Litigation/Dispute Resolution

An allegation that an old woman who owned a farm in Devon signed codicils under the undue influence of a solicitor “should never have been made”, a High Court judge has said.

A high-powered Court of Appeal has overturned and completely rejected a High Court ruling that had opened a crack in advocates’ immunity.

Our round-up of developments on the Mazur ruling includes a warning that law firms should consider prohibiting non-authorised staff from being clients’ main point of contact.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has dismissed all allegations against a commercial litigation partner whose “shortcomings did not amount to misconduct”.

The Financial Conduct Authority is to discourage consumers from pursuing motor finance claims in court, even if they might recover more damages.

A Cardiff law firm criticised for offering to advise people on challenging their solicitors’ fees off the back of the Mazur ruling has removed its promotion of the service.

Four regulators have joined forces to tackle misleading advertising and inadequate information provided by some law firms and CMCs working on motor finance claims.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has broken its silence on the Mazur case to stress that it has not changed the existing legal position.

Shares in listed funder LCM crashed by 60% yesterday after the number of cases it has lost meant there was “a material uncertainty in relation to our going concern status”.

Lawyers have been questioning whether the High Court was right in its contentious ruling in Mazur on the conduct of litigation, with the CPR key in the debate.

A judge has used artificial intelligence to summarise documents and help him produce his ruling – but stressed that he had made the decision.

The Senior Costs Judge has revealed that the Mazur case has already been cited before him and suggested that legal professional privilege could be a problem when dealing with the argument.

The advent of AI means that lawyers will need to become more creative in how they charge their clients, with the billable hour unlikely to survive, it has been claimed.

A partner at a London law firm “dishonestly assisted” in misappropriating a company’s funds by turning a blind eye to money laundering issues raised by property transactions, the High Court has ruled.

Solicitors have reported “little improvement” in the dilapidated state of court estate over the past three years, with problems including rotting seagulls and maggots “raining down” into a lobby.