Iain Stark examines the changes afoot in the world of costs
The Jackson juggernaut may be ploughing its way through Parliament, but under the bonnet there has already been a great deal of activity on preparing the many reforms—the great majority, in fact—which do not require primary legislation. These may in the main be less controversial, but they will still have a significant effect on the conduct of costs claims and litigation.
Sir Rupert Jackson has been travelling the country giving a series of lectures on the implementation of his reforms. Lecture number eight, Assessment of costs in the brave new world, dealt with the assessment of costs. The changes will affect litigation of all sizes, but they are all being held in abeyance pending the general date for implementation. This, of course, has now slipped from October 2012 to April 2013.
While nobody can argue with the aim of improving the process of assessing costs, I am not convinced that everything Jackson LJ outlined will achieve that. The three areas he focused
