header-logo header-logo

A sea change

07 February 2014 / Nicholas Heaton
Issue: 7593 / Categories: Features , Litigation trends
printer mail-detail

 Will Mitchell herald a whole new culture of conducting civil litigation, asks Nicholas Heaton

Commentators on the Court of Appeal’s decision in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, [2013] All ER (D) 314 (Nov) have so far focused on the justice or otherwise of the decision, or on its importance in terms of the rules on costs budgeting. In time, however, the Mitchell decision may be seen as the catalyst for something far more ground-breaking: a whole new culture of conducting civil litigation. The case may allow the Jackson reforms to achieve something that the Woolf reforms did not manage—a more general understanding that the rules are there to be obeyed.

Power of the courts

One of the key innovations in the Woolf reforms was that responsibility and control of litigation would shift from the litigants and their legal advisers to the courts. A range of case management powers was duly included in the new Civil Procedure Rules, the idea being that judges would fix and enforce strict timetables for procedural steps leading

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

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

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
back-to-top-scroll