Author name: Simon Gibbs

Response received from well-known claimant costs firm: “We can confirm the fee earner was in fact a Grade D fee earner. Therefore we have applied more time throughout given the above.” Any suggestions as to an innocent explanation as what this is intended to mean gratefully received.

Ever increasing court fees are an issue subject to much commentary. Nevertheless, there are other more subtle ways where the courts are increasing revenue through amendments to the rules concerning fee payment. Previously, hearing fees were refundable on a sliding scale where a case settled pre-trial: 100% if the court was notified more than 28

I recently had to renew our professional indemnity insurance.  Our brokers sent us a very lengthy document from our insurers even though we were just looking to renew our policy. Amongst the various questions asked was: “What does the Proposer think are the more significant potential risks associated with their field of work”. I completed

Lord Justice Jackson gave the keynote speech on Tuesday to a packed-out White Paper costs conference (conference to be repeated on 28 March 2017), discussing his current review of an extension of fixed costs. It will be remembered that Sir Rupert stated in another speech in January 2016, before he was tasked with undertaking this

One of the current battlefields in costs is over the issue of whether additional liabilities should be included (where still recoverable) when considering proportionality. One would have thought this was at least one area where there was no room for dispute as there is an express transitional provision dealing with this issue at CPR 48.1(1):

The decision by Regional Costs Judge Lumb in Merrix v Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust [2016] EWHC B28 (QB) caused many to question the point of costs budgeting. The issue the court faced was: “to what extent, if at all, does the costs budgeting regime under CPR Part 3 fetter the powers and discretion of

At the end of any unsuccessful campaign it is instructive to try to analysis why it went wrong. Why did Labour lose the 2015 general election? Because people voted Tory as Labour was not left wing enough. Solution: elect a hard left leader with genuinely left wing policies and watch the voters come flooding back.

Litigation Futures features a guest post from Deborah Evans, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, titled “Can we trust insurers to behave?”.  In the context of rising insurance premiums, she called for “a robust examination of the facts” and for insurers to “stop making excuses and sort yourselves out”. The timing of

I have previously questioned the reasoning of Master Rowley, when dealing with the new proportionality test in May v Wavell Group, that: “The proportionate amount of costs must inevitably be smaller for a case which concludes early than one which reaches a final hearing.” My criticism was that it ran the danger of confusing what work

Online job advertisement I came across over the weekend: “Immigration/ Asylum Caseworkers / Paralegal / Family Solicitors XXX & XXX LAW FIRM – London SW19 Our firm have opportunities ambitious Caseworkers/paralegal with experience in immigration/asylum law have a genuine interest passion immigration. The ideal candidate will have excellent drafting and communication skills; have the able to