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Jackson’s birthday blues

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01 April 2014 / James Arrowsmith
Categories: Opinion
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The profession must use the Jackson reforms as a platform for change, says James Arrowsmith

Thompsons Solicitors say it has created a “climate of fear”, the City of London Law Society describes it as “punitive and formalistic—even anachronistic”. The change in costs and case management introduced by Lord Justice Jackson has certainly caught the attention of the profession.

Practical impact

Two cases provide striking examples of the impact the reforms can have on individual claims:

  • Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 1537 is now synonymous with tough costs management, having had his recoverable costs (which might otherwise have been in the region of £500,000) limited to court fees, for failing to file a budget.
  • Newland Shipping & Forwarding Ltd v Toba Trading FZC [2014] EWHC 210 (Comm) saw two defendants subject to a combined judgment of $7m for failing to provide proper disclosure or serve witness statements on time, and fail in their application for relief from sanctions.

However, it is easy to focus on the outcomes of cases without considering the

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