Litigation/Dispute Resolution
CILEX regulator rejects “deskilled” advocacy warning over higher rights
The regulator of chartered legal executives has rejected warnings from barristers of a “deskilled” advocacy profession with a “third and lower tier”, if it goes ahead with granting higher rights of audience.
Fixed costs rules not as simple as we wanted, Birss admits
The deputy head of civil justice has issued a robust defence of the new regime of fixed recoverable costs – while acknowledging it is not as simple as he would like.
MPs launch probe into growing delays in county court
The House of Commons’ justice select committee is to probe the capacity and resources of the county court amid ever-growing delays in how long cases are taking.
CAT consolidates collective actions in opt-out “milestone”
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has for the first time consolidated two opt-out collective claims in what has been described as a “milestone” for the sector.
Court refers lawyers to regulators over misconduct in $11bn arbitration
A High Court judge has referred a solicitor and a barrister to their regulators for “indefensible” conduct, motivated by money, that contributed to his decision to overturn an $11bn arbitration award.
Peers fight on to give fraud enforcement agencies costs protection
The House of Lords has renewed its backing for an amendment to draft legislation giving judges more freedom not to award costs against enforcement agencies.
First post-PACCAR bid to invalidate litigation funding agreement fails
The High Court has rejected the first bid to use the Supreme Court’s PACCAR ruling by a company looking to invalidate a litigation funding agreement it had signed up to.
AI could revolutionise lawyers’ approach to costs, says judge
Generative AI like ChatGPT could revolutionise the way that lawyers deal with costs, rendering detailed assessment largely unnecessary, a High Court judge suggested last week.
Judge refuses Indian lawyer right to address High Court
The High Court has refused an Indian lawyer permission to appear for an Indian company that had dismissed its English solicitors and barristers shortly before trial.
Law firm fails in bid to stop winding-up petition advert
The High Court has refused to grant a Welsh law firm that owes a disbursement funder £2.2m an injunction to prevent the lender from advertising a winding-up petition to other creditors.
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.
