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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Plain English
September has rolled around again, and it is back to school. Reviewing the last year, I note that I have drafted rather a lot of contracts: conditional fee agreements, collective conditonal fee agreements, damages based agreements, litigation management agreements and litigation funding agreements amongst them. My plan for the coming year, is to focus on…
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Michaelmas Term
I am off for a long weekend shortly, and when I return next week, the new working year will begin in earnest, although the formal start of the legal year is the commencement of Michaelmas Term on 1st October. As I noted in the previous article, I have taken the opportunity to interrogate ChatGPT about…
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Metamorphosis
The long summer slowdown is finally coming to an end. Michaelmas Term formally begins on 1st October this year, but the reality is that when the children go back to school next week, the new work year will have begun. In this calm before the storm, I have taken the opportunity to interrogate ChatGPT about…
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On stranger tides
On 17th June 2024, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published a Warning Notice entitled “Mergers, acquisitions and sales of law firms”. Although a cynical reader might think, in some respects, the closing of a particular stable door, when an errant horse is already three quarters of the way home, the document is essential reading for…
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Fixing problems
I have arrived home after a very pleasant fortnight in Cornwall. Embedded in the lush green landscape north of Falmouth, I have spent happy days walking the old Minerals Tramways, exploring the Roseland Peninsula and sampling the local food. When I go to Cornwall and enjoy several weeks in the sun, I always think of…
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Plan A
Leaving aside the rise of the robots and developments in AI, for the moment at least, let us consider the current incarnation of the electronic bill of costs a little more closely and how it may be attacked by well crafted Points of Dispute. Any electronic bill of costs is likely to be created in…
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Be useful
I spent last week looking at some large electronic bills of costs. After a hesitant start, I am a great fan of the electronic bill of costs. I know a lot of lawyers who tolerate it, or even loathe it. They prefer the familiar three column bill of costs of yesteryear, which is easier to…
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Wasted costs
On 23rd July 2024, the living legend that is Paul Hughes and I will be conducting a Zoom seminar on the subject of “Wasted Costs”. A particularly fraught area of costs litigation, we shall be looking at key issues and recent case law. There are still a few places left, so if you would like…