REUTERS | Sharif Karim
April 20, 2016

Charging orders and attachment of earnings: all change…or is it?

  • by Stephen Allinson
  • Solicitor, Licensed Insolvency Practitioner and Consultant with Shoosmiths LLP

To those of us in practice, it often seems that the legal world is developing at a faster pace than ever before. It becomes more and more difficult to keep on top of changes and our email inboxes are full on a daily basis with legal and other updates to get stuck into.

Shortly after Easter, we were faced with the 83rd (yes 83rd) update to the CPR. As seems to be the case these days, the SI (the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2016) and the practice direction making document pulled together a disparate set of provisions, but for the debt recovery and enforcement practitioner, two provisions stood out. These were the “centralisation” of both the charging order and attachment of earnings processes. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Carlos Barria
April 19, 2016

Mind the gap! E Surv Ltd v Goldsmith Williams Solicitors, the continuing prevalence of the Bowerman duty and evidential difficulties under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978

The Court of Appeal has held in E Surv Ltd v Goldsmith Williams Solicitors that the Bowerman duty (a solicitor’s implied duty to notify its lender-client of facts which he discovers “in the course of investigating title… which a reasonably competent solicitor would realise might have a material bearing on the valuation of the lender’s security or some other ingredient of the lending decision”) will generally apply even where the lender and solicitor’s contract is governed by the terms of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Handbook, and the solicitor gives a Certificate of Title in the form appended to Rule 6(3) of the Solicitors Practice Rules 1990. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Regis Duvignau
April 14, 2016

An interview with Mr Justice Birss: part 2/3: legal insights

I was delighted to have the chance to put a few questions to Sir Colin Birss, judge of the High Court Chancery Division and nominated judge of the Patents Court.

In part 1 of my interview with Sir Colin, he talked about his career and interests. In part 2, he gives some perspectives on current developments in litigation procedure, notably the Shorter and Flexible Trials Pilot Schemes operating in the Rolls Building courts until 30 September 2017. He highlights some potential benefits of the schemes. Finally, in part 3, Sir Colin considers what the future might hold for civil litigation in England and Wales. Continue reading →