Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Profits soar as listed legal business benefits from litigation investment
RBG Holdings, the AIM-listed company that now owns two law firms, saw profits increase nearly three-fold in the first six months of the year, fuelled by gains from its litigation work.
Law firm invests own capital in £150m deal with litigation funder
Leading London law firm Mishcon de Reya is investing capital and some of the fees it receives in future from cases into a litigation funding partnership.
Law Society and APIL lead opposition to fixed costs extension
Government plans to widen the use of fixed recoverable costs in civil cases would blow a hole in access to justice, the Law Society has said in urging the government to rethink.
Litigation funder launches “automated secondary market”
A litigation funding platform has launched an “automated secondary market” to allow high-net-worth individuals to trade investments in cases that already have funding.
Ministry of Justice to press ahead with fixed costs expansion
The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that it will implement Sir Rupert Jackson’s blueprint for fixed recoverable costs across the fast-track and in most money cases worth up to £100,000.
High Court dismisses £2.7m law firm negligence claim
The High Court has granted summary judgment in favour of a law firm and its senior partner and dismissed a £2.7m negligence claim.
Huge delays persist in taking civil court claims to trial
Delays in cases going through the civil courts reduced slightly in the second quarter of 2021, but it still takes 49 weeks to get a small claim from issue to trial and 71 weeks for larger claims.
MoJ: “Strong justification” for increasing 129 court fees
There is “strong justification” for increasing 129 court fees by inflation, backdated to 2016, the Ministry of Justice has said.
Judge warns over ‘risk-free’ litigation under DBA backed by insurance
The High Court has warned about the potential unfairness to defendants facing a claimant operating ‘risk-free’ under a damages-based agreement and backed by after-the-event insurance.
Data breach ruling “could stem” tide of claims
A High Court ruling on a low-value data breach claim may stop claimants recovering after-the-event insurance premiums in cases involving cyber-attacks, reducing their viability.
High Court uses new guideline rates ahead of formal introduction
The new guideline hourly rates will not formally come into force until 1 October but the High Court yesterday took them into account when dealing with a summary assessment.
Costs judge rejects “regrettable” overcharging allegations
A judge has rejected claims by the wife of a convicted Kazakh businessman that she was overcharged by a London law firm for her asylum application.
Restrictions would “weaken rule of law”, third-party funders tell UN
The international body for third-party funders has told UNCITRAL that restricting the funding of treaty-based investor-state arbitrations would weaken the rule of law.
Tribunal finally grants first ever collective proceedings order
The Competition Appeal Tribunal yesterday granted the first ever collective proceedings order, allowing the £14bn Mastercard opt-out class action to go forward at last.
MR approves new guideline hourly rates but plans further review
The Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, has approved the new guideline hourly rates while ordering a further review that will take into account changing working practices.
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.
