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Look out litigants!

Are litigants the latest victims of the government’s austerity measures, asks Georgina Squire

Almost two years since the Jackson reforms, the effects of the new regime are still unfolding. 2014 will be remembered by many as the year the Court of Appeal clarified Mitchell, ending the flood of pre-emptive applications (lest we be in breach!) and helping litigators sleep easier at night. However, we have yet to see the full impact of the Jackson reforms. With 2015 already presenting further challenges to litigators, we continue to attempt to navigate Jackson’s brave new world. So, five months into 2015, what developments should litigators be alive to? 

Courts, forms & procedure

As we know, in 2014, the rules changed so that only claims in excess of £100,000 could be issued in the High Court, leading to a lot of cases being transferred to the county courts. We are seeing many claims well in excess of the £100,000 threshold being transferred to the county court. All county court claims are now processed by a central

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Firm announces appointment of next chair

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Director joins corporate team from the US

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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