Costs

Articles

Unreasonable pressure

The ruling in Carver encourages claimants to settle their claims before unacceptably high costs are incurred, so why did Jackson LJ resist calls not to reverse it, asks Richard Langley

Shifting patterns

Lord Justice Jackson's review of costs in civil litigation proceedings promised to deliver recommendations for a fairer, more proportionate access to justice. One year and nearly 600 pages later, Sir Rupert has made a set of inter-dependent proposals turning the principle of full recovery on its head. Fraser Whitehead gives his analysis of the report from the claimants' perspective and Raj Patel and Saqib Khan provide the defendants' view; Richard Barr considers the likely implications for clinical negligence claims, and Rod Dadak looks at the consequences for libel cases

Land of the living

Landowners are constantly looking to improve their businesses and are making the most of the opportunities available, but they are also facing difficulties – not least the implementation of the Marine and Coastal Access Act. Jenny Ramage reports

Use without abuse

Pre-action disclosure is a helpful tool but only if it is properly deployed, says DJ Julie Exton

Jackson LJ backs contingency fees and costs shifting in favour of claimants

Lord Justice Jackson has backed the introduction of contingency fees in England and Wales, while severely limiting the usefulness of conditional fees.

Jackson LJ's call for referral fee ban "misjudged"

One of the UK's leading referral networks has said the proposal in the Jackson review to ban referral fees was "misjduged".

Jackson report: out with CFAs, in with contingency fees

Lord Justice Jackson's eagerly anticipated report proposes radical changes to civil litigation costs rules, including the limiting of conditional fee agreements and the introduction of contingency fees.

Fix or twist?

Is the fixed success fee system appropriate for asbestos claims or should there be a return to court assessment of success fees? Simon Gibbs provides a defendant perspective