The Times has an interesting piece today by Frances Gibb on legal costs. Its peg is a mammoth report on civil litigation from Lord Justice Jackson, the Court of Appeal judge. Among many proposals to deal with the soaring cost of going to law is one to end the centuries-old principle that the loser pays. As Gibb writes:
This should not be regarded as untouchable, [Jackson LJ] concludes, even if “complete abolition” is not on the cards. But, pointing out that the rule does not apply in other areas of litigation (such as tribunals) he suggests that there may be distinct areas where it could be scrapped, such as collective actions, which “merits serious consideration”, or personal injury claims where the losing defendant should not expect to recover all his costs. “Loser pays is not the only option,” he says.
Remarkable stuff, but it brings to mind a perhaps apocryphal story from Blade’s early days in the law. An associate at a leading City firm was not making his paymasters as much money as they’d hoped, because he refused to allow his clients to litigate. “It’s just a waste of money,” he would tell them, “even if you win, you still lose.” He would then point out things like the shortfall on taxation of costs, to be paid by a victorious client, which could run into thousands. “Don’t bother going to court,” was his unfailing advice.
He wasn’t long in the litigation, but perhaps he was onto something.
“Even if you win, you still lose” – image courtesy of A.J. French.
Unfortunately, one of the problem areas is personal injury litigation where, through a combination of “no win, no fee” agreements and legal expenses insurance, generally a successful claimant will not have to pay anything, win or lose. They therefore have no interest in the way costs are incurred or the litigation is conducted.
Something remarkable happened today. Yes, the Supreme Court launched its Twitter feed. It even has a Twitter policy, one of caveats, disclaimers and little by way of illumination but regardless: who would have thought that the successor body to the House of Lords would stoop to engage with the world of tweets, hashtags and retweets?
We look forward to the day when court business will be conducted via Twitter. Meantime, check out this link for an excellent blog on the Supreme Court.
So Farewell, then, Sir Fred Goodwin.
Now you are just Fred.
Not Right Said Fred, but plain Fred.
The Forfeiture Committee did for you.
No one had heard of it before,
But Dave said it had to act, and it did.
Trouble is that no one knows what to think.
Is it ‘Alas, poor Fred‘,
Or ‘Hurray! Sir Fred is dead!’?
We don’t know.
Do you?
By A. Mob, aged 1,378 and a half.
STOP PRESS:
Fed up with being stuck on the Thames in south-east England, London yesterday decided to move. In a dramatic gesture which augurs ill for the Olympics, the city upped sticks and relocated to East Anglia.
Lawyers were not consulted about the move, and the city’s precise motivation remains unclear. However, financiers fear that London’s decision is a sign that it wishes to downsize. Moreover, a source from London said: “We no longer want to be Britain’s seat of power. If the Scots can deregulate, why can’t we? East Anglia is a nice place where nothing happens. It’s time for a quiet life. Please respect our right to privacy.”
Elsewhere, Birmingham did not do anything, but Manchester was seen to be packing its bags. “There’s an opportunity for us,” said Manchester. “We can become London.”
East Anglia said: “We don’t mind. It’ll be refreshing to be associated with something other than fens and flatness.”
A cartologist at CNN, which broke the extraordinary news, was later fired.
Is there a geek inside all of us?
Excellent Nike ad
Memo to would-be hacks: good writing is no longer a tool of your trade
Released almost a year ago, Spada’s groundbreaking research report, British Professions Today, is available for free download
This bank is so well designed that many of its staff never go home (allegedly)
In the latest of our series of white papers, Spada Research examines trends in environmental reporting.
After a raft of phone-hacking admissions and allegations, we are no longer seen as the gruff but dependable watchdog. Neville Thurlbeck, formerly of the News of the World (part of his Damascene conversion; to be continued).