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The insider: 14 June 2024

14 June 2024 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8075 / Categories: Opinion , Public , Litigation funding , Profession , Costs
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Legislature reforms bite the dust, the judges who are happy with their lot, and a lack of costs transparency causes chagrin. Dominic Regan brings us up to date

The impending general election has seen off for now legislation that was in the pipeline. The Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill, designed to reverse the unhelpful PACCAR decision of 2023, has fallen away. Promised measures to bring in fixed costs on settlement for unissued clinical negligence cases worth up to £25,000 have also bitten the dust. In truth, the measures were inchoate. They were still a work in progress, despite an ambitious declaration that they would be introduced in October. Lord Justice Birss was troubled by what had been drafted.

Matthew Maxwell Scott of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations understands the intricate workings of the legislature and tipped me off last January about purdah. The announcement of an election means that the civil service pauses all but essential work and it eventually occurred to me that reforms to be delivered

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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
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
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
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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
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