A brave(r) new world?

By the start of 2014, litigation in England & Wales had undergone a fundamental and wide-ranging transformation. Eighteen months on, the reforms implemented following Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Civil Litigation Costs have to a large extent “bedded in”. Arguably, we now have a better grasp of both the opportunities and challenges that face the profession and our clients.

Efficiency & co-operation

The objectives of Jackson LJ’s review are to be lauded, and following the “bump” in the road in the form of the Mitchell decision (Mitchell v News Group Newspapers [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, [2014] 2 All ER 430), the subsequent judgments in Denton, Decadent and Utilise [2014] EWCA Civ 906, [2014] All ER (D) 53 (Jul), have clarified the court’s approach to relief from sanctions and the test to be applied when faced with breaches of court orders or the CPR. In short, the message to litigators is that the court will expect parties to (1) agree reasonable