
Solicitor who secured release of client’s money then breached rules
A solicitor who successfully released money frozen in a client’s bank account then broke the accounts rules by having it transferred into her firm’s client account.
Funder can be paid before CAT class members, appeal court rules
There is “nothing surprising or unusual” about the CAT ordering payment to litigation funders and lawyers from a damages award ahead of the class in collective actions.
Poor conduct of consumer claims “will see more firms collapse”
At least 15 consumer claims law firms have gone bust in the last five years owing more than £400m and poor practices in the sector will likely lead to more, a leading insurer has predicted.
“Logjam” of old High Court cases “blocking new disputes”
A “logjam” of old cases at the High Court, with more than a quarter of cases taking up to three years to resolve, could be the reason for a “slight drop-off” in new actions last year.
Blog
The importance of benchmarking reports – and lessons on profitability
Regional firms reported the largest revenue growth this year (12%), outpacing their City counterparts. Yet many are not converting that growth into profitability.
Fixed recoverable costs: Sacrificing justice for predictability?
The extended fixed recoverable costs regime is failing to achieve its stated objectives. Instead of promoting fairness and efficiency, the rules are creating anomalies that undermine justice.
Expectations keep rising, so prioritise client experience
Law firms are facing growing pressure to place greater focus on client experience or risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive legal market.
