Features and Opinion – Page 2

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    Feature

    Bad news for third party funders: has the tide turned?

    2017-06-02T09:27:00Z

    Kerry Underwood looks at two recent decisions from the English and Irish courts, which could signify a turning of the tide for third party funding.

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    Feature

    Damages-based agreements – friend or foe?

    2017-05-11T16:52:00Z

    Tobias Haynes, solicitor at FS Legal, explains why damages-based agreements (DBAs) are ripe for reevaluation as a means of promoting access to justice and a better value funding option.

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    Feature

    CPR 88th update: what's new?

    2017-03-30T15:37:00Z

    The 88th update to the Civil Procedure Rules (SI 2017/95) makes several important changes which will all come into force by 6 April. Cait Sweeney looks at the pivotal developments.

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    Feature

    Kerry Underwood's proposals for the extension of the fixed costs regime

    2017-02-03T09:19:00Z

    Kerry Underwood, at the request of Lord Justice Jackson, sets out his proposals for the extension of fixed recoverable costs to all civil work of all kinds up to a maximum value of £250,000, but with the ability to be extended to all claims without a limit on value. 

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    Feature

    Has the High Court just reintroduced recoverability of success fees?

    2017-01-06T11:13:00Z

    In Essar Oilfield Services v Norscot Rig Management the High Court upheld the decision of the arbitrator in an ICC arbitration to allow the recovery of the costs of third party funding in addition to the award of costs and damages. 

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    Feature

    Extending fixed recoverable costs: change is coming for litigators

    2016-12-09T11:40:00Z

    The government is consulting until 17 January on extending fixed recoverable costs across civil litigation. If implemented, they will represent some of the greatest changes for civil litigators since the 19th century, says Kerry Underwood.

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    Feature

    Reform has failed. Here's how to fix the civil litigation system

    2016-11-24T10:39:00Z

    The Woolf and Jackson reforms have failed and the cost of litigation has rocketed, says David Abraham. Here, he outlines his vision for a streamlined litigation system in light of Lord Justice Jackson’s call for fixed fees to apply to all claims up to £250k.

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    Feature

    All in proportion: the Brian May litigation

    2016-09-20T15:55:00Z

    Deborah Burke examines the recent case of May & Anor v Wavell Group plc & Anor and the courts’ approach to costs in the era of proportionality. 

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    Feature

    A2J: The case against the government’s whiplash reform proposals

    2016-07-19T16:13:00Z

    Access to Justice (A2J) is leading the charge against the government’s plans to raise the small claims limit for PI claims. Here, A2J chair Martin Coyne explains why the evidence justifying the reforms is flawed - and how solicitors can get involved in their campaign.

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    Feature

    ACL member survey results are in!

    2016-07-19T10:02:00Z

    Iain Stark, chairman of the Association of Costs Lawyers, comments on the findings of this year’s member survey. What does it tell us about the state of the costs management regime in 2016?

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    Feature

    The sound of the crowd

    2016-07-07T10:11:00Z

    Gareth Raisbeck argues that in light of last year’s ParkingEye litigation, crowdfunding could at last be stepping out of the shadows as a viable and attractive means of financing commercial litigation, especially for a younger generation of tech-savvy litigants

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    Feature

    Fundamental dishonesty: where are we now?

    2016-06-28T13:49:00Z

    What constitutes fundamental dishonesty has been left to the discretion of the court with no definition provided within the CPR. Kerry Underwood suggests this could all change very soon, with a decision by the Supreme Court imminent. 

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    Feature

    Costs budgeting, proportionality and hourly rates in high value cases

    2016-05-03T16:19:00Z

    Kerry Underwood discusses a recent High Court judgment which makes some thorough comments on proportionality, guideline hourly rates and other issues in assessing costs budgets. What could it mean for costs management?

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    Feature

    This is the future

    2016-04-21T09:29:00Z

    Tony Guise provides a taster of what to expect at his session at the Section spring conference on 21 April, on the future of the civil courts

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    Feature

    Kerry Underwood: making fixed fees work

    2016-02-15T10:55:00Z

    Kerry Underwood gives some practical and frank advice on how to survive in the new world of fixed recoverable costs. At the right price, can they actually reward solicitors?

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    Feature

    The firm that is making DBAs a success

    2016-02-10T16:52:00Z

    The legal profession has, for the most part, given damages-based agreements a wide berth since their inception in 2013. Richard Spector explains how ELS Legal is going against the grain by making them an attractive and successful funding option for his firm and clients alike

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    Feature

    'Unaffordable to most'

    2016-01-20T10:52:00Z

    The Lord Chief Justice’s 2015 annual report has bemoaned the soaring costs of justice. Rosie Ioannou of litigation funders Vannin Capital, shares her thoughts on the report’s findings - are fixed fees the way forward?

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    Feature

    It's a fix

    2015-12-16T09:54:00Z

    Fixed costs for absolutely every civil action in England and Wales may soon be a reality, proclaims Kerry Underwood.

  • Matthew Harman
    Feature

    Insurance premium tax rate rise: what you can do

    2015-10-21T13:41:00Z

    The standard rate of insurance premium tax jumps to 9.5% on 1 November, potentially leaving solicitors having to pay an additional 3.5% over and above a calculated premium. Matthew Harman explains what you need to do now

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    Feature

    'No room for negotiation': why clin neg fixed costs will be a disaster

    2015-10-12T12:03:00Z

    The government’s plans to introduce fixed costs in clinical negligence cases will impact access to justice and lead to the long-term deterioration of healthcare in the UK, writes Nina Ali of Hodge Jones & Allan