header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
05 June 2014 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7609 / Categories: Opinion , Procedure & practice , Costs
printer mail-detail

Mitchell: cut out & keep

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
web_lawintheheadlines_mitchell-cut-out-keep_regan

Dominic Regan provides a self-help guide post-Mitchell

No procedural decision has created so much pain and paranoia as that of Lord Dyson MR in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, [2014] 2 All ER 430. What follows are a few suggestions which will help litigators sleep at night:

  1. When first instructed by any client write and emphasise that you must have their full and immediate cooperation throughout. Otherwise, there will be a real danger that, no matter how strong their case, it could be dismissed for failure to abide by court orders and deadlines. It would be prudent to convey the same message to your experts as well.
  2. If claimant, only issue, subject to limitation, when comfortable. Do not rush into proceedings when ill-prepared. You need to be in control and on top of each matter. When proposing directions build in a layer of breathing space. Do not be over-optimistic about how quickly steps can be taken.
If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Speechlive LogoClick to know more
Browne Jacobson—Vicky Tomlinson

Browne Jacobson—Vicky Tomlinson

Browne Jacobson appoints Vicky Tomlinson as Head of Independent Health and Care

DWF—five appointments

DWF—five appointments

DWF further strengthens major injury and casualty offering with new partner and four directors from DAC Beachcroft

Switalskis—Laura Ornsby

Switalskis—Laura Ornsby

Switalskis strengthens Grimsby child care team

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Auditors tighten the disclosure screws
The Financial Reporting Council’s revised Audit Enforcement Procedure will alter the balance of power in corporate investigations
NLJ this week: Telecoms tenants caught in a legal gap
A telecoms operator may be able to hold over under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, yet still be unable to secure a renewal: an outcome described as a legal ‘paradox’
NLJ this week: Due process holds the line

Safety fears do not automatically justify shutting an interested person out of a statutory will application

NLJ this week: Credit law’s regulatory reset
Consumer credit law is heading for its biggest shake-up in 50 years, with the Consumer Credit Act 1974 set to yield much of its detailed statutory machinery to FCA rules
NLJ this week: Employment law’s four-point check
The Supreme Court has settled a long-running dispute over part-time workers: unfavourable treatment need be a significant or effective cause, not the sole cause
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll