All Articles

Below is a comprehensive list of all the articles I have published. If you prefer, you can see them listed by categories on the following pages

Professional negligence

Costs

Litigation and procedure

QOCS and setting off costs orders
December 29, 2021
QOCS and setting off costs orders
QOCS and setting off costs orders: the Supreme Court’s decision in Ho v Adelekun Introduction The Supreme Court gave judgment recently in the case of Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43. The judgment and other information about the case may be found on the Supreme Court’s website. In proceedings to which Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting […]
Deliberate concealment in limitation
May 17, 2019
Deliberate concealment in limitation
I have previously given an overview of limitation periods in professional negligence claims, indeed it is that article which consistently records the most traffic on my website. That article briefly touched on the issue of deliberate concealment. As I am often asked to advise about it, in this article I consider in some more detail […]
Default Costs Certificates and Interim Costs Certificates
February 3, 2019
Default Costs Certificates and Interim Costs Certificates
This article on Default Costs Certificates and Interim Costs Certificates supplements another article on payments on account of costs . In that  article I have explained the procedure by which a successful party who is awarded costs in litigation may obtain a  payment on account of costs under CPR 44.2(8), until the total amount of the costs […]
Part 36 offers: what type of settlement offer should I make?
January 24, 2019
Part 36 offers: what type of settlement offer should I make?
This article was co-written with my chambers colleague Hannah Daly. In it, we consider the pros and cons of different types of without prejudice settlement offers, following a decision on claimants’ Part 36 offers in JLE v Warrington & Halton Hospitals NHS.   We are often asked by professional and lay clients to advise on making “without […]
Wellbeing, mental health, and lawyers’ duties
November 17, 2018
Wellbeing, mental health, and lawyers’ duties
Wellbeing and mental health for lawyers: what the Divisional Court’s decision in SRA v Sovani James tells us: some reasons for optimism On 13 November 2018 the Administrative Court handed down judgment in three appeals by the Solicitors Regulation Authority:  SRA v Sovani James, SRA v Esteddar MacGregor, SRA v Peter Naylor [2018] EWHC 3058 […]
Stay of proceedings before serving a claim form
October 20, 2018
Stay of proceedings before serving a claim form
What should claimants do when limitation is about to expire?  This article, co-written with my 4 New Square colleague Hannah Daly, notes the recent Court of Appeal decision in Grant v Dawn Meats (UK) and considers the options open to Claimants, including seeking a stay. When things go wrong in this situation, the courts always say […]
The Arkin cap – are its days numbered?
October 6, 2018
The Arkin cap – are its days numbered?
The Arkin cap has come to be seen as increasingly unfashionable, and a forthcoming hearing may provide some indication of the prospects of it being consigned to the back of the wardrobe of history. Where a claim backed by litigation funding fails, the funder may be susceptible to a non-party costs order in favour of […]
Expert evidence: how the court decides between experts
September 24, 2018
Expert evidence: how the court decides between experts
This article looks at expert evidence, as considered in the case of Close Brothers Ltd v AIS (Marine) 2 Ltd (in liquidation) and another.This is a version of my article which was first published by Lexis Nexis in September 2018 What are the practical implications of the judgment? In the particular context of a mortgaged […]
In-house legal costs
September 17, 2018
In-house legal costs
In-house legal costs in principle In this article I consider the recovery of in-house legal costs of an organisation other than one which conducts legal business. I will start by referring to the caselaw which establishes that in principle the costs of time spent by in-house legal staff is recoverable. In Henderson v Merthyr Tydfil […]
Sanctions for failure to mediate
September 1, 2018
Sanctions for failure to mediate
For lawyers, one of the notable features of the judgment in the Charlie Gard case was the ringing endorsement of mediation in such sensitive family cases. What have other courts said recently to encourage mediation in commercial and costs cases? “I recognise, of course, that negotiating issues such as the life or death of a […]
Lawyers professional negligence claims and expert evidence
August 4, 2018
Lawyers professional negligence claims and expert evidence
What caught my eye about this judgment was the comment about the need for expert evidence to establish breach of duty in a lawyers professional negligence case: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2018/2034.htm The claim was always going to be a tall order, alleging negligence by leading firm Leigh Day, which had in turn instructed eminent leading counsel, in its representation […]
Japanese Knotweed: legal claims: nuisance, negligence and misrepresentation
July 25, 2018
Japanese Knotweed: legal claims: nuisance, negligence and misrepresentation
In this article I consider the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed and some of the types of legal claims that can be made, in the light of some recent court decisions. Description Fallopia Japonica is a large herbaceous perennial of the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. It has a number of common names, often related […]
solicitors successfully resist disclosure of files in costs proceedings
March 29, 2018
solicitors successfully resist disclosure of files in costs proceedings
Riaz v Ashwood: the latest decision in a cluster of applications by clients seeking disclosure of their former solicitors’ file.  Master James has noted that courts are receiving a large and increasing number of these types of claims; the increase was attributed to a new business model by which new lawyers seek to challenge the […]
A costly slice of the cake? Litigation funders and security for costs
March 17, 2018
A costly slice of the cake? Litigation funders and security for costs
  If a defendant is successful in defending a claim brought with the assistance of litigation funders who had an interest in the litigation, that defendant can apply under section 51 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 for a non-party costs order against the litigation funders. A recent example of such a non-party costs order […]
Legal costs and cashflow: payments on account of costs
February 24, 2018
Legal costs and cashflow: payments on account of costs
If you win your civil litigation case, or indeed are successful on an interim application, you will normally be entitled to an order for legal costs in your favour against the other side. But it may take some time to recover them, which will affect your cashflow. For that reason it is important to consider […]
Disclosure and privilege in detailed costs assessments
January 18, 2018
Disclosure and privilege in detailed costs assessments
Lawyers who are regularly involved in detailed assessment proceedings will be familiar with the way that the Senior Courts Costs Office and other courts deal with issues of disclosure and privilege. For those less familiar with it, I start by describing the typical practice, before moving on to a round-up of recent caselaw which I […]
Disputo ergo sum: I submit therefore I am
January 14, 2018
Disputo ergo sum: I submit therefore I am
A short post on why barristers in court make “submissions” rather than telling the judge what they think. When I underwent my induction into the world of mooting and when I received advocacy training at law school, one of the first points drummed into us was that your arguments are to be introduced with “I […]
Top 10 Courtroom dogs
January 5, 2018
Top 10 Courtroom dogs
My younger daughter is obsessed by dogs – she really does live and breathe them. She told me the other day I should liven up my lecture slides with some cute photos of dogs. She may have a point, but I wasn’t sure that they could be justified on grounds of relevance. I’ve realised that I […]
Relief from sanctions and court correspondence
November 28, 2017
Relief from sanctions and court correspondence
The judgment of Coulson J given today in Freeborn v Marcal [2017] EWHC 3046 (TCC) encourages careful consideration of whether or not to insist on an application for relief from sanctions. The Defendant served its costs budget fewer than 21 days before the CMC, being the time limit which applies by virtue of the current version of […]
Why not hire a “McKenzie Friend” instead?
September 30, 2017
Why not hire a “McKenzie Friend” instead?
WHY NOT HIRE A MCKENZIE FRIEND INSTEAD OF A DIRECT ACCESS BARRISTER? What is a direct access barrister? Members of the public can now instruct a barrister for their case without needing to go through a solicitor. This can lead to a substantial saving in legal fees: you can read more here https://verycivilbarrister.co.uk/direct-access. What is a […]
Solicitor Client Assessments – a warning
September 30, 2017
Solicitor Client Assessments – a warning
This is the text of an article published in the September 2017 PIC Costs Specialists Magazine Recently, I have seen a number of commentators noting an increase in the number of solicitor/client assessments. This is to be expected in straitened economic conditions, and as consumers become more aware of their rights through the publicity given […]
The proposed new intermediate track for civil litigation
September 27, 2017
The proposed new intermediate track for civil litigation
Note: This blog post, looking at the impact for direct access clients of the proposed new intermediate track for civil claims worth between £25,000 and £100,000, was published on the Bar Council’s Direct Access Portal on 27 September 2017 Background: the existing litigation tracks Under the existing civil procedure regime, most civil claims are allocated to one of […]
Relief from sanctions: 10 trends, tips and thoughts
September 19, 2017
Relief from sanctions: 10 trends, tips and thoughts
Relief from sanctions: 10 trends, tips and thoughts from the trenches This feels like an appropriate time to reflect on my experiences arguing dozens of these relief from sanctions applications in a range of different courts. It has been a little over 4 years since the revision to CPR 3.9 which refined the test for […]
My top 10 tips to get the most from Direct Access
August 13, 2017
My top 10 tips to get the most from Direct Access
  Here are my top ten tips to help you get the most out of direct access: 1. Think carefully about whether any alternative sources of funding might be available to you, such as legal aid or insurance cover such as legal expenses provided by a household insurance policy. Legal aid for the types of […]
Professional negligence limitation periods
August 13, 2017
Professional negligence limitation periods
Here I discuss professional negligence limitation periods. Limitation should be one of the first things you discuss with your direct access barrister. You really do not want to find you have left it too late to bring your civil claim so that it is now time barred.  professional negligence limitation periods claims (and those for […]
Sanctions for failure to mediate
August 9, 2017
Sanctions for failure to mediate
Any direct access barrister worth his salt should be willing to explain mediation and explore it with the client. If the other party is not willing to engage in mediation, recent cases may be used to increase the pressure. For lawyers, one of the notable features of the judgment in the Charlie Gard case was […]
Limitation in a lender’s claim
July 18, 2017
Limitation in a lender’s claim
In Toombs v Bridging Loans Limited LTL 14.11.14 I successfully acted for a surveyor/valuer in disposing, on appeal, of a claim against him on limitation grounds. HHJ Seymour QC’s decision addresses important issues such the burden of proof, whether strike out or summary judgment is more appropriate, and what constitutes damage for the purposes of […]
CFAs and a newspaper’s right to freedom of expression
July 18, 2017
CFAs and a newspaper’s right to freedom of expression
This is the text of an interview I gave for Lexis Nexis on the effect of the Supreme Court decision in 8 Representative Claimants and others v MGN Ltd [2016] EWHC 855 (Ch). Are conditional fee agreements in libel cases consistent with a newspaper’s right to freedom of expression?  8 Representative Claimants and others v MGN Ltd […]
Legal costs: making genuine Part 36 Offers
July 18, 2017
Legal costs: making genuine Part 36 Offers
Part 36 Offers are a very important aspect of legal costs as I have written separately https://verycivilbarrister.co.uk/legal-costs-part-36-offers. This article contains the text of a lecture I gave at a 4 New Square costs event, and an article published in Eversheds’ in house costs magazine. It considers the requirement that a Part 36 Offer must be […]
A solicitor’s duty to give commercial advice
July 18, 2017
A solicitor’s duty to give commercial advice
It is often stated that a solicitor does not any duty to give advice on commercial matters. In this lecture delivered at 4 New Square’s 2016 professional liability conference, I examine whether that statement accurately describes the law.   The problem which I am going to be discussing is one which is easy to describe, […]
QOCS update
July 18, 2017
QOCS update
Here is my roundup of some recent cases on QOCS. As everyone knows, that acronym is the accepted, if inelegant, term for Qualified One Way Costs Shifting, the measures in CPR 44.13 – 17 designed to afford some protection to personal injury claimants from the risk of an adverse costs order, as a quid pro […]
Best price reasonably obtainable – what it means for receivers
July 18, 2017
Best price reasonably obtainable – what it means for receivers
I acted for a bank in successfully defending at trial a claim that it had sold a repossessed property at an undervalue: Aodhcon v Bridgeco [2014] EWHC 535 (Ch). The duty on receivers is analogous to the duty on mortgagees, and in this article published by Lexis PSL I draw on the caselaw to provide practical advice for […]
legal desk and textbook photo
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