London Solicitors Litigation Association

Welcome to our newsletter which contains details of some of our most recent and future activities and issues which might affect you. For more details please visit our website by clicking here.

LSLA News
Invitation to Members to Join the LSLA Committee
We asked last month if you were interested in joining our committee. We have an active committee and are always keen to hear our members’ views. If you are interested in joining please contact our President, David Greene, at david.greene@edwincoe.com

Spring Lecture Series
Full details of our Spring Lecture Series have been circulated to members. In case you missed them the lectures planned are:

• Tuesday 28 April 2009 Tim Dutton QC “The Aftermath: The Legal Profession after the Credit Crisis”
• Wednesday 20 May 2009 Jonathan Crow QC “Business as usual for Company Directors?”

All the lectures are CPD accredited. To book a ticket please visit our website by clicking here.

LSLA Annual Dinner – 17 November 2009
Please remember to make a diary note to keep 17 November 2009 free for our Annual Dinner.

Legal News

Lord Justice Jackson’s Costs Review
As members will know, Lord Justice Jackson is undertaking a comprehensive review of the costs of civil proceedings, looking at such fundamental questions as:

• whether the costs shifting rule (ie the loser pays rule) should be abolished;
• whether contingency fees should be permitted; and
• whether changes should be made to our disclosure rules so that there is no automatic disclosure of adverse documents.

On 9th February the LSLA convened a special meeting with Lord Justice Jackson to enable members to put their views in person to the judge. During the course of the meeting, the judge canvassed a number of issues and conducted straw polls on certain points. For the benefit of those unable to attend we subsequently conducted a survey of members on a number of the key points arising. A copy of the results of the survey is attached.

The LSLA is in perhaps a unique position to provide feedback given the wide diversity of its membership and hence those responding to the survey. Just over a quarter of those responding are in firms with 10 or fewer partners with just over a third of respondents from firms with over 51 partners.

As can be seen from the survey results, a large majority of the respondents were against abolishing the costs shifting rule (86.4%) but opinion was more divided over contingency fees with 70.4% in favour in some circumstances. Over half, 60%, agreed that disproportionate costs are spent on disclosure but the answer to this was not thought to be putting a stop to automatic disclosure of adverse documents (70% against). The problems with summary assessment have been widely commented on but the majority it seems would like to see the system retained (62.8%) albeit 39.7% believe it needs to be improved.

We have provided the results of the survey to Lord Justice Jackson and await with interest his interim report due on 8th May.

[click here to view LSLA Survey Responses]

Consultation Paper on Mandatory Accreditation for Higher Court Advocates
On 21 January 2009 the Solicitors Regulation Authority issued a consultation paper on Solicitor Higher Court Advocates – Proposal for Mandatory Re-Accreditation. A copy of the consultation paper is available from the SRA’s website (www.sra.org.uk) and a copy of the LSLA’s repose is available from its website.

In our response, we submitted that the LSLA did not think that mandatory re-accreditation for all solicitor advocates on a periodic basis (or otherwise) should be undertaken. It was thought that the public would expect the Regulator to ensure that Solicitor-Advocates have been properly assessed before they are accredited.

Consultation Paper on Controlling Costs in Defamation
Following earlier consultations, the Ministry of Justice has issued a consultation paper, which is available on its website (www.justice.gov.uk). The paper contains “proposals for a scheme of staged recoverable success fees and after the event insurance (ATE) premiums in publication proceedings to reduce unreasonable and disproportionate costs. A number of media organisations responding to that consultation suggested additional measures that they considered necessary if costs in this area were to be maintained at reasonable levels. These included, in particular, costs capping in all publication proceedings and the introduction of fixed hourly rates recoverable from the losing party. Further representations were made in response to the recent consultation on new costs capping rules conducted on behalf of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee.

“The paper seeks views on measures to control costs better in this area, taking account of the proposals submitted by media organisations and other interested parties in response to earlier consultations. These measures are:
A. Limiting recoverable hourly rates;
B. Mandatory costs capping or consideration of costs capping;
C. Linking recoverability of ATE Insurance premiums to notification to the other party and introducing a period of non-recoverability post notification; and
D. Requiring the proportionality of total costs to be considered on cost assessments conducted by the court."

The LSLA is preparing a response, the deadline for which is 6 May 2009. If you would like to contribute, please contact Richard Langley at richardlangley@bdb-law.co.uk .

Consultation Paper on Fees in the
United Kingdom Supreme Court
The Ministry of Justice has also issued a consultation paper on the system of fees and concessions for civil and devolution cases in the Supreme Court, after it becomes operational in October 2009.

As the level of fees charged materially affects access to justice, this is an important consultation and the LSLA is seeking assistance in preparing its response to be filed before 5 May.

It is anticipated that it will cost in the region of £6.6 million to run the Supreme Court. The level of fees proposed reflects the requirement to increase income to maintain the Court. Figures proposed include £800 to file an application for permission to appeal, £180 to file Notice of Objection and £4,820 upon filing statement and appendix/filing notice of appeal is ready to list.

We would welcome your views. Please contact, Seamus Smyth on seamussmyth@cartercamerons.com

Civil Procedure Rules Committee
Nick Burkhill retired from the Rules Committee last year. Andrew Parker will be retiring in August this year. The vacancy left by Andrew will be advertised by the Ministry of Justice in due course.

Laurence Collins
On 8 April 2009, it was announced that the Honourable Mr Justice Laurence Collins will replace Lord Hoffmann (who retires on 20 April 2009) as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He is the first solicitor to be appointed to these senior levels of the judiciary.

Recent Press
Committee Members of the LSLA and the LSLA itself have appeared in several recent articles including:

• Solicitors Journal, 31 March 2009 - “The Recovery Position” by Georgina Squire
• Legal Week, 2 April 2009 “Dispute resolution: Fresh Challenges for London Arbitration” – by David Green (click here to open the page)
• The Guardian, 6 April 2009 – “Critics Warn over increase in Private Cover to Plug Civil Legal Aid Gap”