Dominic Regan assesses the Birmingham costs management pilot scheme
It was a surprise for me and a horrible shock for the legal profession to discover that the master of the rolls and Jackson LJ had appointed me to oversee and report upon the Birmingham Mercantile Court costs pilot.
I reported to them last month. My report was delivered in confidence for I had some harsh things to say about certain people and their (in) activities. What follows are my considered thoughts about the scheme.
What happens is this. At the case management conference the parties are expected to have completed an excel spreadsheet indicating their proposed expenditure. The judge will consider this information and decide if it is reasonable. If not, he will identify ways of cutting costs. He is not costs-capping, an expensive and laborious task which few are fit to perform.
Man of the moment
The man running the show is His Honour Judge Simon Brown QC whom I first met at the start of the year. Having read
