Children: Public Law Update (August 2017) – Family Law Week

‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews a range of recent important public law cases.’

Full Story

Family Law Week, 9th August 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Court Service to test ‘virtual hearing’ prototype – Legal Futures

‘HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is working with Microsoft to build a prototype for a fully virtual hearing, which will tested in October, it has emerged.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 15th August 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Employment tribunal president stays fees challenges in wake of Supreme Court ruling – Litigation Futures

Posted August 11th, 2017 in case management, employment tribunals, fees, news, stay of proceedings by tracey

‘The president of employment tribunals in England and Wales, Judge Brian Doyle, has issued a case management order staying claims brought on the basis of the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that the current fees regime is unlawful.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 10th August 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

TCC publishes guidance note on management of public procurement cases – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 28th, 2017 in case management, public procurement by tracey

‘The Technology and Construction Court has published a guidance note on procedures for and the management of public procurement cases.’

Full story

Full guidance

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court awards aggravated damages against Ombudsman over case handling – Local Government Lawyer

‘Aggravated damages have been awarded against the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman over its treatment of an applicant.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 11th July 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Strike out of Claim due to Solicitor’s failure to comply with Court Orders – Park Square Barristers

‘In Reece Gladwin v Adrian Bogescu [2017] EWHC 1287 (QB) the Court was concerned with an appeal by the Defendant in a road traffic accident claim against a decision to grant the Claimant relief from sanctions, following late service of the Claimant’s witness evidence.’

Full Story

Park Square Barristers, 23rd June 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Drawing the Line: case management and allegations of judicial bias in the family courts – Family Law Week

‘Jennifer Youngs and Vondez Phipps, pupil barristers at 42 Bedford Row, summarise the circumstances in which judicial conduct at a case management hearing might form the basis of an application for recusal, and provide guidance to practitioners as to the manner in which such an application might be made.’

Full Story

Family Law Week, 22nd June 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Conveyancing: time to modernise & move on – New Law Journal

Posted May 30th, 2017 in case management, conveyancing, news by sally

‘Succeeding in today’s market requires expertise, investment & a touch of excellence, says Peter Ambrose.’

Full Story

New Law Journal, 26th May 2017

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Court criticises party for ‘completely unrealistic’ view of other side’s costs – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 19th, 2017 in budgets, case management, costs, news, proportionality by tracey

‘A High Court judge has accused costs lawyers of “abuse of the cost budgeting process” following an “unjustifiably low” estimate of the other side’s costs.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 18th May 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

“This is not a game” – High Court warns party that countered claimant’s budget with very low figures – Litigation Futures

Posted May 16th, 2017 in budgets, case management, costs, news by sally

‘A defendant who offered very low sums in their budget discussion report in the hope that the court may compromise in the middle of the polarised figures put forward by the two sides is guilty of “an abuse of the cost budgeting process”, a High Court judge has ruled.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 15th May 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Independent Reviewing Officers – myths and misunderstandings continue – Family Law Week

‘Professor Jonathan Dickens, University of East Anglia, Norwich, considers some of the strengths and limitations of the IRO service, drawing on recent debates and the findings of a research study conducted between 2012-14.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 6th April 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Rule committee backs moves to increase take-up of expert ‘hot-tubbing’ – Litigation Futures

‘Expert witnesses giving concurrent evidence – or ‘hot-tubbing’ – should be the default position in the Mercantile Court and Technology and Construction Court (TCC), the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) has suggested.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 4th April 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

LiPs: a perfect storm in the divorce courts? – New Law Journal

Posted March 10th, 2017 in case management, divorce, litigants in person, news by sally

‘Iqbal v Iqbal provides a salutary example of the consequences that can occur in the absence of legal representation, as Shlomit Glaser & Tim Jones report.’

Full story

New Law Journal, 9th March 2017

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Bahrain speech by Sir Peter Gross: Judicial Leadership and Reform – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted March 3rd, 2017 in case management, judiciary, speeches by tracey

‘Bahrain speech by Sir Peter Gross: Judicial Leadership and Reform.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 1st March 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

How is the PLO working? What is its impact on court process and outcome? – Family Law Week

‘The last five years have brought important reforms to care proceedings. The Judiciary made proposals for modernising family justice with a focus on strong judicial leadership, judicial continuity and better case management.2 The Family Justice Review3 recommended that the duration of care proceedings should be limited to 26 weeks, that fewer experts should be instructed in proceedings and there should be more limited scrutiny of the care plan, with the court considering only the plan for permanency (care by the parents(s), placement in the extended family, long-term fostering, or adoption) and not matters such as services for the child and contact arrangements. The Review’s recommendations were enacted in the Children and Families Act 2014, supplemented by new procedural rules (the PLO 2014) and implemented on April 22, 2014. This date also marked the opening of the Family Court, replacing the triple jurisdiction of the Family Proceedings Court, the County Court and the High Court. ‘

Full story

Family Law Week, 17th February 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Costs judge issues strong proportionality warning over need to plan cases – Litigation Futures

‘A costs judge has emphasised the need for solicitors to plan their litigation so as to ensure that their costs are proportionate, after slashing a £72,000 bill for a low-value clinical negligence case by two-thirds.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 22nd February 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Expert Evidence, Adjournment and Proving Loss: A Practical View from the Bar – Littleton Chambers

Posted February 17th, 2017 in adjournment, case management, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘There has recently been a run of cases in which courts have at case and costs management conferences (CCMC) refused permission to a party seeking to call an expert. Such refusals may be made on grounds of relevance, proportionality or because the evidence that is sought to be adduced is, on analysis, not expert evidence at all, as held by the judge in Darby Properties Ltd and another v Lloyds Bank plc [2016] EWHC 2494 (Ch).’

Full story

Littleton Chambers, 11th January 2017

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Cooperation With Counsel – Zenith PI Blog

Posted February 14th, 2017 in barristers, case management, news, personal injuries, solicitors by sally

‘This blog is addressed to solicitors and indeed to those who instruct counsel, particularly in relation to the fast-track trials and other proceedings such as small claims and indeed interlocutory matters. I feel that this is a timely Note, because thanks to the minimal remuneration which is nowadays given to solicitors (let alone counsel), solicitors are placed in great difficulty in dealing with claims of this kind efficiently. But, just as it is true that some cases are won by good preparation, so it is also unhappily true that many good cases are lost by poor preparation.’

Full story

Zenith PI Blog, 13th February 2017

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Legal Ombudsman suspends publication of complaints data over accuracy concerns – Legal Futures

Posted February 13th, 2017 in case management, complaints, internet, legal ombudsman, mistake, news by sally

‘The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has pulled from its website the details of law firms and chambers that have been subject to complaints because of concerns over their accuracy, it has emerged.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 13th February 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Immigration tribunal President blasts legal representatives in sex grooming gang appeal – Free Movement

‘President McCloskey has blasted the representatives for both claimants and the Home Office in his latest determination of Shabir Ahmed and others (sanctions for non – compliance) [2016] UKUT 00562 (IAC).’

Full story

Free Movement, 13th January 2017

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk