Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Law firm takes assignment of client’s claim after pay out
A law firm that paid out £750,000 to a buyer client over an error on a property transaction has taken assignment of its claim against the seller.
Newspaper pays class action firm damages for ‘client pressure’ libel
The Times newspaper has apologised to class action law firm Pogust Goodhead and agreed to pay damages for a defamatory claim that it was improperly pressuring clients.
Judge condemns lawyers who produced “fake citations” to court
The High Court has ordered that a barrister and the solicitors who instructed her be referred to their regulators after providing five fake case citations in their pleadings.
Exclusive: SRA authorises first AI-only law firm
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has for the first time authorised a law firm whose offering is solely provided by an AI-powered litigation assistant.
IL4U wins summary judgment in claim brought by founder law firms
A claim brought by original law firm members of the Injury Lawyers 4U marketing collective over pricing changes made by its new owners has been thrown out.
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.
Blog
A letter from the SRA? Your first reaction matters
An email from the SRA has a way of rearranging a working day. It arrives in the same inbox as everything else, often in the same measured tone, yet it carries a different weight.
Regulate sole practices on evidence, not turnover
For a sole practice, the SRA’s plan that I cannot hold a compliance role if my firm has more than £600,000 of turnover is not a measure of risk. It is a ceiling on growth.
Is Google becoming pay-to-play for law firms?
For years, law firms have been told that SEO is the long-term alternative to paying for every click. That principle hasn’t disappeared but search results have changed significantly.
Reports
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