Do not fear the Jackson juggernaut, say Rani Mina & Tom Duncan
Professor Dominic Regan recently reported upon the implementation of the “Jackson juggernaut” in legal costs management. The proposals, made by Lord Justice Jackson in his Review of Civil Litigation, certainly have become a considerable force for change, however, should litigants and litigators have concerns about the cost management techniques being piloted?
The next step in the reform process is the extension of the costs management pilot scheme, currently running in the Birmingham mercantile court, to all technology and construction courts and mercantile courts, from 1 October 2011. It will take effect as a pilot in these courts and is likely to be rolled out to other courts in due course.
Practice Direction
The associated Practice Direction (PD51F) provides that:
- The parties are to exchange and submit their detailed budgets to the court prior to the first case management conference (CMC). This should follow a standard template, which is attached to the Practice Direction and requires a costs estimate for each