As he bemoans the interpretation of the new litigation culture in Mitchell, Richard Harrison has a sense of déjà vu
The character of Cassandra, according to Wikipedia, is essentially “someone whose prophetic insight is obscured by insanity, turning their revelations into riddles or disjointed statements that are not fully comprehended until after the fact”. Sometimes, I feel like that: especially when I consider the Jackson reforms, the fallout over the Mitchell case and the new emphasis on an approach to litigation, which gives priority to administrative efficiency over individual justice (Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1537).
And especially when I consider that I was harping on about similar issues in various outpourings in various articles in NLJ in 1999 and 2000, following the implementation of the original Woolf reforms.
Immense harm caused
I am highly confident that I am not alone when I take the view that the effect of the interpretation of the new litigation culture in Mitchell has caused immense harm to the civil justice system in this country.
When Charles Dickens in Bleak House
