Litigation/Dispute Resolution
WhatsApp messages form part of firm’s file – if they charge for them
A law firm’s file includes WhatApp messages and other forms of digital communication where it then seeks to charge for them, a costs judge has ruled.
Supreme Court overturns decision that class action should be opt-out
The Supreme Court has reinstated a decision that £2.7bn collective proceedings should be on an opt-in, rather than opt-out, basis.
Complex court processes “shut out litigants in person”
Complex court administrative processes “increasingly function as gatekeepers to justice” and shut out litigants in person, research has found.
Opt-out class action first for businesses as car delivery case settles
Businesses are to benefit from an opt-out class action for the first time after the last two defendants in the car delivery charges case settled for £54m.
Second time lucky as government agrees to reverse PACCAR
The government is to legislate to reverse the Supreme Court’s 2023 PACCAR ruling, which has brought huge uncertainty to the litigation funding market.
Law Society applies to intervene in Mazur appeal
The Law Society is to seek to intervene in the Mazur appeal amid specialist lawyers’ prediction that more costs disputes are on the way following the High Court decision.
Top litigation funder puts consumer claims fund into liquidation
Katch Fund Solutions – which is funding consumer claims worth hundreds of millions of pounds – has put its litigation fund into liquidation, it has emerged.
“Tide is turning” as county court delays continue to fall
Delays in the county courts are finally on the decline but they still comfortably exceed a year for anything but the small claims track, according to new figures.
MoJ floats referral fee ban to curb housing disrepair misconduct
A ban on referral fees and an increase in the small claims limit are among ideas floated yesterday by the government to curb “unscrupulous” behaviour in housing disrepair cases.
Ex-law firm owner sentenced to 12 months in jail for contempt
The non-lawyer owner of a defunct law firm has been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for contempt after she failed to comply with a freezing order obtained by its previous owners.
Judicial mediation becoming a “safety net” for parties
A High Court master has explained how judicial mediation was able to resolve a dispute, where one of the sides was unable to afford a private mediation.
Increased tribunal delays have “profound impact” on claimants
An increase in delays in the administrative justice system, caused partly by a huge rise in caseloads for certain tribunals, has had a “profound and often compounding” impact on users.
CA to decide if duping opposing solicitor is abuse of process
The Court of Appeal is to decide whether a party’s attempt to deceive a solicitor for the other side into disclosing client information is, on its own, an abuse of process.
Public awareness of class actions continues to grow
The UK public’s awareness of class actions and litigation funding is continuing to rise, new research has found.
Mazur appeal lawyer sets out Court of Appeal battleground
The Court of Appeal hearing the Mazur case will have to decide between statutory interpretation and “the contextual argument”, the solicitor bringing the appeal said last week.
Blog
Does the Lloyd review mark the end of the Legal Services Act?
The Legal Services Board often generates eye-rolls and irritation from the leaders of the frontline regulators it oversees and of the representative bodies attached to them.
A familiar story?
There is no doubt that the rising cost of clinical negligence claims deserves attention. However, the system’s true cost driver is often not the claim itself.
When AI becomes a line on the client’s bill
On 23 June, Legora changed how it charges. The platform announced that its most capable product was moving away from a flat per-seat licence fee to consumption-based pricing
