Bond Solon survey results express doubts over efficacy of reforms
Expert witnesses have delivered a crushing verdict on the Jackson reforms.
More than two-thirds of 165 experts surveyed by Bond Solon think the reforms will fail to achieve their goal of increasing access to justice, and only six per cent thought access would be improved.
Only 31% thought budgeting at the outset of a case would save costs, while 21% thought it would actually push costs up since more work is required to isolate the main issues at an early stage.
They expressed uncertainty about the impact of new rules on disclosure, with just over a third believing they will reduce costs.
Although the reforms encourage the use of single joint experts, 82% of respondents reported that the demands for such work had either stayed the same or fallen in the twelve months up to November 2013. The Jackson reforms were implemented in April.
The experts’ views back up the results of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) and NLJ poll on litigation trends since Jackson, in which 93% of 1,500 LSLA members said access to justice had not increased in the first six months, and nearly 60% said the new rules on disclosure and new budgeting measures will drive up costs.
The experts also took a dim view of litigants in person, whose numbers are widely expected to soar as the impact of legal aid cuts and other funding shortages is felt.
“Nightmare” was the most common comment, with complaints ranging from non-payment to “lack of structure”, “irrational behaviour”, “dreadful”, and “lied to the other expert”.
The experts also reported a series of alarming incidents including having to resuscitate a claimant in court, jurors falling asleep during evidence, and being (mistakenly) accused of using the same prostitute as the witness.
