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Reading, writing… hold the arithmetic

05 May 2021 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7931 / Categories: Features , Costs , Procedure & practice
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Numerical nightmares & conjured-up counterclaims: Dominic Regan counts the costs of some headline headaches

Many an innumerate lawyer will admit that they chose their profession—or it chose them—because they were terrified of accountancy. Nevertheless, numbers big and small are the stock in trade of law. What follows are the numbers that have caught my eye over the years.

£453,576,152 was awarded to Mrs Akhmedova in December 2016, following her divorce from a Russian oligarch. He has not paid up, and we have just seen the claimant secure an award of £75m against her son, who was found to have helped his father put assets beyond the reach of his mother (Akhmedova v Akhmedov and others [2021] EWHC 545 (Fam)).

£104,707,772.72 was largest ever known bill of costs and the subject of appeal in Motto v Trafigura Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 1150, [2011] All ER (D) 138 (Oct). Lord Neuberger, then Master of the Rolls, noted at para [26] of the judgment that the defendant was ‘dismayed’ to be presented

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NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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