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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Late acceptance of part 36 offers and indemnity costs
Costs litigation like no other area of practice is an exercise in bare knuckle savagery. Points are fought with the utmost ferocity, fire and vigour until finally determined and then after a momentary pause a new trend in satellite litigation will arise. One such point doing the rounds at the moment is the costs position after a defendant in…
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Litigation Funding
The arrival of October means the “coalbiter” months have begun. From now until just before Christmas, the days will be growing shorter, and the long nights will give plenty of opportunity to read and write on topics of interest when my children have gone to bed and to update this blog accordingly. For a more detailed exposition of the term “coalbiting” and the…
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St Michael and All Angels
Today is the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, which has given its name to Michaelmas term, always the busiest of the legal year, in the run up to Christmas. To mark the start of the new legal year, I have decided to offer two separate seminars to my professional clients, each of 90…
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Money and misery
This post first appeared as an article written for the Family Bar in November 2015. A fast growing area of practice for the Family Bar, is the provision of advice and representation for unmarried couples or others who find themselves engaged in property disputes under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996…
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Many of my colleagues at the Bar believe that I spend my days with an abacus, counting out 6 minute units of time, and the minutes of my own life in coffee spoons. Far from it. As I have frequently observed, the law and practice of costs and litigation funding throws up more problems of…
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Commercial Court rules on litigation funding charges in international arbitrations
An interesting case I was involved in last week, is now likely to be reported: it concerns the recovery of litigation funding charges in international arbitrations. The legal press have picked up the story here: http://www.litigationfutures.com/news/high-court-allows-recovery-costs-arranging-third-party-funding
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Non party costs applications against credit hire companies
An important issue in credit hire litigation if a claim fails, is the extent to which a successful defendant, can either enforce its claim for costs against a claimant, or seek an order for non party costs against the credit hire company. An interesting judgment was handed down earlier this year, on that issue. Running…
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The third way
When a client receives a bill for a solicitor’s work, it may provoke a gamut of emotions from gratitude to anger, and anger normally arises from a belief that the client has been overcharged, or is being asked to pay for work of poor quality or work that has been undertaken negligently, in turn causing…