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A seismic shift in approach to mediation

12 July 2024 / Georgina Squire , Camilla Pratt
Issue: 8079 / Categories: Features , Profession , ADR , Mediation
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Mandatory ADR is here to stay, write Georgina Squire & Camilla Pratt
  • In Churchill, the Court of Appeal set new standards for court-ordered mediation, allowing a stay of proceedings in some situations.
  • The Civil Procedure Rules Committee is currently looking at a CPR rule change to reflect Churchill and give the courts greater powers to force parties to mediate their disputes.

There have been many discussions on the topic of mandatory alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and it seems to be an issue that is here to stay, with the courts moving further towards compelling parties to mediate. This is particularly relevant in light of the increasing costs of legal proceedings and proportionality concerns being at the forefront of the judiciary’s mind. We see regularly at costs management conferences the courts’ desire to look for ways to reduce costs. They are also battling with an ever-present backlog and concerns about wasted resources in the civil justice system in England and Wales.

The Civil Justice Council addresses

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The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
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