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19 April 2012 / Iain Stark
Issue: 7510 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Costs
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A brave new world

Iain Stark examines the changes afoot in the world of costs

The Jackson juggernaut may be ploughing its way through Parliament, but under the bonnet there has already been a great deal of activity on preparing the many reforms—the great majority, in fact—which do not require primary legislation. These may in the main be less controversial, but they will still have a significant effect on the conduct of costs claims and litigation.

Sir Rupert Jackson has been travelling the country giving a series of lectures on the implementation of his reforms. Lecture number eight, Assessment of costs in the brave new world, dealt with the assessment of costs. The changes will affect litigation of all sizes, but they are all being held in abeyance pending the general date for implementation. This, of course, has now slipped from October 2012 to April 2013.

While nobody can argue with the aim of improving the process of assessing costs, I am not convinced that everything Jackson

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Caroline Pope & Bob Maynard

Gateley Legal—Caroline Pope & Bob Maynard

Construction team bolstered by hire of senior consultant duo

Switalskis—four appointments

Switalskis—four appointments

Firm expands residential conveyancing team with quadruple appointment

mfg Solicitors—Claire Pope

mfg Solicitors—Claire Pope

Private client team welcomes senior associatein Worcester

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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