WHAT DO WE DO?

The Association has a long and successful history of identifying and representing its members' interests. It sponsors wide consultation and input to a process of reaching conclusions which have been at the forefront of debate in the field of civil litigation over many decades.

The Association fosters its close working relationships and links with all participants involved in the management and reform of the unified civil code affecting litigators, with particular reference to the interests of litigators in London.

By way of illustration, before the LSLA became heavily involved in the Woolf consultation process, it published a paper in 1991 proposing what was then a revolutionary concept of having different "tiers" of entry into litigation, applying different "levels of formality", an idea that has evolved into the system of "tracks" now enshrined in the CPR.

More recently, the LSLA has produced papers assisting with the debate on the Supreme Court, the QC system, judicial appointments system, various aspects of the costs regime, and ADR. In addition, it has been at the forefront of the initiative to develop a new Commercial Court and has recently set up an IT working group comprised of representatives form the Bar Council, COMBAR, the Chancery Bar Association, TECSA and City firms to work with the DCA in presenting proposals to achieve the objective of IT resourcing in the civil courts.

The Association is regularly consulted by the DCA, the Law Society, the Civil Justice Council and the Supreme Court Costs Office, to mention but a few. Members benefit enormously from this breadth of exposure.