Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Profits up at listed law firm as it looks to sell litigation funding arm
Listed business RBG Holdings is in the process of selling its third-party litigation funding subsidiary, LionFish, it confirmed yesterday, while unveiling good results for 2022.
HMRC official apologises for judgment embargo breach
A senior policy officer at HMRC who made a “full and frank apology” has avoided prosecution for contempt after breaching the embargo on a High Court judgment.
AI to revolutionise work of both lawyers and judges, says MR
AI is set to change the way lawyers and judges work, the Master of the Rolls said last week, predicting it will be used to take some – “at first, very minor” – judicial decisions.
Civil litigators get first sight of new fixed costs rules
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee yesterday published the draft rules that will govern the extension of fixed recoverable costs from October.
Firm ordered to pay wasted costs for “inexplicable” error
A law firm which started proceedings when its client did not have standing to bring them has been ordered to pay wasted costs because it failed to check this.
Court upholds injunction to protect solicitor from abuse
The High Court has upheld an injunction designed to protect a solicitor told to “mind your own fucking business, you little twat” when visiting a contested right of way from further abuse.
Top judge asks: Why don’t litigators know how much a case will cost?
Litigators should know how much any case is going to cost before they even begin the process of budgeting, Sir Colin Birss, the deputy head of civil justice, has argued.
Judge’s “dismay” at conduct of High Court claim
A High Court judge has expressed her “dismay” that there was no pre-trial review in a case that was discontinued on day four of a trial that had been listed several months earlier.
Ex-solicitor “tried to fraudulently extract money” from escrow account
A disgraced struck-off solicitor has made a “concerted effort” to fraudulently obtain judgment from two courts in a bid to extract money to which he is not entitled, a court has ruled.
Judge deprecates LiPs for impugning opposing lawyers’ integrity
The High Court has sharply criticised two litigants in person for making “baseless accusations” that impugned the integrity of their opponent’s legal team.
Litigators given deadline to issue and avoid new fixed costs
Civil litigators will have until 29 September to issue claims if they want to avoid the new fixed recoverable costs but personal injury lawyers will not face a similar rush.
Firm rejects High Court criticism of partners’ “unreliable” evidence
Anglo-Scottish firm Shepherd & Wedderburn has rejected criticism made by a High Court judge of its managing partner and a litigation partner.
Litigation funder records 261% return on Comet liquidator case
A listed litigation funder has announced a £12m profit on a £4.5m investment in the litigation that followed the collapse of electronics retailer Comet.
Law Commission widens planned discrimination ban in arbitration
The Law Commission has suggested widening its proposed ban on discrimination in arbitration from the appointment of arbitrators to the conduct of the arbitration generally.
Court “wrong” to strike out small claim where party was absent but represented
The lower courts were wrong to strike out a small claim where the claimant failed to attend the trial personally but was represented by a lawyer, the Court of Appeal has held.
Blog
Is clients’ use of AI destroying legal privilege?
Much has been written about the risks of lawyers misusing AI. However, in my view, the greater challenge lies elsewhere: the routine use of AI by clients themselves.
Does the Lloyd review mark the end of the Legal Services Act?
The Legal Services Board often generates eye-rolls and irritation from the leaders of the frontline regulators it oversees and of the representative bodies attached to them.
A familiar story?
There is no doubt that the rising cost of clinical negligence claims deserves attention. However, the system’s true cost driver is often not the claim itself.
