Litigation/Dispute Resolution
City giant seeks to shift blame for errors that cost client £83m
City giant A&O Shearman can make the argument that others were to blame for a mistake that has so far cost its client Nationwide £83m, the High Court has ruled.
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.
Chartered legal executives could get standalone litigation rights
CILEx Regulation has launched plans for chartered legal executives to obtain standalone rights to conduct litigation without having to seek rights of audience at the same time.
Gender disparity in publicly funded advocacy – only CPS making progress
Efforts by the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure it allocates work more equitably between the sexes are slowly bearing fruit, a new analysis has shown.
SRA: Claims firms “destabilised” by litigation funding deals
Relationships with litigation funders are destabilising some high-volume consumer claims law firms, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned.
DWF accused of data protection breaches in battle with claimant firm
Solicitors for leading insurers have been accused of data protection breaches in collating evidence about the way a North London firm pursued personal injury claims.
Blog
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
