Litigation/Dispute Resolution

Expanding the remit of public inquiries to award compensation, prefer criminal indictments and recommend regulatory sanctions, could improve their effectiveness, the head of the Post Office inquiry team has said.

Arbitrators who use artificial intelligence in their decisions have been warned against “cognitive inertia” in new guidelines from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

The president of the King’s Bench Division today issued a stark warning to lawyers about the serious consequences they will face for misusing AI before the courts.

This week’s Civil Justice Council report on litigation funding has received a positive reaction from the profession, except the idea of the FCA co-regulating law firms with ‘portfolio funding’.

Being on the barrister team for public inquiries can “stifle career development” despite the prestige if there is little actual advocacy involved, according to the head of the Post Office inquiry team.

The government needs to urgently investigate the type of litigation funding used by collapsed law firms like SSB Law and Pure Legal, the Civil Justice Council said yesterday.

The Civil Justice Council working party on litigation funding today recommended the introduction of “light-touch regulation” through legislation.

Two lawyers – a retired deputy High Court judge and a former Crown prosecutor – are fronting multi-billion-pound opt-out collective actions against Microsoft and Google.

The Civil Justice Council has called for the creation of a “central hub” to develop a strategy for digital inclusion and make sure access to justice is a priority.

The High Court has issued an extended civil restraint order against a businessman who has “refused to accept” that his failed £55m claim against two law firms is at an end.

The litigation funder in the Mastercard collective action has hit out at the CAT’s decision to allow it a £23m profit on its seven-year, £46m investment in the case.

There is “a strong consensus” that ethnic diversity is good for arbitrations – but little evidence of this being reflected in the make-up of panels, a report for the IBA has found.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal yesterday described the £200m settlement of the landmark opt-out collective action brought against Mastercard as “very far from a success”.

The High Court has granted leading firm Clyde & Co an injunction banning a man from its Birmingham office after his repeated visits made staff feel “vulnerable and anxious”.

The new Senior Costs Judge has rejected a major challenge to how Slater & Gordon charged personal injury clients, finding it provided enough information to them.