Procedure & practice

Have expenses under a freezing injunction become a further means to dissipate? Natalie Todd & Richard Swan investigate

Part 36 settlement offers: Helen Armstrong & William Rowell outline how to avoid the pitfalls

Michael Zander concludes his account of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Why the coronavirus excuse for delay won’t hold water with the commercial courts for much longer, according to Sarah Murray

With all the chaos of remote working, home schooling and other disruptions during the pandemic, it is not surprising that lawyers and litigants struggling with deadlines have cited COVID-19 as an excuse, Sarah Murray, head of dispute resolution at Stevens & Bolton, writes in this week’s NLJ.

Barristers and advocates have warned against widespread adoption of remote hearings post-pandemic.

The Law Commission has opened a consultation on the proposals to allow ‘for legal recognition of trade documents’, such as the bills of lading and bills of exchange. The consultation paper sets out proposals for law reforms to allow for electronic documents to be ‘possessed’ and to have the same legal impacts as its paper counterparts. 

Successfully appealing a trial adjournment refusal ‘is as hard as it gets’, former District Judge Stephen Gold writes in this week’s Civil Way.

Snippets from The Reduced Law Dictionary, by Roderick Ramage