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The insider: 26 January 2024

26 January 2024 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8056 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Costs , Constitutional law
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It’s all go in the world of civil litigation, writes Dominic Regan. But what happens when there’s no one at fault to foot the bill?

Nothing stands still in the world of civil litigation.

The elevation last month of Sir Peter Fraser to the Court of Appeal was well deserved and long overdue. His conduct of the notorious Bates and others v Post Office Ltd [2019] civil litigation was brilliant and I think I suggested back then that it alone warranted a place in the Court of Appeal. Fraser LJ is known to his colleagues as ‘Iron Man’ on account of his appetite for triathlons and endurance sports.

The Metropolitan Police has reported it is ‘investigating potential fraud offences’ arising out of the Post Office prosecutions in respect of ‘monies recovered from subpostmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions’. The sublime Tom Little KC of Deka Chambers has oversight of this exercise.

The new wave of King’s Counsel has been unveiled. I naively thought that elevation moved

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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
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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