Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Judge refuses Indian lawyer right to address High Court
The High Court has refused an Indian lawyer permission to appear for an Indian company that had dismissed its English solicitors and barristers shortly before trial.
Law firm fails in bid to stop winding-up petition advert
The High Court has refused to grant a Welsh law firm that owes a disbursement funder £2.2m an injunction to prevent the lender from advertising a winding-up petition to other creditors.
Insolvency funder to ramp up work on Bounce Back Loan recoveries
Leading insolvency litigation funder Manolete is to receive more cases from Barclays to recover Covid Bounce Back Loans that appear to have been misappropriated by company directors.
Court rejects bid for non-party costs order against claimant’s solicitors
The High Court has rejected a bid to make a claimant’s solicitors pay the costs of assessment proceedings where the protection of qualified one-way costs shifting is in place.
Online probate process “taking longer than paper”
Private client lawyers believe the new online probate process is taking longer than the old paper-based system, with family solicitors and civil litigators also unhappy with digital processes.
Businessman sent law firm manure as part of harassment campaign
A businessman in a bitter dispute with fellow directors sent manure to one law firm and targeted an associate at another as part of a campaign of harassment, a court has heard.
Judge rules public access barristers’ payment terms unfair
Two public access barristers have failed in their bid to be paid nearly £125,000 in fees after the High Court found the terms of their retainer unfair.
Court rejects bid to draw listed business into its law firm’s costs dispute
A court has rejected an application for a non-party costs order against listed legal and credit hire business Anexo Group over the work of its subsidiary law firm.
First settlement of opt-out class action set for approval hearing
The first application to settle an opt-out class action since the regime began in 2015 has been lodged with the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Law Society eyes solicitors’ consortia to run legal advice helplines
The Law Society is set to examine creating consortia of solicitors to run subscription-funded legal advice helplines as part of proposals to “fix” the civil justice system.
Sanctioned company has “right to access courts”, appeal judges rule
The Court of Appeal has rejected a Russian tycoon’s bid to stay an $850m claim brought against him by two Russian banks, despite one being sanctioned, citing the right to access the courts.
Law firm loses out on $3m after CA rejects bid to sever part of CFA
A law firm which charged its client nearly $3m under an unenforceable conditional fee agreement has to repay the money after failing to sever the offending clause, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Class action specialists secure biggest ever law firm financing deal
Pogust Goodhead has set its sights on becoming the biggest consumer class action law firm in the world after unveiling a landmark $553m (£453m) financing deal.
Court stops firm using fees generated by claims joint venture
The High Court has ordered a law firm not to use fees from a PPI claims joint venture now the subject of a dispute, despite it warning that this could put it out of business.
Experts hit out at 20-page limit on reports in intermediate track
Expert witnesses have made a last-minute call to scrap the rule in the new intermediate track for civil claims that limits their reports to 20 pages.
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.
