David Greene counts down to the civil justice “Big Bang”
Slowly, slowly, the threads of the Jackson reforms are being entwined but there is much yet to do to determine the final product which is likely to lead to a very busy three months to the end of year when everything has to be in place for implementation by next April. The result is that, at the moment, there remains much uncertainty as to how the product will look. This is of considerable importance to those who trade in the particular areas affected by changes. Further the first sneakings of a potential costs war surrounding the changes are becoming evident.
The changes at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) with the replacement of Ken Clarke by Chris Grayling are unlikely to make much difference to the civil justice reforms. Chris Grayling becomes the first non-lawyer as Lord Chancellor. Possibly a non-lawyer will have less sympathy with the profession and may drive the costs cutting exercise somewhat harder. Interestingly, however, the junior changes are likely to give the team an understanding of the problems faced by
