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03 November 2023 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8047 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 3 November 2023

New pre-trial checklists; Intermediate track hearing fee; No fault possession; Help with Fees revamped

LAWBITES

Shrinking world The Hague convention on international child abduction came into force as between the UK and Jamaica on 1 November 2023 (see SI 2023/1084).

Pre-trial checklist (listing questionnaire) Form N170 is not quite sure what it is. It started its life as a ‘listing questionnaire’. Some way along the line it was baptised as a ‘pre-trial checklist’ and now it is a schizophrenic ‘pre-trial checklist (listing questionnaire)’ although it sometimes loses the ‘listing questionnaire’ in CPR text. Whichever appellation you adopt, it has just changed (along with the directions questionnaire in form N18) to accommodate the new intermediate track. For both fast and intermediate tracks, litigants are told that the court will normally give three weeks’ notice of the date fixed for trial unless, in exceptional circumstances, shorter notice has been directed. You will need to say whether shorter notice would be accepted. An estimate of costs must be attached if no costs management

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Commercial firm strengthens real estate disputes team with associate hire

Switalskis—three appointments

Switalskis—three appointments

Firm appoints three directors to board

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Six promoted to partner and one to legal director across UK and Ireland offices

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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