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05 July 2024 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8078 / Categories: Features , Profession , Costs , Privacy
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Destination settle: keeping on track

180611
If the destination is settlement, parties are advised to get on board at the earliest (& cheapest) opportunity, says Dominic Regan
  • Covers the benefits of making compliant Pt 36 offers, including notable cases involving late settlement.

Judges do not want to judge. They would much prefer parties to settle. It might be an oversimplification, but a trial will generally produce a winner and a loser. The winner will invariably be out of pocket because not all of their legal expenditure will be recoverable. Far better, holds the prevailing view of our senior judiciary, that a settlement bargain is struck. Sir Geoffrey Vos MR and Lord Justice Birss are passionate about alternative dispute resolution. Indeed, Sir Geoffrey wrote the Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil CBC [2023] EWCA Civ 1416, [2023] All ER (D) 04 (Dec) judgment last autumn, which unanimously declared that judges could order parties to engage in ADR. To be on the safe side, Rules of Court are coming under the guidance of Lady Justice Asplin so that ADR will

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
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A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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