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24 May 2024 / David Greene
Issue: 8072 / Categories: Opinion , Litigation funding , International
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Funding in flux

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David Greene on the debate about the future of litigation funding at home & abroad

The Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill (LFA(E)B) is on a head-long flight through both Houses of Parliament, currently in committee stage in the House of Lords, where it was introduced. The terms of the Bill are short and sweet (subject to your view, as below), one section reversing with retrospective effect the decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28, [2023] 4 All ER 675. Seemingly the only event standing in its way would be an early election. But while the Bill appears to have wide backing in Parliament, there are those vocally opposed to it and it has given rise to a more general debate about the regulation of third-party litigation funding, now to be considered by the Civil Justice Council (CJC) at the direction of the Lord Chancellor.

Unenforceable agreements

The Supreme Court decision in PACCAR and the interpretation given by the court

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys senior leadership appointments

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector

NEWS
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
Britain’s new acknowledgement that Israel’s occupation is unlawful, and accompanying settlement-goods ban and sanctions, is significant but overdue, argue Danny Friedman KC and Victor Kattan in NLJ this week
New planning fee rises, wider trade union access rights and a service-by-email trap feature in Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
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