I started my blog around 2012 when the legal world was going through massive changes to how costs work. Back then, it was pretty basic – I mainly used it to share articles and newsletters I’d written, turning them into blog posts so more people could read them easily.
The blog’s tagline says it all: “Andrew Hogan’s blog on costs and litigation funding.” That’s exactly what it is – a place where I share my thoughts and analysis on the often confusing world of legal costs.
In the early days, everything was just written posts. I’d take newsletters I’d published in August 2011 or articles from September 2011 and put them online. This worked well because costs law was changing rapidly after the Jackson Review, and practitioners needed somewhere to make sense of it all, especially when costs budgeting started in April 2013.
The content has always reflected what I actually do in practice. I write about everything from QOCS (that’s the rule that protects injured people from paying the other side’s costs) to when non-parties get stuck with legal bills, litigation funding, and now even artificial intelligence.
A few years ago I also started doing webinars regularly. These online seminars let me reach lots of practitioners at once, and they’re great for continuing education.
The biggest recent development is how I’m using artificial intelligence. I’ve been writing about “The shape of things to come” with AI, and “Sunny AI” shows me actually experimenting with these new tools. I think it’s important to stay ahead of the curve rather than being left behind by technology.
Looking forward, I’m planning some exciting changes. Video content is going to become much bigger – I think visual explanations work better for complex costs topics, and more people actually watch videos than read long articles these days.
The legal world is changing fast, and practitioners need information delivered in ways that actually work for busy people. That’s what I’m trying to do – take complex costs law and make it accessible through whatever format works best, whether that’s a quick video, a detailed PDF guide, or a podcast discussion.
It’s been quite a journey from those early newsletter republications to where we are now, and I’m excited about where it’s heading next.