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04 May 2012 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7512 / Categories: Opinion , Costs
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Jackson starts to unravel

Dominic Regan is alarmed by the undoing of the Jackson proposals

You could not make it up. Those determined to prevent the Jackson package of reforms from being implemented never landed an effective punch. However, it now seems that those charged with introducing reform are doing a fine job of botching the process.

Fixed costs uncertain

My understanding is that the very cornerstone of fast-track change, the introduction of fixed costs, is not going to happen next year. Sir Rupert was desperate for this because it would impose proportionality upon litigants, or at least what the legislature considered proportionate. No longer would inefficiency be rewarded. Those who made an elaborate meal of it would not be better off with higher-base costs and, in turn, a greater additional uplift (since the uplift is geared to the base costs figure). A tariff would apply and that would encourage the speedy, efficient resolution of disputes. Furthermore, a fixed regime would kill off the costs of

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
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
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’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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