Litigation/Dispute Resolution
“A new era of positive change” – intervenors welcome ADR ruling
The Court of Appeal’s ruling yesterday that judges can order parties to engage in ADR heralds “a new era of positive change”, one of the intervenors in the case has declared.
Supreme Court: “Not fair” to challenge expert evidence only in closing
It was “not fair” for the defendant in a personal injury claim to only challenge the claimant’s expert evidence during its closing submissions, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
Court of Appeal: Judges can order parties to engage in ADR
Courts can order parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution, so long as it does not restrict their ability to proceed to a judicial hearing, the Court of Appeal ruled today.
Law firms “continue to threaten” journalists despite SRA warnings
Libel law firms continue to mislead journalists and others that their letters cannot be published and the SRA needs to act, high-profile tax lawyer Dan Neidle said yesterday.
“Shamelessness” of SLAPPs has grown but still no disciplinary action
The number and “shamelessness” of SLAPPs has grown but there has been no disciplinary action against the lawyers responsible for how they are run, a major conference heard yesterday.
Costs lawyers “bullish” about impact of fixed costs extension
Costs lawyers have had a good year, with a healthy proportion reporting growth in excess of 10% and many bullish about the impact of more fixed costs, according to their representative body.
Tribunal approves first post-PACCAR litigation funding agreement
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved a litigation funding agreement that was amended to take account of the Supreme Court ruling in PACCAR.
Judge penalises claimant for “unrealistic” costs budget
A judge has penalised a claimant for submitting an “unrealistic” costs budget, saying he hoped it would encourage parties to negotiate them before reaching court.
Arbitration Bill aims to retain pre-eminence of England and Wales
The Ministry of Justice yesterday published the Arbitration Bill, including a new statutory duty on arbitrators to disclose anything which might give rise to “justifiable doubts” about their impartiality.
High Court criticises firm for private prosecution disclosure failure
The High Court has criticised a leading private prosecutions law firm for the information it provided to persuade a judge to issue summonses alleging fraud against three people.
Blog
From ‘year zero’ to £6.5m – how a law firm found its second life
In 2018, I hit what I call ‘year zero’. On paper, Olliers Solicitors was a top-tier criminal defence firm but beneath the surface, I could see we were at a crossroads.
Linklaters’ chief growth officer takes the ‘blank sheet’ challenge
In the third and final part of this series, Lucy Murphy, chief growth officer at magic circle firm Linklaters, outlines her vision for the law firm of the future.
The ‘blank sheet’ challenge, part 2 – what would you do differently?
In the second part of this blog series, Shainul Kassam, managing director of small London firm Fortune Law, sets out how she would set up a law firm now.
