Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Courts cannot be left behind in AI rush, says minister
The government cannot allow a two-tier system where City law firms are at the cutting edge of AI use while the courts are “stuck in the analogue age”, said minister Sarah Sackman.
The student who used AI to win his claim against energy giant
An Oxford doctoral student with no legal training is celebrating using AI to bring a successful claim against energy provider SSE over a defunct electricity meter for which it tried to charge him.
High Court rejects bid to stay Mariana Dam litigation
Pogust Goodhead has claimed the first victory in its battle for control of the Mariana Dam litigation after the High Court rejected a request for a stay by the solicitors looking to take it over.
Pogust Goodhead goes to court to retain control of dam case
Pogust Goodhead is seeking a court declaration that would deny the legality of the notice purporting to terminate its retainer for the Mariana Dam litigation.
Lawyers and funders to take £34m haircut in Google settlement
The lawyers and funders of a collective action against Google have agreed to accept payments totalling £100m, some £34m less than they are entitled to, to help settle the claim.
Still no timescale on litigation funding reform, minister admits
The government yesterday continued to stonewall on when litigation funding reform would happen, citing the need to find “a new legislative vehicle” to take it forward.
Record number of claims lodged at the county court
The number of claims lodged at the county court in the second quarter of this year was the highest since the Ministry of Justice started publishing quarterly statistics in 2009.
Huge row over who represents Mariana Dam claimants
An extraordinary row broke out yesterday over whether Pogust Goodhead has been replaced as the solicitors bringing the Mariana Dam case.
Court of Appeal upholds data breach ruling in favour of law firm
The Court of Appeal has thrown out a bid to appeal a ruling that cleared defendant law firm DWF of data protection breaches.
Law firm’s £3m liability cap “unreasonable”, court rules
A £3m liability cap in a law firm’s terms of business was unreasonable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act, the High Court has held.
Strike off for solicitor who backdated letter and blamed laptop
A solicitor has been struck off for creating letters to mislead both his opposite number and his own firm in a bid to cover up his failure to acknowledge service.
ACL proposes alternative to Legal Ombudsman taking on costs disputes
A pre-action protocol run through an online portal would be a better way to resolve lower-value costs disputes than handing them to the Legal Ombudsman, specialists have argued.
Change of solicitors in rugby injury litigation gives court “comfort”
A judge has allowed hundreds of rugby head injury claims to go ahead despite not complying with unless orders, after taking “comfort” from the players changing solicitors.
High Court lifts suspension on new HMCTS cybersecurity contract
The High Court has lifted a suspension preventing HMCTS from signing a new cybersecurity contract, triggered by a procurement challenge.
Vos: Humans “likely to accept” AI judges for small disputes
It is likely that “humans will come to accept, on economic grounds, machine-enabled resolution of small disputes”, the Master of the Rolls 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
Associates
