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2014 horror-scope?

10 January 2014 / Caroline Field
Issue: 7589 / Categories: Features , Litigation trends
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Caroline Field predicts some of the litigation challenges for the year ahead

If you have a taste for the uncertain, this is the year for you. You’re going to be faced with new challenges. Keep on your toes. Opponents may seek to take advantage. When addressing budgeting issues, two heads may be better than one. Consider bringing in a neutral third party to bang heads together. It may help to avoid an unexpected bill.

Most litigation lawyers say they don’t need a crystal ball to foresee the ongoing effects of the Jackson Reforms. With the recent poll carried out by the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) and NLJ predicting that there will be no improvement in access to justice (an express aim of the reforms) and an adverse affect on costs, the outlook for 2014 may seem gloomy. Is it all bad?

Court of Appeal guidance creates havoc

Jackson sought to address “the damage delay and non-compliance was inflicting on the civil justice system”. Some practitioners hoped for stricter application of the civil procedure

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bloomsbury Square Employment Law—Donna Clancy

Bloomsbury Square Employment Law—Donna Clancy

Employment law team strengthened with partner appointment

mfg Solicitors—Matt Smith

mfg Solicitors—Matt Smith

Corporate solicitor joins as partner in Birmingham

Freeths—Joe Lythgoe

Freeths—Joe Lythgoe

Corporate director with expertise in creative industries joins mergers and acquisitions team

NEWS
The High Court’s decision in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys has thrown the careers of experienced CILEX litigators into jeopardy, warns Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers in NLJ this week
Sir Brian Leveson’s claim that there is ‘no right to jury trial’ erects a constitutional straw man, argues Professor Graham Zellick KC in NLJ this week. He argues that Leveson dismantles a position almost no-one truly holds, and thereby obscures the deeper issue: the jury’s place within the UK’s constitutional tradition
Why have private prosecutions surged despite limited data? Niall Hearty of Rahman Ravelli explores their rise in this week's NLJ 
The public law team at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer surveys significant recent human rights and judicial review rulings in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley examines how debarring orders, while attractive to claimants seeking swift resolution, can complicate trials—most notably in fraud cases requiring ‘particularly cogent’ proof
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