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The insider: 9 June 2023

09 June 2023 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8028 / Categories: Opinion , Costs , Procedure & practice , Personal injury
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Ring the bells & sound the drums: the fixed costs rules are almost here. Dominic Regan provides the lowdown on what to expect & how to prepare

At long last the definitive fixed costs rules were published at the end of last month. With the accompanying Practice Direction they run to 107 pages. While not effective until 1 October, palpable anxiety is already coursing through the legal profession.

Time to act

The impact of the rules will vary, depending upon the subject matter of the claim. If it is for personal injury, the measures will only apply where the cause of action accrued on or after 1 October. For disease cases, it is the date of the letter of claim which is decisive—so the well-organised will ensure that it is dispatched before then.

For all other cases, the rules will apply to everything issued from October. Again, there is time to act and issue promptly so as to lawfully evade the changes which will inevitably reduce fee income.

Those

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