Lord Justice Jackson’s review of litigation costs will presumably cover a wide range of subjects from rules and procedures, to the actual practice in the courts, to the better use of technology, to training matters and beyond.
One of the most important and complex areas will be the various ways by which litigation is funded – contingency fees, costs-capping, and costs-shifting all have policy implications beyond the specifics of the actual arrangements made with parties. An interesting development is after-the-event insurance which is attracting interest and which raises issues of its own.
An article on the Lawyer web site this morning Jackson LJ drafted in to investigate litigation costs 10 years after Woolf mainly concerns this aspect, reporting that Lord Justice Jackson has already been to see Bob Musgrove, Chief Executive of the Civil Justice Council. The CJC has a strong focus on the subject, with a report on the contingency fees model due out shortly.
The Lawyer article includes a summary of other reviews and studies on the broad topic of litigation fees and costs.
My thanks to Jonathan Maas of DLA Piper UK LLP for drawing my attention to this article within two hours of its publication. It is extremely helpful to be tipped off about wider sources.
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