David Greene anticipates the ripple effect of Mitchell
There has been a flurry of conferences and seminars surrounding the theme of “Jackson—six months on”. To coincide with the publication of the NLJ/London Solicitors Litigation Association survey of solicitors on the Jackson reforms, a newscast was prepared which covers some of the issues that have arisen in the last six months, available here.
As was noted in the newscast, it is not the substantive changes removing the right for recovery of the success fee and after the event (ATE) premiums that is grabbing the headlines for litigators but costs budgeting and the apparent new attitude from the court that is really causing a flurry in the profession. Indeed the new tough kid on the block has CPR 3.9 on his jacket and “relief against sanctions” tattooed on his forehead.
In his preliminary report, Lord Justice Jackson suggested the possibility that the existing and new rules may be imposed by the courts with rigour. “There would then be a series of ‘hard cases’...where parties found
