Judge blasts “lamentable” applications and non-compliant skeletons – Litigation Futures

Posted May 4th, 2021 in case management, drafting, news, skeleton arguments by tracey

‘A deputy High Court judge has hit out at the “lamentable” way applications before him were prepared, including non-compliant and late skeleton arguments from counsel.’

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Litigation Futures, 4th May 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge rejects recusal application after barristers withdraw – Legal Futures

Posted April 21st, 2021 in barristers, bias, case management, complaints, judges, news, recusal by tracey

‘A judge has rejected a recusal application on the grounds of apparent bias made after two barristers withdrew at the last minute from a hearing and complained about his conduct of the case.’

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Legal Futures, 21st April 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Perils of Contested Divorce Proceedings – Pump Court Chambers

Posted April 16th, 2021 in appeals, case management, chambers articles, divorce, families, news by sally

‘As many practitioners will be aware, defended divorce cases are rare. According to a recent study by the Nuffield Foundation, “No Contest: Defended Divorce in England & Wales”, formally defended divorces account for less than one percent of divorces each year in England & Wales.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 15th March 2021

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

The role of courts at the seat of arbitration – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 14th, 2021 in appeals, arbitration, case management, courts, jurisdiction, news by sally

‘It is well established in international commercial arbitration that the courts at the seat of arbitration will have supervisory jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings, including hearing any challenges to the validity of the arbitral award. In the recent case of Minister of Finance (Incorporated) and 1 Malaysia Development Berhad v International Petroleum Investment Company and Aabar Investments PJS [2019] EWCA Civ 2080, the Court of Appeal (Sir Geoffrey Vos, chancellor of the High Court, Newey and Males LLJ) considered the issue of the courts’ powers in section 67 (challenging the award: substantive jurisdiction) and section 68 (challenging the award: serious irregularity) of the Arbitration Act 1996. This article focuses on the Court of Appeal’s important discussion of the role and functions of the court at the seat of arbitration and the impact this has on the law and practice of international commercial arbitration.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th April 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Defendants no longer required to state nationality at the start of criminal cases – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 10th, 2021 in case management, criminal procedure, data protection, human rights, news by sally

‘On 8 February 2020, small but significant changes were made to the Part 3 (Case Management) of the Criminal Procedure Rules and Practice Directions 2020 (“CrimPR”). These changes remove the requirement that defendants in criminal trials provide their nationality to the court at preliminary hearings. The question is now to be asked only where a court passes an immediate or suspended custodial sentence.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th February 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

£1m cost of advertising for claimants is not recoverable, judge rules – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Lawyers leading group litigation against British Airways have been told they cannot expect the defendant to pay the £1m costs of advertising for claimants if the action succeeds.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th February 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court rules lawyers’ £1m advertising costs are not recoverable – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 8th, 2021 in advertising, airlines, case management, class actions, costs, law firms, news by tracey

‘Lawyers leading group litigation against British Airways have been told they cannot expect the defendant to pay the £1m costs of advertising for claimants if the action succeeds.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th February 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Remote justice and Tribunal case management – Doughty Street Chambers

‘In GL v Elysium Healthcare Upper Tribunal Judge Kate Markus has provided a helpful reminder of the importance of maintaining standards of fairness in the remote environment.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 12th January 2021

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Court rejects Covid adjournment to press on with in-person trial – Legal Futures

Posted January 26th, 2021 in adjournment, case management, coronavirus, news, remote hearings, witnesses by sally

‘The High Court has ruled that the fears of three witnesses about giving evidence in person during the UK’s winter Covid spike should not lead to a five-week complex commercial trial being adjourned.’

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Legal Futures, 26th January 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Credit where credit’s due? A ‘likely’ story – Carmelite Chambers

‘In 2017, the Sentencing Council introduced a Definitive Guideline on Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty plea, leaving Judges with little or no discretion on the credit that can be afforded for pleas entered at the Crown Court, even for indictable only offences.’

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Carmelite Chambers, 11th January 2021

Source: www.carmelitechambers.co.uk

HMRC v IGE USA Investments Ltd [2020] EWHC 1716 (Ch) – the role of statements of case and Lists of Issues for Disclosure in applications to vary an order for Extended Disclosure under the Disclosure Pilot Scheme – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Whilst Standard Disclosure (under CPR 31) remains in force, the Disclosure Pilot has provided a more flexible menu of disclosure options for the majority of cases in the Business and Property Courts. There is a degree of overlap between CPR 31 and the Pilot Scheme, but there are some significant divergences. One of those is paragraph 18 of the Pilot Scheme, which allows variations of pre-existing orders for Extended Disclosure. The scope of the court’s jurisdiction under paragraph 18 of the Disclosure Pilot was central to this appeal.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 8th January 2021

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Unnecessary Private Law Applications – a warning shot from the judiciary – Family Law Week

‘Marie Crawford, barrister of Becket Chambers, reflects on a recent children law judgment and its implications for parties and practitioners.’

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Family Law Week, 16th December 2020

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Insurer fails in aggregation argument over partner’s multi-million pound thefts – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has refused to aggregate as one claim various actions a Yorkshire law firm’s indemnity insurer is facing because of a multi-million pound fraud run by one of its partners.’

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Legal Futures, 4th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Amendments to Costs Budgeting Rules Coming into Force on 1st October 2020 – St John’s Chambers

‘As of 1st October 2020 several amendments to the costs budgeting rules and the related Practice Direction came into force.’

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St John's Chambers, 2nd October 2020

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

Judge condemns late argument in “forensic arms race” of a case – Litigation Futures

‘A High Court judge has strongly attacked the claimants in what he described as a “forensic arms race” over a complex claim by 202,000 Brazilian people and businesses following the collapse of a dam in 2015.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th October 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The impact of digitalisation on the immigration process – EIN Blog

‘The coronavirus pandemic created an impetus for the legal world to finally begin accepting digitalisation of processes, moving away from the traditional paper process to an online version. The immigration process is already faced with a myriad of concerns which leaves the applicant in a weak position, and most often, with a lack of funds to cover their costs. The Home Office’s inability to train and effectively manage applications, outsource services to dubious third-party contractors has been exacerbated further by the haphazard application of online processes which do not match the needs of the immigration process. Despite the fact that online applications are easier to complete for legal representatives a number of issues have arisen as a result of this sudden change.’

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EIN Blog, 21st September 2020

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Prosecution strategies in AR cases (2) – Counsel

‘A two-part series from Laura Hoyano and John Riley modelling investigation and prosecution strategies in cases of abusive relationship offending: part two of this worked case example looks at the issues arising at trial.’

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Counsel, September 2020

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

High Court warning over JRs that “evolve exponentially” – Litigation Futures

Posted September 2nd, 2020 in case management, costs, Crown Prosecution Service, judges, judicial review, news by tracey

‘A High Court judge has criticised public law practitioners for letting judicial reviews “evolve exponentially” so that the claim advanced at the hearing bears “little resemblance” to that for which permission was granted.’

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Litigation Futures, 2nd September 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Lord Chancellor accepts unlawfulness of new Legal Aid scheme for immigration and asylum appeals – Garden Court Chambers

‘On 8 June 2020 the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (the Amendment Regulations) came into force. The Amendment Regulations established a new fee regime for the remuneration of legal aid providers for appellants whose asylum and immigration appeals are being dealt with under a new Online Procedure which had previously been in pilot phase, but was rolled out widely by the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) in mid-March 2020.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 12th August 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Reactivation! – Nearly Legal

‘After the mystery of the Rules laid last Friday, we now had the text of Practice Direction 55C, which will come into effect on 23 August 2020 at the end of the Part 55.29 stay of possession proceedings.’

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Nearly Legal, 21st July 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk