Litigation/Dispute Resolution


Judge refuses to intervene over barrister who swapped sides

3 January 2024

The High Court has refused to intervene in a dispute over the counsel for a claimant having previously been on the record for the defendants.


Barrister released from jail after contempt finding overturned

2 January 2024

The Court of Appeal has ordered the release from prison of a barrister partner of a law firm jailed for breach of an undertaking to the court.


Central fund “may be needed” to resolve litigation capacity disputes

20 December 2023

A “central fund of last resort” may be needed to pay for investigating and resolving disputes over whether litigants have mental capacity, a Civil Justice Council working group has said.


Law firm avoids claim due to release clause in earlier settlement

18 December 2023

The High Court has struck out a claim against a London law firm because of a release clause in a previous settlement involving its clients.


CrowdJustice set for expansion after sale to major platform

15 December 2023

CrowdJustice, the pioneering funding platform for legal fees, has been acquired by the country’s largest crowdfunder, which aims to “amplify” the work it does.


Government offers hope of full PACCAR solution in the future

15 December 2023

The government has acknowledged concerns that its legislative proposal to address the Supreme Court’s PACCAR ruling does not go far enough – but further change is not imminent.


Generative AI could be useful “secondary tool”, judges told

13 December 2023

Generative AI could be a “potentially useful secondary tool” for judges to use in the course of their work, according to new guidance from the senior judiciary.


Birss: Data standards can deliver “transformative” civil justice change

12 December 2023

The deputy head of civil justice has called for a “standards first” approach to digitisation, enabling those involved in a dispute to arrive “at any point” in the system.


CAT “wrong” to identify ban on defendants contacting claimants directly

11 December 2023

The Competition Appeal Tribunal was wrong to identify a rule that prevents defendants communicating directly with members of an opt-out class action, the Court of Appeal has ruled.


Time for small claims to reach trial hits all-time high

11 December 2023

The average time from issue to trial on the small claims track hit an all-time high in the last quarter, with litigants having to wait an average of 55.6 weeks.


Litigant unwittingly put fake cases generated by AI before tribunal

7 December 2023

Nine authorities put before a tribunal by a litigant in person challenging a penalty from HMRC were fakes generated by an artificial intelligence system like ChatGPT, a judge has ruled.


Let AI help manage cases, says president of Supreme Court

7 December 2023

Case management backed by artificial intelligence could make the courts more accessible, the president of the Supreme Court has said.


Court refuses to unfreeze struck-off solicitor’s ‘client account’

4 December 2023

A struck-off solicitor still advising clients on legal matters has failed to obtain an injunction to compel a bank to unfreeze his account over questionable payments he received from abroad.


“A new era of positive change” – intervenors welcome ADR ruling

30 November 2023

The Court of Appeal’s ruling yesterday that judges can order parties to engage in ADR heralds “a new era of positive change”, one of the intervenors in the case has declared.


Supreme Court: “Not fair” to challenge expert evidence only in closing

30 November 2023

It was “not fair” for the defendant in a personal injury claim to only challenge the claimant’s expert evidence during its closing submissions, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

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