In a dramatic climbdown, the Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling has agreed that extension of the RTA portal to higher-value motor and employer’s and public claims will now not happen in April 2013.
Read the full Litigation Futures article here.
Neil joins after 9 years experience with another leading costs drafting firm where he gained considerable experience in both commercial costs disputes and personal injury CFA funded work. He is also widely experienced in attending detailed assessments both at the SCCO and county courts.
Sir Vivian Ramsey, the judge leading the implementation of the Jackson Reforms, is to become the new Honorary President of the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL). Mr Justice Ramsey will take up his post with immediate effect for a period of three years.
He replaces renowned Costs Lawyer Michael Bacon, who retired in May.
Sir Vivian Ramsey will work closely with the ACL’s chairman, Murray Heining, to promote the role of Costs Lawyers and support the activities of the ACL in the post-Jackson era.
Mr Justice Ramsey said:
“I am delighted and honoured to have been asked to become the ACL’s Honorary President. These are challenging times for the members of the ACL as they deal with the impact of the Jackson reforms. I am sure that my involvement with them will be of mutual benefit as the reforms are implemented.”
Murray Heining, chairman of the ACL, said:
“It is real honour for the ACL to have someone of Mr Justice Ramsey’s status working with us and is recognition of how far the ACL has come. The costs landscape has changed dramatically in the past year; the need for expert advice is greater than ever as solicitors get to grips with the Jackson reforms, and particularly with preparing budgets, so it is essential that we continue to ensure the profession puts the recovery of their costs in the hands of regulated and qualified people.”
The government has today finally unveiled its long-awaited consultation paper on increasing the small claims limit for road traffic personal injury cases from £1,000 to £5,000.
We are proud to welcome our latest team member, Joanna Sinfield. Joanna qualified as a solicitor in 1995 and was in private practice until November 2007. She has been involved in all areas of costs drafting and negotiation since August 2006 with a particular interest and specialism for personal injury CFA funded work.
The Civil Procedure and Rules Committee have launched a public consultation into costs budgeting and costs management.
A sub-committee chaired by Coulson J will meet on 10 and 16 July 2013 to consider:
- the desirability of retaining the Admiralty and Commercial Courts’ blanket exception to the mandatory requirement to produce costs budgets at CPR Part 3.12(1)
- the current value-based exception for the TCC, the Chancery Division and the Mercantile Courts; and
- whether or to what extent Part 8 claims (including Judicial Review) should be excluded from the mandatory costs budgeting regime.
The sub-committed will also consider whether any other claims currently within the mandatory costs budgeting regime should be exempted. The aim is to produce a new definitive rule for inclusion in the CPR to replace the existing rule 3.12(1) with its reference to exemptions from mandatory costs budgeting as defined in directions made by the President of the Queen’s Bench Division and the Chancellor of the High Court.
Particiapation is invited and the closing date for written representations is 20 July 2013.
See the Consultation Paper.
An e-petition against the government’s proposals regarding fixed recoverable costs in personal injury claims has been created here. It closes on 28 November 2013.
In September 2008 we opened our second office in Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire. This has given us the additional space to allow us to take on new clients while maintaining and further enhancing our service levels.
The Civil Justice Council Costs Committee has released a synopsis of its second meeting which took place on 6 June 2013 to start work on its review of the guideline hourly rates.
The discussions centred on eight surveys, including the Firms’ Finance Survey 2011 and the Practising Certificate Holders Survey 2012. It was agreed that the work of the Committee should focus first on the four different groups of data required relating to expense of time, namely:
- Grade of fee earner and region
- Salary for each level offee earner
- Chargeable hours perfee earner/region
- Overhead costs, allocated per fee earner/region.
The synopsis said that using regularly conducted surveys had the advantage of allowing the benchmark for salaries, chargeable hours and overheads to be reassessed as those surveys were repeated in future years.
Having worked out the costings under these headings, the Committee will move onto the more sensitive task of factoring in a suitable profit margin. The Committee also discussed the possible availability of data from other sources,such as CILEX,the ABI and others.
The next tasks of the Committee will be to agree the contents of its own survey, and the method of inviting the submission of evidence from bodies such asthe LSLA, APIL, MASS, FOIL and NHSLA, and to consider ways of encouraging as wide a response as possible from solicitors’ firms.
The Committee aims to meet again in late July.
Further details of how the Jackson reforms are to be implemented have been released by the government.
The reforms will be implemented in April 2013 through Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (the Act), and associated orders and regulations and changes to the Civil Procedure Rules, subject to a delayed implementation for mesothelioma claims, which will not come into effect until a review has been undertaken, and insolvency claims, which will not come into effect until April 2015). In short:
CFAs / ATE
The Act will abolish the recovery of success fees and after the event (ATE) insurance premiums from the losing side.
ATE in Clinical Negligence Cases
The provisions in the Act allow a limited exception in respect of clinical negligence cases where ATE insurance premiums relating to expert reports will remain recoverable.
25% cap on success fees
The success fee in personal injury cases will be subject to a cap of 25% of damages (subject to this amount not exceeding the regulatory maximum of 100% of base costs), excluding damages for future care and loss.
DBAs
The Act will allow the use of damages-based agreements (DBAs) in all areas of civil litigation. There will be a 25% cap on the amount of damages, excluding damages for future care and loss, that can be taken as the lawyer’s fee under a DBA in personal injury cases. For all other cases under a DBA in civil litigation the cap will be 50%, save for cases in the Employment Tribunal where this is aready set at 35%.
10% increase in non-pecuniary general damages
There is to be a 10% increase in non-pecuniary general damages such as for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, which it is said will help balance the impact of the CFA changes. See Simmons v Castle.
QOCS
A system of qualified one way costs shifting (QOCS) in personal injury cases will be introduced so that claimants conducting their case properly will not have to pay towards defendants’ costs if the claim fails.
Increased sanctions under Part 36
The sanctions under Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules are being reformed in order to encourage early settlement.
Proportionality
There will be a new stricter rule on proportionality, to be set out in Rule 44.4(5) (recently unveiled by Lord Neuberger) as such…
44.4(5) Costs incurred are proportionate if they bear a reasonable relationship to:
(a) the sums in issue in the proceedings;
(b) the value of any non-monetary relief in issue in the proceedings;
(c) the complexity of the litigation;
(d) any additional work generated by the conduct of the paying party; and
(e) any wider factors involved in the proceedings, such as reputation or public importance.’
Referral fees
The Act prohibits the payment or receipt of referral fees in personal injury cases.
RTA Scheme
It is intended that existing RTA PI scheme be increased from £10k to £25k and expanded to cover employers’ liability and public liability claims.