Litigation/Dispute Resolution
“Abusive” to bring minor data breach claim in High Court
A master has labelled as “a form of procedural abuse” a bid to bring a data breach claim in the High Court where the “very modest” damages would be dwarfed by costs of £50,000.
CJC backs new pre-action protocols and ‘good faith obligation’
The Civil Justice Council has set out a shopping list of potential changes to pre-action protocols (PAPs), including a summary costs procedure and new PAPs.
Director “had no standing” to challenge assignment to litigation funder
A company director had no standing to challenge an insolvency practitioner’s assignment of a claim against her parents to a litigation funder, the High Court has ruled.
CA: Lawyers can be cross-examined in wasted costs applications
Judges have the power to direct cross-examination of a lawyer against whom a wasted costs order is sought, but it should be “very much the exception”, the Court of Appeal said yesterday.
Vos unveils group to help steer civil justice system into the future
The Master of the Rolls has named legal futurist Professor Richard Susskind as chair of a new high-powered group tasked with drawing a road-map for the civil justice system through the 2020s.
Supreme Court strikes down £3bn Google data protection claim
The Supreme Court has blocked a £3bn representative action for misuse of private data by Google that did not seek to prove that consumers had actually suffered any damage.
High Court rejects attempt to block claims against lawyers
The High Court has refused to make an order to prevent future claims on a law firm’s fees that claimants may argue came from stolen funds.
Trust in English solicitor “no reason to ignore” Scottish appeal routes
The Court of Appeal has refused to hear an appeal from the Upper Tribunal Tribunal in Glasgow which would have allowed the appellant to keep using his English solicitor.
Toning down the theatrics: Barristers “less aggressive” in remote hearings
A significant number of expert witnesses who have been appeared in court remotely over the past 18 months say barristers have been “less aggressive” in their cross-examination.
Civil justice system “in desperate need of modernisation”
The civil justice system and some areas of the law in England and Wales are “in desperate need of modernisation”, a report by the Social Market Foundation has found.
Solicitor and legal regulator heads latest class action
A solicitor and chief executive of one of the legal profession’s regulators is leading the latest opt-out collective action, which is being brought against price comparison website ComparetheMarket.
AI-powered bots could resolve simple disputes, says MR
Online bots powered by artificial intelligence will be one way simple disputes are resolved in the future, the Master of the Rolls predicted last week.
Court allows part of negligence claim against firm to go to trial
A law firm now part of consolidator Metamorph Law has been only partially successful in striking out a claim over how it advised a client on his clinical negligence case.
Judge bemoans public authorities’ “dispiriting” approach to costs
A judge has described as “dispiriting” how much money is spent by public authorities arguing about costs while not making sensible part 36 offers.
City firm reports itself to SRA over unauthorised court recordings
City firm Simmons & Simmons has apologised to the High Court and referred itself to the SRA after the court transcribers it used took unauthorised audio recordings of eight hearings.
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.
