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- Relativity Predictions Webinar – Q1 2023
- Revisiting useful old judgments: deleted messages and adverse inferences
- Ireland’s Legal Tech Conference 2022 on 29 November in Dublin
- AI and Data Management lead the story at Relativity Fest
- A full agenda at Relativity Fest from 26-28 October in Chicago and online
- Wrapping up two UK disclosure cases which caught the public eye
- Farewell to Charles Christian, who brought legal technology to lawyers
- Interlocutory orders and contempt – the “burn it” judgment
- Relativity acquires Heretik for contract review and intelligence
- Cabo Concepts v MGA – lack of disclosure supervision brings indemnity costs order
- A glut of disclosure stories just as I turn my back
- Disclosure duties and audit – not as easy as some may think
- Everlaw Clustering: making eDiscovery enjoyable
- In discovery as in life – explosive reactions when social media posts come to light
- Johnson and Arcuri and the missing documents
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Category Archives: Civil justice
Cicayda helps law students build apps for access to justice and this may benefit all of us
What connects a law school course run by a Nashville-based eDiscovery software company and a legal expert systems company with a UK report on access to justice? And what has any of these to do with the recruitment of young people … Continue reading
The Jackson consultation responses pull no punches but Grayling and the MoJ will ignore them
There is a palpable sense that civil justice in the UK has plunged off a cliff in the short time since the implementation of the Jackson reforms. A few of the responses to the Civil Justice Council’s consultation have been … Continue reading
A reporting hiatus in a bustling eDiscovery / eDisclosure world
You may have noticed that my written output has slowed down a little recently. Before somebody writes in to ask why (they do, you know) it may be worth giving a few lines of explanation. Put briefly, UK procedural developments … Continue reading
Posted in Civil justice, Courts, CPR, Discovery, eDisclosure, eDiscovery, Electronic disclosure
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Judicial re-examination of Jackson changes is unsurprising
Mr Justice Ramsey, the judge charged with overseeing the implementation of the civil procedure changes known collectively as “the Jackson reforms” has been out giving interviews in which he makes it clear that the reforms face a review. The Litigation … Continue reading
Posted in Civil justice, Costs Management, Court Rules, CPR, Jackson Reforms, Judges
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Harsh or just tough? Penalty for failure to comply with Jackson procedural obligations
When I first set up a web site devoted (as it was then) to UK civil procedure, and specifically the key discovery aspects of case management, I put out a general plea for anecdotal information about the outcomes of case … Continue reading
Posted in Civil justice, Court Rules, CPR, eDisclosure, Electronic disclosure, Jackson Reforms
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MoJ Consultation on Civil Justice and Bash-a-Burglar: every man for himself replaces access to justice
Lady Hale’s speech on access to justice, the government’s “bash a burglar” scheme, issuing proceedings in Salford, competition from Singapore for dispute resolution as well as banking, eDisclosure and hoods packing heat – all in 2,000 words. A Ministry of … Continue reading
Lord Justice Jackson fights for his costs reforms
An article published yesterday in the Solicitors Journal is headed Jackson LJ demands his reforms are implemented in full. It draws attention to a letter from Lord Justice Jackson, the author of last year’s Litigation Costs Review, to Justice Secretary … Continue reading
A week of law, justice and public opinion
Last week saw the mobilisation of a large body of opinion via Twitter in support of the airport “joker” Paul Chambers. If we cannot exactly claim success, we have at least seen how quickly a mass protest can pick up. … Continue reading
Posted in Civil justice, Civil Liberties, Twitter
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Standards and outcomes: Hitler, the NHS, the police, social workers – and e-Disclosure
My heading, I appreciate, looks like the components of some random word game. There is in fact a connection, and it is to do with the supremacy of result over procedure and of destination over the journey. Hitler, the NHS … Continue reading
Moving forward on all fronts
I am off today to record a podcast for CPDCast about the e-Disclosure components of Lord Justice Jackson’s report. You may recall that I was booked to do this on the day before the Civil Procedure Rule Committee met to … Continue reading
Containing the interest in the eDisclosure Practice Direction and ESI Questionnaire
There has been much interest in the draft eDisclosure Practice Direction and the Questionnaire which forms part of it. Lawyers and education providers keep asking for a sight of it. Lord Justice Jackson commended it. Rule-makers in other jurisdictions have … Continue reading
NLJ Jackson litigation costs webcast still available
The technical difficulties with the New Law Journal’s free Jackson webcast derived, apparently, from the best of reasons – a very large number of people wanted to watch it (that is what happens when the Dale publicity machine gets going … Continue reading
First thoughts on the eDisclosure implications of the Jackson Report
The sections relating to disclosure and e-disclosure in the Jackson Report are a call to action for lawyers and judges without waiting for any actual amendment to the Rules. The key element which Jackson identifies is education, and we can … Continue reading
Spitting on the deck of the CPR
Unintended consequences are not necessarily unforeseeable. It was wholly predictable that the pre-issue obligations of the 1999 Civil Procedure Rules would shift the battleground to the front end of the litigation, and with obvious consequences in costs. As with the … Continue reading
Scottish Civil Courts Review
One of my aims this evening was to knock out a few words on those parts of the newly-published Report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review as relate to case management and disclosure of documents, before moving on to one … Continue reading
Posted in Access to Justice, Civil justice, Court Rules, Courts, Judges, Scottish Courts
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Technology and constitutional protection at the Supreme Court
Readers will know that the defence of our democratic rights vies for my attention with efficient case management and the use of technology in litigation. The new Supreme Court combines both of these interests. There is a story of a … Continue reading
Judicial College gives hope of e-disclosure training
Today’s Times reports on the launch of a new Judicial College which will give judges the opportunity to top up their skills and keep up to date with developments in the law, practice and procedure. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord … Continue reading
The CPR were a product of their time. That time has gone.
If I were peddling porn or a political party, I would gauge the success of this site by the number of hits each day. I am content enough with that indicator, but what is more interesting to me are comments … Continue reading
Posted in Access to Justice, Civil justice, Court Rules, CPR, Litigation
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Jackson Litigation Costs Review consultation ends
A few seconds before midnight on Friday, an e-mail arrived from Abigail Pilkington, the Clerk to the Review of Civil Litigation Costs. It was a bit eerie, really. The East Wing of the Royal Courts of Justice is a cavernous, … Continue reading
Posted in Access to Justice, Attenex, Case Management, Civil justice, Court Rules, Courts, CPR, Discovery, DocuMatrix, E-Discovery Suppliers, Early Case Assessment, eDisclosure, eDiscovery, Electronic disclosure, Equivio, FTI Technology, Judges, Litigation, Litigation costs, Litigation Support, Lord Justice Jackson, RingTail
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Woolf v Genn: the decline of civil justice
My post’s heading, Woolf v Genn: the decline of civil justice, is taken from an article in the Times of 23 June 2009 which I missed. I do not altogether blame myself for not seeing it — the people who … Continue reading
Lord Neuberger to be Master of the Rolls
It is good news that Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury is to be the new Master of the Rolls from 1 October (see the Times story here). The Master of the Rolls is the Head of Civil Justice and therefore the … Continue reading
Getting away from it all
I have never been much good at this holiday lark. I can manage the logistics of travel, and I do not suffer from any illusion that the world’s continuing rotation depends on my being at my desk. I can flit … Continue reading
The information war – news from the front updated
My post Cooperative hands across the sea referred to an article by Jason Baron on Ralph Losey’s e-Discovery Team blog. Jason’s article attracted some comments, two of which are worth hiving off for comment in their own right. One concerns … Continue reading
Ark Group e-Disclosure Conference 2009
You can generate a lot of notes in six conference days in three countries in nine days and have little time to transcribe them. I am quite good at actually recording what people say, less so at the small but … Continue reading
Posted in Access to Justice, Case Management, Civil justice, Court Rules, Courts, CPR, Discovery, E-Discovery Suppliers, eDisclosure, eDisclosure Conferences, eDiscovery, Electronic disclosure, Epiq Systems, Forensic data collections, Litigation, Litigation Support, Lord Justice Jackson, Part 31 CPR
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Birmingham Post reports on costs management trial
The litigation costs management trial on which I reported a few days ago (Jackson launches costs management trial in Birmingham) has been covered by the Birmingham Post. Their article of 3 June is headed City will be test case for … Continue reading
Labour’s fall may be matched by litigation’s recovery
I have just sent off my slides for my keynote speech at the Ark Group’s e-disclosure conference on Monday 9 June. Its title is The Empty Bear Garden, and it is about the decline of litigation since the CPR of … Continue reading
Jackson launches costs management trial in Birmingham
Lord Justice Jackson went to Birmingham on Tuesday to encourage its litigation solicitors to take part in a costs management trial in the specialist courts. The details are interesting, but less so than the policy considerations which underlay Sir Rupert’s … Continue reading
Hard to keep up with Lord Justice Jackson
I went to Birmingham on Tuesday evening to hear Lord Justice Jackson launch a new costs management initiative in the Specialist Courts there, and got a taste of the energy which has brought us his Preliminary Report on Civil Litigation … Continue reading
Something for everyone in the Jackson litigation costs report
Lord Justice Jackson’s interim report on civil litigation costs weighed in at 650 pages, not the 1,000 pages which rumour anticipated. It is as well that I am commentator not a newshound journalist, because I missed the big day and … Continue reading
The untapped potential of YouTube as a promotional medium
You can launch political policies, bands and brands on YouTube, but perhaps not 1,000 page interim reports on litigation costs. Lord Justice Jackson will do his launch tomorrow with an old-fashioned press conference. Other things, however, bring the marketing and … Continue reading
Richard Susskind webcast on the End of Lawyers?
Professor Richard Susskind caused a stir at the ABA TechShow in Chicago in April with his thoughts on the way the future looks for the legal profession. The context was the launch of his latest book, The End of Lawyers?, … Continue reading
The MoJ and litigation reform
I am not sure what to make of yesterday’s article in the Lawyer. Chaos as MoJ scuppers litigation reform is the headline. Below that, the sub-heading shouts Judges and politicians at loggerheads as Jackson review kicked into touch. My difficulty … Continue reading
LexisNexis debate marks ten years of the CPR
LexisNexis, publishers of the Civil Court Practice 2009 “The Green Book” marked the tenth anniversary of the Civil Procedure Rules with a debate chaired by Lord Neuberger which considered the impact of the CPR and assessed its strengths and weaknesses. … Continue reading
Informed comment in the Times adds to the Woolf rules debate
No sooner had I published my post Have the Woolf reforms worked? yesterday when Jonathan Maas flicked me a link to an article in Times Online on the same subject. It is called Sad and unsatisfactory – but not destroyed … Continue reading
Not going to Canada for the second time this month
As you may recall, I was not able to go to a meeting in Toronto at the beginning of April, when Senior Master Whitaker and I had hoped to see Justice Campbell and others to talk about common ground between … Continue reading
Taking the Administrative Courts to the regions
The Times of 9 April carried an interview with Sir Anthony May, President of the Queen’s Bench Division. Its title London-centric? We are taking power to the people conveys the gist of the article. The Administrative Court is to soon … Continue reading
Posted in Access to Justice, Civil justice, Courts, HM Courts Service
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Zander sees his Woolf CPR predictions justified
Michael Zander QC, now Emeritus Professor at the LSE, was a forthright and eloquent critic of the Woolf reforms which led to the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999. Few took much notice of his predictions, least of all Lord Woolf. … Continue reading
Mediation – not about just settlement but just about settlement
Professor Dame Hazel Genn QC has launched a stinging attack on the downgrading of civil justice and the promotion of mediation at the expense of the civil litigation system. ADR is a worthy parallel remedy but government promoted it more … Continue reading
Judge Facciola LegalTech messages are for UK as well as US lawyers
There was something almost surreal about the discovery that the LegalTech organisers had failed to record US Magistrate Judge John Facciola’s keynote speech, given that Facciola regularly delivers Opinions castigating parties either for faulty decisions about technology or for technological … Continue reading
Posted in Access to Justice, Case Management, Civil justice, Court Rules, Courts, CPR, Discovery, E-Discovery Suppliers, Early Case Assessment, eDisclosure, eDisclosure Conferences, eDiscovery, Electronic disclosure, FRCP, Judges, LegalTech, Litigation, Litigation costs, Litigation Support
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Parallel views from across the Atlantic
The respected e-discovery commentator Tom O’Connor has published his initial report on LegalTech on his blog, with the title The Big Takeaway from LegalTech New York. His patch in the US e-discovery scene roughly parallels mine in the UK. We … Continue reading
Jackson sets out some litigation costs issues
A thoughtful article by Simon Davis and Simon James of Clifford Chance has appeared on the Lexology site. A purist might quibble about its title – Jackson’s dilemma – or how to cut the cost of litigation – on the … Continue reading
Plenty to write about but no time to write
I had a patch recently when I had no time to write for a few days. Someone sent me a message, not exactly complaining, but making it clear that my apparent dereliction of duty had been noticed. It is not … Continue reading
SCL meeting – Civil Litigation Costs Review
Lord Justice Jackson is conducting a year-long review into the costs of civil litigation at the request of the Master of the Rolls. His terms of reference require him to undertake a fundamental review of the rules and principles governing … Continue reading
Identify early and co-operate in 2009
As I sign off for Christmas, I would like to thank all those who have sponsored, supported or in any other way encouraged the e-Disclosure Information Project in 2008 and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New … Continue reading
Mancia: interest in US being interested in them
A growing theme on this site which will get more important in 2009 is that electronic discovery in the US is getting to be of more interest to us in the UK. This is not because the English courts are … Continue reading
Reviewing the Commercial Court Recommendations
The risk that contentious work might shift to arbitration or to other jurisdictions such as Germany is reason enough for us to fight to keep it here. The Commercial Court Long Trials Recommendations may have had too wide a focus. … Continue reading
E-Disclosure Information Project first birthday
November marks the first anniversary of what became the E-Disclosure Information Project. It did not have that name when I ran a half-day training session for judges in Birmingham last November but it was effectively launched with that event. This … Continue reading
Posted in CaseLogistix, CaseMap, Civil justice, Court Rules, Courts, CPR, Discovery, DocuMatrix, Document Retention, E-Discovery Suppliers, eDisclosure, eDisclosure Conferences, eDiscovery, Electronic disclosure, Epiq Systems, Ernst & Young, Forensic data collections, FoxData, Guidance Software, ILTA, Legal Technology, LegalTech, LexisNexis, Litigation, Litigation costs, Masters Conference, Part 31 CPR, SEO, Trilantic, Web Sites and Blogs
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Job cuts at the Legal Services Commission
The Government’s commitment to access to justice is so important that it even warrants capital letters – it is Access to Justice, no less, which, as I noted in another post recently, must mean that it is an “initiative” (or … Continue reading
Lord Justice Jackson to head litigation costs review
The Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, has appointed Lord Justice Jackson to head a committee to review the costs of civil litigation. The appointment apparently follows a meeting between Sir Anthony Clarke and Bridget Prentice, Parliamentary Under Secretary … Continue reading
Posted in Case Management, Civil justice, Commercial Court, Court Rules, Courts, CPR, Discovery, Document Retention, E-Discovery Suppliers, eDisclosure, eDiscovery, Electronic disclosure, Legal Technology, Litigation, Litigation Readiness, Litigation Support, Lord Justice Jackson, Ministry of Justice
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Betting on certainties in the information war
The odds on gaining improved information management from the recession are better than those on offer for Peter Mandelson’s resignation before the next election. The war to tame the information needed for litigation and regulation, like other wars, will breed … Continue reading
What will recession do for civil justice?
I nearly did Gordon Brown an injustice last night. My notes for a talk to be given in Birmingham included the observation that “our weasel-worded Prime Minister has not yet found the guts to admit that we are in or … Continue reading
eDisclosure Information Project 