Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Law firm fights off summary judgment in property fraud claim
A judge has refused a lender’s application for summary judgment against a law firm in a case involving an “imposter who appears to have fraudulently deceived” both of them.
Little sign of slowdown in solicitor-client costs disputes
Few costs lawyers have seen a reduction in disputes between solicitors and their clients despite 2022’s Court of Appeal ruling in Belsner, their representative body has reported.
Judge castigates expert who was “prepared to mislead the court”
The High Court has rejected the evidence of an expert witness who had “little or no regard” to the Civil Procedure Rules and was “prepared materially to mislead the court”.
Supreme Court to hear motor finance appeal by Easter 2025
The Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal the Court of Appeal decision on motor finance commissions, acceding to calls for a quick decision.
Solicitor blasts “greedy” funder for Mastercard settlement opposition
An extraordinary war of words has broken out between the solicitor and funder involved in Walter Merricks’ landmark collective action against Mastercard over its proposed settlement.
Pioneering collective action settles subject to tribunal approval
The groundbreaking collective action brought against Mastercard has settled, subject to approval by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, it was announced yesterday.
“Blurred distinctions” as legal aid solicitors do their own advocacy
The distinction between solicitors and barristers is becoming increasingly “blurred” in civil legal aid cases as solicitors do their own advocacy, research for the government has found.
Minister sets out government’s vision for future of civil justice
The government would like to see more pre-action initiatives like the Official Injury Claim portal as part of its vision for the future of civil justice, minister Heidi Alexander said today.
Public “increasingly positive about class actions”
Members of the public are more aware than ever about class actions and more positive about their outcomes, research has found.
Carr hits out over civil digitisation and criminal court sitting days
The Lady Chief Justice yesterday complained to MPs about the government’s decisions to reduce the digitisation of civil justice and limit sitting days in the criminal courts.
Tribunal “copied most of ruling” from one side’s submissions
A judge has strongly criticised an employment tribunal that copied most of its reasons from the respondent’s witness evidence or written submissions.
Pre-action reforms offer exemption from post-issue mediation
Parties that engage in formal pre-action dispute resolution should be exempt from any mandatory requirement to mediate post-issue, the Civil Justice Council has recommended.
Judge blasts City firm’s “disgraceful” and “improper” conduct
A judge has condemned the London arm of a US law firm for sending a “disgraceful” letter to a competitor of one of its clients.
Retired judge to front collective action against Google
A retired deputy High Court judge is set to front a collective action worth billions of pounds alleging that Google has abused its dominant position in online search advertising.
Court throws out solicitor’s claims over negative Google reviews
A solicitor who sued a former client over three reviews on her firm’s Google Business profile failed to prove he actually posted them, a judge has ruled.
Blog
Is it time to change how law firms view compliance?
Although COFAs often hold senior positions and play an essential role in a firm’s financial and regulatory integrity, the perception of the compliance function itself is still evolving.
From templates to culture change: Lessons from the SRA on source of funds
The SRA’s new thematic review into source of funds and wealth reveals both progress and persistent blind spots, with source-of-funds checks too often thought of as a procedural hurdle.
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
