Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Solicitor facing tax fraud trial fails in privilege claim over seized material
A solicitor facing trial for tax fraud has failed in his claim that HM Revenue & Customs should return materials it seized from him because they are privileged.
Relief for litigation funders after US tax on proceeds is axed
Litigation funders are breathing a big sigh of relief after a proposed 32% tax on proceeds from successful cases was removed from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Lawyers criticised for injunction application against general counsel
The High Court has criticised lawyers who unnecessarily brought a without-notice application against an in-house solicitor and then did not present the case in a “fair and even-handed manner”.
Solicitors should include LEI in initial conversations with clients
Legal expenses insurance “should always be included in the initial conversation” between solicitor and client, the Law Society has said.
Judge criticises NHS trust for not explaining why it ignored ADR bid
A King’s Bench master has ordered an NHS trust to comply with a requirement that it provide a witness statement explaining why it had not engaged with proposed ADR.
Bank sues law firm for deluge of “poor-quality” mis-selling claims
A law firm that specialises in financial mis-selling is facing a novel claim of causing loss by unlawful means through deluging a bank with allegedly poor-quality cases.
Law Society calls for “one-stop shop” AI platform for civil justice
The Law Society has called for the creation of a “one-stop shop” platform, backed by AI, to act as a single point of entry to the civil justice system.
Mediation platform offers warring parties £25 chatbot service
A joint venture between a well-established UK mediation firm and a US-based online dispute resolution provider is offering individuals and SMEs a chatbot-based service for only £25 each.
Law firm awarded £4.2m over PPI claims lost by JV partner
A law firm specialising in PPI claims has been awarded £4.2m in damages for thousands of cases that failed because of its joint venture partner.
Law firm to pay wasted costs after failing to address claim problems
A law firm that continued cases against defendants without investigating claims they were the wrong parties has been ordered to pay wasted costs.
Solicitor fails in challenge to judge’s finding of “indefensible” conduct
The Court of Appeal has rejected a solicitor’s challenge to judicial criticism of his “indefensible” conduct, motivated by money, in using leaked privileged material to help win an arbitration.
CHOs should pay when credit hire claims fail, appeal court holds
Credit hire organisations are the real beneficiary of claims to recover their charges and so should pay the defendants’ costs when cases fail, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Funder challenges charity’s £30m “windfall” from Mastercard settlement
The Access to Justice Foundation should not make more out of the Mastercard settlement than the funder who took all the risks, the High Court has been told.
Group litigation “could cost the UK economy £18bn”
The rise of group litigation in the UK could cost the economy almost £18bn, a free market thinktank based in Brussels has estimated.
Suspension for solicitor who acted on both sides of case
A solicitor whose firm acted for both sides in litigation over a debt, despite him being told of the obvious conflict, has been suspended for six months.
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
