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The insider: 5 September 2025

05 September 2025 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8129 / Categories: Opinion , Consumer , Profession , Financial services litigation , Transport
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Dominic Regan reports on traffic jams in the county court, delays across the board & the headline action of 2026

The Justice Committee report on ‘Work of the County Court’, published at the end of July, did not pull any punches. ‘Dire’ and ‘dysfunctional’—and that was only page one! The inherent tendency to proceed in the High Court is utterly justifiable. The lower court is ‘chronically underfunded’—a condition I cannot see changing this decade.

Justice denied?

Delays are getting longer too. One fascinating anonymous submission of evidence appended to the Justice Committee’s report pointed out that claims brought by private parking companies swamp the court, with bulk litigation firms issuing approximately 8,000 claims a week, every week. Might the burden be alleviated by redirecting parking disputes to a traffic tribunal? A claimant on the current rules could secure a default judgment at a cost of £35, while a hapless defendant needs to lay out ten times as much to get a judgment set aside. This anomaly was

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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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