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Report from Law Now - January 2010
Lord Justice Jackson’s Final Report is Published
Lord Justice Jackson today released his Final Report, recommending
changes to the civil litigation system in England and Wales to promote
access to justice at proportionate cost. The report follows his
Preliminary Report of May 2009, and an extensive consultation on how
civil litigation can be made more cost effective.
Some of the important recommendations made in the Final Report include:
- Ending the current regime of “no win / no fee” agreements, by making
success fees and ATE insurance premiums irrecoverable from unsuccessful
defendants.
- Allowing lawyers to act on a contingency fee basis, which usually means
that if a claim succeeds the lawyer is paid a percentage of the judgment
sum, or if the claim fails the lawyer is paid little or nothing at all.
Contingency fees are used widely in North America, and Lord Justice
Jackson sees no objection in principle to them being used in England and
Wales.
- Keeping the ten pre-action protocols that apply to specific types of
litigation, but repealing the general protocol. On the whole, the
pre-action protocols are regarded as a useful way of assisting parties
to resolve their disputes without having to go to trial, and thereby
avoiding unnecessary costs.
- Encouraging judges, in appropriate cases, to take a more “hands on”
approach to case management and keeping costs under control. The use of
cost budgets is seen as one possible way of tackling this issue.
We will be preparing a more detailed Law-Now article that summarises the
key points emerging from the Final Report and their implications. The
senior judiciary, including the Lord Chief Justice, have thrown their
weight behind Lord Justice Jackson’s report, and if his recommendations
are implemented we can expect to see major changes to the civil
litigation landscape.
Julian assisted Lord Justice Jackson in all three Phases of his costs
review, including in the preparation of the Final Report.
For further information, you can contact:
Julian Bailey
London
44 (0) 20 7367 2057
at Law-Now
http://www.law-now.com
Law-Now@cms-cmck.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 2106
Fax: +44 (0)20 7367 2000
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
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