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
-
Receivers’ charges revisited
As I write this post, the rain is sleeting down outside, almost continuously as it has done for the last week. Like tears from heaven, as the angels weep for the World’s Pain, it seems to have no end in sight. Accordingly, in this somber mood, it is appropriate to consider the vexed question of…
-
Blaming others
An issue that arises from time to time, is when in multi-party litigation, it is appropriate for a defendant who has lost a case, to have to pay the costs of co-defendants who have been more fortunate in the litigation and against whom a claimant has in turn lost her case. There are two types…
-
The undiscovered country
QOCS like so many areas of costs litigation, could be described as the gift that never stops giving. In 2018 alone for example, I found myself arguing two cases in the Court of Appeal on various aspects of the provisions. An interesting recent decision of the Court of Appeal that has caught my eye is…
-
Costs Conference 26th November 2019 in London
I am finishing off the paper I am presenting at the MBL Seminars Costs Conference in London on 26th November. It looks like it will be a very interesting day. The blurb from the conference website notes the following: Introduction This annual conference chaired by Dominic Regan examines a range of topical subjects ranging from…
-
Autumn leaves
I have returned home after six days of rain in Cornwall followed by a seventh day of gales to speed me on my way, feeling in need of a holiday in order to recover from the one that I have just had. As always, there is a thick pile of material that has arrived in…
-
Common costs and multiple defendants
One of the issues which arises frequently in a costs case, where there are multiple defendants, is the issue of the treatment of common costs. Where there is a costs claim against two or more defendants, it is inevitable that issues of division of costs will arise. The principle of division of costs in that…
-
Gotta lotta bottle
The European Union (Withdrawal) (No 2) Act 2019 provides as follows: (4) The Prime Minister must seek to obtain from the European Council an extension of the period under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union ending at 11.00pm on 31 October 2019 by sending to the President of the European Council a letter…
-
The oncoming storm
The year 2020 is likely to mark a watershed in the structure of the personal injury litigation industry, in England and Wales due to a package of reforms which are clearly designed to reduce the compensation bill for damages and costs, currently born by compensating parties. For anyone who has been living in a cave…