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Benefit & burden

15 July 2010 / Steven Friel , Caroline Bell
Issue: 7426 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Steven Friel & Caroline Bell discuss the changing nature of disclosure in civil procedure

We live in a technological age where there are many different forms of electronic communication and voluminous quantities of data are produced, exchanged and stored by electronic means. This can be a benefit and a burden to parties complying with their disclosure obligations in civil litigation.
Documents can make or break a case in more ways than one. They can make a case by the evidential weight they bring to bear; many a litigator lies awake at night dreaming of the smoking gun. Equally, documents can break a case with the financial strain disclosure brings to the costs of litigation. These points are particularly apt when it comes to electronic documents. There are many new and innovative e-disclosure tools on the market that greatly assist in complex cases, for example large scale commercial fraud. However, these tools, which are gradually becoming more and more necessary to the way in which we handle complex cases, come at a price, and many

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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