header-logo header-logo

23 January 2020 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7871 / Categories: Opinion , Profession
printer mail-detail

Litigation 2020

14453
Radical reforms are coming but all will be well, says Dominic Regan

The final instalment of the Jackson jigsaw will be delivered with a drastic extension of fixed costs. It was a decade ago that his interlocking measures were revealed. Sir Rupert set himself the challenge of devising a regime where justice could be delivered at proportionate, reasonable cost.

To that end he decided that a fixed costs regime should apply to lower value cases. While such costs have been introduced in personal injury, mainstream litigation has been left untouched. That is going to change. In July 2017 recommendations were made by Sir Rupert which the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) only responded to last year. Matters worth between £25,000 and £100,000 would have costs determined by reference to a matrix. Out will go costs management at the start of an action and detailed assessment would fall away at the end. Cases would be allocated to one of three bands, each one having a scale of costs that would understandably increase as the matter progressed. A claimant making a good Pt 36 offer will get

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
back-to-top-scroll