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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Digital in design
Our system needs to be accessible – easy to use, but digital in design. Today’s court system has been built around a physical paradigm. We spend a third of the court and tribunal service budget on running and maintaining our buildings. And last year, over a third of courts sat for less than 50% of…
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Darkest hour
Last night, I cheered myself up by watching Darkest Hour. If you have not seen it, I heartily recommend it for a number of reasons. First, Gary Oldman’s performance as Winston Churchill is simply superb. Secondly, it is a well paced story grounded however imperfectly, and with a degree of licence on well known and…
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The customer is always right
I would be grateful if you could complete the short survey below. Please include your name and email address, particularly if you would like a reply from me, in the box at the end. All responses are confidential and will only be read by me. [qsm quiz=1]
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Hot air
March is proving to be the conference season. Fresh from the Ropewalk Chambers Personal Injury Conference on Friday, I note that I am giving a presentation at the Credit Hire Conference in Manchester on 2nd April 2020 and also, attending the Costs in Judicial Review conference organised by the Public Law Project in London, on…
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The masterclass
I have received a number of enquiries from solicitors want to know if I can offer training in solicitor-own client costs disputes (both how to avoid them and how to win them). I wonder if there is a market for a masterclass on this topic. What I have in mind is a small seminar focusing…
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Value based charging and electronic disclosure
Nearly thirty years ago, I decided it would be a good idea one summer to spend three weeks of my life undertaking a vacation placement at a mid-size City firm its identity now long since lost beneath the sundering seas of mergers and acquisitions over the decades. A significant proportion of that time was spent…
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Fixed costs and fundamental dishonesty in personal injury claims
Part 45 CPR governs recoverable costs in a vast swathe of personal injury claims and all the indications are that the scope of fixed costs in personal injury claims is about to be expanded, to include all personal injury claims with a value of up to £100,000 which can be dealt with in a trial…
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The quantum realm
From time to time, I deal with issues arising on the MOJ Portal and the various protocols which apply to the low value personal injury claims which proceed through it. It is like entering the quantum realm: where the natural rules which govern the universe do not apply and strange things happen. A recent example…