Practical Law

The Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Julian Flaux, delivered the 2022 Combar lecture on 16 November 2022, in which he stated that the “commercial landscape is changing, and the law will need to develop with it”. Climate litigation has been tracked globally by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), who reported … Continue reading Is commercial litigation going green? Environmental and greenwashing claims and how they will shape the law →

The matter of Richard Slade and Company plc v Erlam, heard in front of HHJ Gosnell, sitting as a judge of the High Court, relates to an appeal submitted by the appellant in relation to a matter whereby the appellant was ordered, by District Judge Batchelor on 22 November 2019, to prepare a final statute … Continue reading The importance of getting it right with your client…a commentary on the Solicitors Act →

It may appear tedious to keep the drum banging about proportionality and reasonableness, but it is important to understand these concepts whilst considering organic growth and development in costs law and practice. This is especially true with changes such as the recent ratification of the revisions to Guideline Hourly Rates.

In November 2016, the then Jackson LJ was commissioned by the Lord Chief Justice and Master of the Rolls to explore the possibility of extending the fixed recoverable costs regime with the aim of promoting transparency in civil litigation and access to justice for litigants. This was not a task undertaken lightly, with Jackson LJ … Continue reading New Practice Direction 51W: two-year voluntary capped costs list pilot scheme →

Proportionality is something that is considered from the pre-action stage, right through to assessment of costs. It has become a term that is familiar to some and feared by many. On 1 April 2013, a new test of proportionality came in to force by virtue of CPR 44.3(2)(a), whereby costs that are disproportionate in amount … Continue reading Proportionality: the new political correctness →