header-logo header-logo

The evolution of litigation

08 December 2017
Issue: 7773 / Categories: Features , Technology , CPR
printer mail-detail
nlj_7773_litigators

If today’s litigators refuse to embrace change, they might find their own futures very uncertain, says Jonathan Lafferty

The strength of the English legal system is its adaptability to changes in society; as Lord Hope noted in Chartbrook Ltd v Persimmon Homes Ltd , ‘one of the strengths of the common law is that it can take a fresh look at itself so that it can keep pace with changing circumstances.’ But with so much unprecedented uncertainty in the justice system and broader society, how can litigation in England & Wales adapt to meet that uncertainty successfully? This article seeks to predict what factors will affect litigation in the next five years and what that will that mean for lawyers, judges and litigants themselves.

All quiet on Aldwych

An instructive start in determining how litigation will look in five years is to consider how litigation looked five years ago. Since then, the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) have gone through several dozen updates. One of the biggest changes since 2012 was the Jackson

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
back-to-top-scroll