I write about legal costs, litigation funding and related questions arising in civil litigation. The emphasis is practical: what the authorities mean, how the rules operate and where the real risks lie.
The latest articles appear below. If you are looking for a particular area, the four broad gateways provide a quicker route into the archive.
Costs
Commercial costs, Part 36, QOCS, detailed assessment and related costs issues.
Litigation Funding
Funding agreements, ATE insurance, security for costs and the economics of litigation.
Solicitor-Client & Retainers
Solicitors Act assessments, retainers, CFAs, DBAs, success fees and deductions from damages.
Group & Specialist Litigation
Collective proceedings, group litigation and selected wider developments affecting civil justice.
Recent analysis
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The Curse of Cromwell
All over the country the May-poles were hewn down, lest old village dances around them should lead to immorality or at least to levity. Walking abroad on the Sabbath, except to go to church, was punished, and a man was fined for going to a neighbouring parish to hear a sermon. It was even proposed…
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The snowball effect
In the aftermath of Herbert -v- H H Law Ltd I thought at the time, that there was a lot more litigation to come, dealing with some of the unanswered questions in that case and some further points which were simply not raised within it. It was therefore with interest that I saw at the…
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Under the bonnet
Autumn has arrived, the season of changes. One change orchestrated by me has already taken place. This week, fed up of this website taking more than 10 seconds to load, and regularly being off line I sacked the webhosting service I formerly used and have migrated the site across to Kinsta. It has been a…
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Summer’s lease
Well, I did it. 12 miles along the river, through the water meadows and the woods of Nottinghamshire, accompanied by my wife and the Magic Labrador. Many thanks to all those who provided sponsorship, and all monies raised go to the Access to Justice Foundation and the North West Legal Trust. Here are some photos,…
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Lets Talk Costs Seminar 1st September 2020 at 1pm
Late summer is passing and next month sees the start of autumn, always my favourite season: the season of changes. I have agreed to hold a Microsoft Teams seminar next week on the vexed question of solicitor-own client costs disputes: a presentation followed by questions, in conjunction with the Lets Talk Costs group on LinkedIn.…
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Crypto tokens and litigation funding
I want to explore to what extent Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) of crypto tokens, might be used to raise money for litigation funding and facilitate a reduction in the market cost of litigation funding, whether through ICOs being adopted by established litigation funders or through new entrants into the litigation funding market, such as funding…
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Buddy, can you spare a dime?
This year, as part of my ongoing efforts to support pro bono assistance to those who can’t pay for legal advice and assistance, I am going to run/walk/crawl as the case may be a 13 mile section of the Trent Valley Way near Newark on 12th September. Although it will be very good for my…
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The Magic Money Tree
“And I’m being honest with you in terms of saying that we will put more money into the NHS, but there isn’t a magic money tree that we can shake that suddenly provides for everything that people want.” -Theresa May, Former Prime Minister For most of human history, human societies have been run as kleptocracies…