“Don't take this the wrong way but I hope I never see you again.†This is the valedictory that I have received many times from the tearfully grateful and the plain relieved. I don't suppose that architects, doctors, plumbers or roadside mechanics get quite the same expression of thanks. It all rather sums up the absolute nature of what we do: the moment that the jury returns with its verdict and the foreman is asked to “please standâ€Â, the whole room holds its breath. Whether prosecuting or defending, it is an incredibly tense, awful, unbearable moment. I used to be superstitious – writing the 'g' in my notebook and wondering whether I would by some miracle be putting an 'n' in front of it. Now I just close my notebook and pretend that it is not happening. I don't know what the judge feels about a verdict – perhaps the judge really is above it all – but I suspect that where it is possible to have formed a view there is the occasional tingle of nerves.
Masood Ahmed considers the guidance the courts have provided to those wishing to make strike out applications and how a party can avoid an order being made against them
The modern legal costs industry that was initially created to serve insurers and defendants has, in the space of little more than a decade, undergone a rise and fall that would have taken other industries decades to pass through.
Solicitors must ensure they understand their duties towards LEI insurers and claims management companies or risk a claim being brought against them, says Alison Siniver
