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13 May 2022 / David Niven , Nicole Blakey
Issue: 7978 / Categories: Features , Profession , Collective action
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Group actions: Time to join forces?

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In the first of a special three-part series by Penningtons Manches Cooper, David Niven & Nicole Blakey sketch out the changing landscape of group actions & litigation funding in the UK
  • Increase in professional negligence and group actions in the High Court.
  • Conditional fee agreements and after-the-event insurance funding for group actions.
  • Emergence of third-party litigation funding for group actions.

Solomonic’s review of High Court litigation in 2021 revealed a substantial rise in professional negligence disputes, up 289% on 2020 with an increase in actions brought against solicitors and barristers. Group actions filed in the High Court increased by 27% from 2020 to 2021: this upward trend will likely continue.

These statistics are reflective of our own experience. We have seen a rise in professional negligence claims against solicitors and barristers brought by groups of claimants, predominately in relation to failed property investment schemes. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has taken disciplinary action over recent years against law firms involved in these schemes, so we may see a decline in the scale of losses suffered by individuals

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