Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Barristers should avoid “supportive” comments after winning cases
Barristers who win cases on behalf of causes they back should avoid making “supportive” comments or risk undermining their independence, the vice-chair of the Bar Council has warned.
Litigation funding “explosion” driving class actions across Europe
The “explosive growth” of litigation funding is behind an increase in class actions across Europe over the past two years, a report by the law firm CMS has argued.
Court of Appeal warns of “perverse incentives” from litigation funding
The Court of Appeal yesterday highlighted the importance of judicial control over costs to ensure that the involvement of third-party litigation funders does not create perverse incentives.
“Trial by internet” – Judges turn to Wikipedia to aid reasoning
Judges are using Wikipedia to research legal issues and allowing it to influence their reasoning, ground-breaking research has discovered.
MoJ aims to extend compulsory mediation to “all county court users”
The Ministry of Justice’s “future ambition” is to extend compulsory mediation from small claims to all county court users and so it has begun considering its role in overseeing the mediation sector.
“Unjustifiably antagonised” lord justice should have recused himself
A lord justice of appeal who became “unjustifiably antagonised” by a defendant’s “persistence” in challenging his decisions should have recused himself, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
MoJ proposes compulsory mediation for claims worth up to £10k
Mediation will be made compulsory for all small claims worth up to £10,000, potentially settling 20,000 cases that would otherwise end up in court, the Ministry of Justice proposed today.
Judge condemns “trench warfare” over witness statements
The rules on witness statements should not be seen as encouragement to identify “as many instances of non-compliance as possible for use in trench warfare”, the High Court has said.
MoJ considers £5,000 costs cap to protect defendants against SLAPPs
The Ministry of Justice has suggested that people defending themselves from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) could be protected by a £5,000 costs cap.
Class action firm scores “largest ever” £100m funding deal
Class action specialist PGMBM has secured funding of £100m from alternative investments firm North Wall Capital, in what is believed to be the largest deal of its kind with a claimant law firm.
Blog
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
Recruitment, retention and reward in the legal accounts world
Understanding the legal finance market is important – not just for those actively involved in it day-to-day but also for leaders within law firms.
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.
