Litigation/Dispute Resolution

Consumers who do not have legal expenses insurance greatly overestimate how expensive it is and are missing out on its potential to fill some justice gaps, research has argued.

The Civil Mediation Council has warned against the idea that compulsory alternative dispute resolution needs to be “cheap or free”, particularly in lower-value cases.

Any form of compulsory ADR which is “not disproportionately onerous and does not foreclose the parties’ effective access to the court” is lawful, an expert group has concluded.

A QC who misused the urgent applications procedure for a Brexit-related judicial review has been ticked off by the Divisional Court but escaped being referred to the Bar Standards Board.

The Lord Chief Justice yesterday made a direct plea to the Lord Chancellor for more investment in the courts system, citing insufficient judges and staff and inadequate buildings and technology.

The High Court has refused to issue an order to prevent a collapsed company’s investors from trying in the future to reclaim the legal fees paid by its boss in defending him from their civil claim.

The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that correspondence between solicitors a judge found involved “an element of deception” as to its real purpose was covered by litigation privilege.

A High Court judge has expressed her surprise at a London law firm’s failure to ensure “basic levels of compliance” with the Civil Procedure Rules by a client and its experts.

In-house lawyers and litigators have launched separate environmental initiatives to push for, respectively, “real change” in their organisations and smaller carbon footprints.

The High Court has criticised parties that agreed without seeking permission that witnesses in a remote hearing would give evidence from their own homes unsupervised.

A London law firm has escaped judicial punishment after reporting itself to the SRA after a transcriber it hired recorded remote court proceedings without the judge’s permission.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service has launched a pilot scheme that allows lawyers to manage and progress the initial stages of certain civil damages claims online.

Top Welsh firm Hugh James has become the latest to target the nascent business energy claims market after joining the legal panel for a leading claims company in the sector.

Private equity-backed Winn Solicitors is ramping up its operation to handle mis-sold business energy contracts as it bids to diversify from its core personal injury business.

The High Court has rejected a challenge to a judgment in default obtained by two law firms whose retainers were terminated by a Swiss company, which then failed to pay them £500,000 in fees combined.