Litigation friend ordered to pay £42,000 costs for ‘wholly inadequate’ performance – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A litigation friend who was said to be suffering from depression has been ordered to pay more than £42,000 in costs after a judge found his performance “wholly inadequate.”’

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Law Society's Gazette, 23rd November 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

How not to talk about capacity and mental illness – Doughty Street Chambers

‘A recent High Court appeal – concerning an application made by a litigation friend to be discharged from her position – contains some useful observations on inappropriate submissions and language used by lawyers in cases raising issues of mental illness and capacity.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 19th July 2023

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

The Limits of Applications to Remove Litigation Friends – Shirazi v Susa [2022] EWHC 477 (Ch) – New Square Chambers

‘Jian Jun (JJ) Liew explores the practical implications for applications to remove litigation friends arising from the recent High Court case of Shirazi v Susa [2022] EWHC 477 (Ch).’

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New Square Chambers, 28th March 2022

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Litigation Friend appointments and costs – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 27th, 2021 in costs, litigation friends, local government, news by tracey

‘The High Court has ordered that a Defendant is not liable for costs incurred arising from a dispute over who the Litigation Friend should be. Sean Linley reports.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th August 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge wrong to impose costs on litigation friend – Litigation Futures

Posted August 28th, 2020 in children, costs, law firms, litigation friends, news, tax avoidance by sally

‘A High Court judge was wrong to order a litigation friend, acting for children, to pay costs after unsuccessfully applying to challenge the settlement of a trust dispute, appeal judges have ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 26th August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Council loses High Court battle over level of support for disabled young woman – Local Government Lawyer

‘The London Borough of Southwark has lost a High Court case over a disabled young woman’s care plan after a judge found aspects of the council’s case to be materially flawed or erroneous.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th July 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court rejects bid to stop Muslim family representing sick girl – The Guardian

Posted September 6th, 2019 in children, consent, Islam, litigation friends, medical treatment, news by tracey

‘An NHS trust has been criticised for arguing that the family of a seriously ill five-year-old girl are incapable of acting in her best interests because of their Islamic religious beliefs.’

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The Guardian, 6th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

No rule to stop costs being awarded against children, says judge – Litigation Futures

Posted June 19th, 2019 in children, costs, litigation friends, news by tracey

‘There is no general rule preventing costs being awarded against children, a High Court judge has said. Mr Justice Morgan said the case law on the issue did not present a “clear or coherent picture” on the issue, and contained examples of costs being made against both child claimants and defendants, even where they had litigation friends.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th June 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Cecil Parkinson’s disabled child in ‘financial hardship’ – BBC News

Posted May 9th, 2018 in disabled persons, litigation friends, news, wills by tracey

‘The disabled daughter of the late Conservative Party chairman Cecil Parkinson is living in “serious financial hardship”, a court has heard.

The latest hearing was to determine if Sara Keays could make legal decisions on behalf of her 34-year-old daughter.’

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BBC News, 8th May 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

CoA right to take stern line on McKenzie friend concept, solicitors say – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 31st, 2017 in appeals, litigation friends, McKenzie friends, news by sally

‘A Court of Appeal judgment that discouraged use of the term ‘McKenzie friend’ and described the bad experiences that some court users have had with unqualified advisers has met mixed views from the profession.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th May 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

“Don’t call them McKenzie friends” – Court of Appeal looks to counter growth of unqualified advisers in crime cases – Legal Futures

‘The term “McKenzie friend” is not appropriate in the criminal division of the Court of Appeal, the vice-president of the court has said in a ruling detailing the problems that the increasing number of “unqualified third parties” is causing.’

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Legal Futures, 26th May 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

To be able or not to be able : Capacity issues in personal injury litigation part 1 – Zenith PI Blog

‘This article is the first in a series of 2, dealing with the question of capacity in PI litigation particularly, and civil proceedings generally.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 18th January 2017

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Oversupply of law graduates and growing number of LiPs are solution to each other’s problem, says MR – Legal Futures

‘The combination of an oversupply of law graduates shut out of the profession due to fewer training contracts or pupillages and the growing number of litigants in person (LiPs) offers an opportunity to enhance access to justice while helping students into practice, the Master of the Rolls has said.’

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Legal Futures, 7th December 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lecture by Sir Terence Etherton, MR: LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards lecture 2016 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘It is a real pleasure to have been asked to give this year’s LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards lecture. My subject is Access to Justice. I am not interested in it as a slogan. I am interested in it because access to justice lies at the heart of any society that aspires to call itself just, civilised, and committed to democracy and the rule of law.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 7th December 2016

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Surrey and others v Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust – WLR Daily

Surrey and others v Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust [2016] EWHC 1598 (QB)

‘Three separate cases involving clinical negligence litigation against the defendant hospital had been proceeding for several years prior to 1 April 2013. Under new legislation coming into force on 1 April 2013, a claimant entering into a conditional fee agreement (“CFA”) from that date would be unable to recover success fees and after the event (“ATE”) insurance premiums from the defendant if successful in the litigation. In each case the claim had initially been advanced with the benefit of legal aid, but in the month prior to 1 April 2013 the claimant’s solicitors, with the agreement of the claimant’s litigation friend, arranged for the legal aid certificate to be discharged and for the claim henceforth to be funded by a CFA to preserve the ability to recover the success fee and ATE premiums. In none of the cases was the litigation friend informed that the consequence would be the loss of the recognised 10% uplift on general damages. In each case the defendant challenged the successful claimant’s bill of costs, in so far as it sought to recover the success fee and the ATE premium, contending that the litigation friend’s decision was based on materially unreasonable advice (by reason of the omission to mention the 10% uplift) and that, since the burden was on the receiving party to establish that a cost was reasonably incurred and it was unknown what decision would have been made had proper advice been given, the doubt as to whether the additional costs were reasonably and proportionately incurred should be resolved in favour of the paying party. The costs judge in each case upheld the defendant’s challenge to those items, holding that the changed funding arrangements were not reasonable. Each claimant appealed, contending that the reasonableness of the decision to change funding had to be objectively assessed, so that the quality of any antecedent advice given to the claimants’ litigation friends was irrelevant.’

WLR Daily, 1st July 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

McDonald (by her litigation friend) v McDonald and others [2016] UKSC 28 – Henderson Chambers

‘In this alerter Hannah Curtain & George Mallet consider the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald (by her litigation friend) v McDonald and Ors [2016] UKSC 28.’

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Henderson Chambers, June 2016

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Questions and Answers – Nearly Legal

‘A judicial review of a decision on a s.17 Children Act 1989 assessment of a homeless, non-eligible family. The issues were the extent of investigations required, and legitimate conclusions to be drawn from a lack of information provided.’

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Nearly Legal, 8th May 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Immigration tribunal can appoint litigation friend despite no provision in the rules – Free Movement

‘In the recent case of R (on the application of C) v First-Tier Tribunal and Others [2016] EWHC 707 (Admin) (not yet on BAILII but available on Westlaw) Picken J ruled that the immigration tribunal can appoint a litigation friend to represent a person who lacks capacity even though there is no provision to do so in the procedure rules, nor indeed in the statutory underpinnings of the tribunal.’

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Free Movement, 27th April 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Mental Capacity Law Newsletter – Thirty Nine Essex Street

Mental Capacity Law Newsletter (PDF)

Thirty Nine Essex Street, February 2015

Source: www.39essex.com

In re M and others (Children) (Abduction: Child’s Objections) – WLR Daily

In re M and others (Children) (Abduction: Child’s Objections) [2015] EWCA Civ 26; [2015] WLR (D) 44

‘Where a court was determining, for the purposes of article 13 of the Hague Convention 1980, whether a child objected to being returned and had attained the age and degree of maturity at which it was appropriate to take account of its views, the use of sub-tests and technicality were to be avoided.’

WLR Daily, 27th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk