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Back to the future

06 February 2015 / Ian Gascoigne
Issue: 7639 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Predicting the future: 2015 in commercial disputes, by Ian Gascoigne

A year ago, New Law Journal published an article in which a colleague and I speculated on the outlook for commercial litigation in 2014 (see “Opportunities & threats”, 164 NLJ 7594, p 6). Principally, we said that the courts’ grip on case management would tighten in the aftermath of Mitchell v News Group Newspapers [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, [2014] 2 All ER 430, but damages-based agreements would turn out to be slow burners. Both predictions proved to be correct. Resisting the advice to “quit while ahead”, the challenge of foreshadowing what will occur in 2015 is not as easy. I see it as a year of consolidation after two years’ upheaval.

Subtle difference

The outlook for commercial claims in 2015 is subtly different from a year ago. Then, the much-feared Jackson reforms, in use for nine months, were creating a real stir among dispute lawyers. Although at the start of 2014 many commercial claims were excluded from the rigour of mandatory costs

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
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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