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14 November 2025 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8139 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Legal services , Costs , Fees
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The insider: 14 November 2025

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Mazur is still grabbing all the headlines. And rightly so, says Dominic Regan, amid rumblings that the decision was wrongly decided

There is more to litigation life than Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB), although it is impossible to avoid the torrent of material it continues to generate.

The decision is not being appealed. It is binding on masters and district judges. Regional Costs Judge Richard Lumb, speaking at the end of last month, explained that he was duty-bound to apply the decision, and said he had done so in a possession case before him where it was obvious from the costs schedule that a grade D fee earner had conducted throughout. Consequently, costs claimed in the region of £3,000 were not allowed. All that could be recovered were fixed costs which, inclusive of the court issue fee, came to less than £500.

Last week, I had the luxury of hosting a discussion about Mazur with Ben Williams KC of 4 New Square

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Sidley—James Inness

Sidley—James Inness

Partner joins capital markets team in London office

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Haynes Boone—William Cecil

Firm announces appointment of partner as UK general counsel

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Devonshires—Nicholas Barrows

Firm appoints first chief marketing officer to drive growth strategy

NEWS
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
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