Litigation/Dispute Resolution
High Court judge: Counsel’s fees should be subject to guideline rates
It is “difficult to see the justification for treating counsel’s fees differently from solicitors’ fees” when it comes to applying guideline hourly rates, a High Court judge said yesterday.
Law firm negligence claim over law firm negligence claim struck out
The High Court has struck out a negligence claim against a law firm over its pursuit of a negligence claim against their clients’ previous lawyers.
Solicitor ordered to pay indemnity costs over bid to “besmirch” judge
A solicitor-advocate who made “aggressive” and “unfounded” allegations of misconduct in a bid to “besmirch” a judge has been ordered to pay her costs on the indemnity basis.
Law firms need “new mindset” to make the best of fixed costs
Law firms need a “new mindset” if they are to make money from the fixed recoverable costs regime coming into force next month, a leading costs lawyer has said.
Value of UK class actions up by a third to £106bn
The value of class actions in the UK rose by more than a third to over £106bn last year, while the number of people involved in them almost doubled to over 340m.
High Court judges “failing to send judgments for publication”
One in five judgments by the senior courts and tribunals of England and Wales are not being published, the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting in England and Wales has found.
Litigation funder pays libel damages to celebrity couple
The director of a litigation investment company has paid “substantial” libel damages to broadcaster Gabby Logan and her husband Kenny, a former Scottish rugby international.
Clients ordered to pay costs assigned by firm to non-lawyer
A law firm’s former clients have lost their appeal against a decision that they owe outstanding fees to the non-lawyer who took assignment of their retainers.
Insolvent insurer’s policyholders fail in claim over unpaid legal costs
The FSCS does not have to compensate policyholders for the legal costs they were awarded after taking legal action against an insurer that became insolvent before paying them.
Litigation funder eyes up $6.2bn return from single case
The world’s biggest litigation funder could recover an astonishing $6.2bn (£5bn) from a single piece of litigation after a US ruling in its clients’ favour.
Law Commission drops plan to ban discrimination in appointing arbitrators
The Law Commission has “reluctantly concluded” that banning discrimination in the appointment of arbitrators “could cause more problems than it solves”.
Justice secretary must “get to grips” with escalating civil court delays
Justice secretary Alex Chalk must urgently “get to grips” with increasing civil court delays to help thousands of consumers trapped in “legal limbo”, ACSO has argued.
Solicitor “cut corners” when exchanging contracts on property sale
A judge has refused to order the sale of a house after finding that the buyer’s solicitor “cut corners” and did not hold a signed contract at the point of exchange, despite claiming he did.
County court should have adjourned trial after defendant got Covid
A judge should have adjourned a trial after the defendant reported symptoms of Covid, the High Court has ruled. He was wrong to criticise the defendant for failing to take a lateral flow test.
Scottish court refuses costs recovery because claimant used English firm
A woman who lives in Scotland but chose to instruct an English law firm to conduct her personal injury case, using a Scottish law firm as agents, cannot recover the English firm’s fees.
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.
