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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Andrew and the Marvellous Analytical Engine
Today saw the publication of my new book on Amazon, “Andrew and the Marvellous Analytical Engine”. The Kindle edition is available now, and is a steal at £9.99. Next week sees the release of the paperback edition, priced at an affordable £19.99. Ideal for one of those hard to get Christmas presents, if you are…
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Costs and Artificial Intelligence
Coming this Wednesday at 4pm, together with the Living Legend that is Paul Hughes, in our latest webinar we shall be discussing all things to do with artificial intelligence and costs. As the blurb has it: In this timely seminar, Andrew Hogan and Paul Hughes consider key issues arising out of the use of Artificial Intelligence in legal practice,…
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On a roll
I was pleased to advise upon and draft the appeal for yet another housing disrepair claim allocation battle for Legal HD. Unable to undertake the appeal, due to a clash of professional commitments, my colleague Gordon Exall nobly undertook the advocacy, winning the case. I attach a copy of the judgment of HHJ Freedman, in…
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Weaponising litigation funding
Litigation funding aims to enhance access to justice, but recent Competition Appeal Tribunal cases show it can be a defendant’s weapon. Defects in funding agreements, as in Merricks, PACCAR, and Riefa, have derailed claims or forced costly repairs mid-hearing. PACCAR rendered many agreements unenforceable, prompting legislative but stalled reform. The Civil Justice Council’s proposed light-touch…
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Hot dog
I was pleased to be instructed by Stephanie Wilkinson of Legal HD on this interesting appeal on questions of allocation and costs, in the context of a claim for housing disrepair. The judgment is here: Matthews v Nottingham City Council HHJ Owen 30th April 2025 Need advice on a costs or funding issue? I advise…
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Hot money
Since LASPO 2012 and the Civil Liability Act 2018, firms once reliant on personal injury work have struggled to adapt. Some chased low-value claims; others turned to consumer work like Plevin. Now, motor finance commission claims face a reckoning. In Hopcraft v Close Brothers [2025] UKSC 33, the Supreme Court sides with lenders, narrowing available…
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The path less travelled
Mediation is now central to civil justice in England and Wales. By 2023, it had outpaced trials, driven by cost, speed, and privacy advantages. The Court of Appeal in Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 allowed judges to order mediation. The Civil Procedure Rules from October 2024 confirm this power. Courts can now…
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Enchanter’s end game
The Civil Justice Council’s Final Report reserves some of its most radical proposals for Part 9. Here it calls for a reconfiguration of conditional fee agreements (CFAs) and damages-based agreements (DBAs), including the potential abolition of the indemnity principle and the transfer of regulatory power from the Ministry of Justice to the Civil Procedure Rule…