Litigation/Dispute Resolution

A large number of costs lawyers continue to see their practices boom amid more people challenging the fees they paid to their former solicitors, new research has found.

A niche alternative business structure specialising in defending professional negligence claims has been launched this month, with investment from the insurance industry.

The High Court has transferred a claim issued in London to Manchester as it “makes best use of court resources” and means the Royal Courts of Justice are not over-burdened.

Judges will be doing more to encourage the involvement of junior barristers and solicitors in remote hearings, the Chancellor of the High Court has said.

A circuit judge has said it is “beyond my comprehension” how a boundary dispute over 17 inches of land has racked up costs of around £200,000.

A claimant suing his solicitors for negligence in how they pursued a claim for negligence against other solicitors has failed in his bid to appeal a decision to refuse summary judgment.

The High Court has struck out a professional negligence claim against a London law firm that it decided had been “warehoused”, after the claimant failed to explain why he had not been more active.

The High Court has taken the unusual step of allowing a Hong Kong media company to be represented in court by its in-house lawyer in a $213m contract dispute after its external solicitors withdrew.

The latest opt-out collective action is to target Meta – formerly Facebook – on behalf of around 44m Facebook users, litigation law firm Quinn Emmanuel announced today.

An alternative business structure specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration and led by barristers has opted for regulation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Affiniti Finance – which lent money to thousands of law firm clients – went into administration late last year after a breakdown in the relationship with its ultimate backer, which is now owed £43m.

The High Court has told parties to an intellectual property claim to find other ways to resolve their dispute in the light of the first three hearings all concerning costs and not the merits.

The latest battle between Slater & Gordon and Checkmylegalfees.com has seen the law firm refund £4,000 it deducted from a client’s damages where he was signed up to a CFA 97 seconds after receiving it.

A costs judge has slashed the £110,000 brief fee sought by a claimant when his case settled nearly three weeks ahead of trial and before the QC had started preparing for it.

There is no need for a dispute over a law firm’s fees to be transferred from the Senior Courts Costs Office to the Chancery Division simply because it involves the validity of a retainer, a costs judge has ruled.