May 2022 The Small Claims Track (often referred to as the Small Claims Court) is the place to go for disputes worth up to £10,000 but in fact half of the claims in that Court are for less than £500. If you go there be prepared for delay, a confusing […]
April 2022 What kind of Small Claim are we talking about? This blog is about claims to recover unpaid sums of money either due under invoices or because someone failed to do something when they were supposed to or how they were expected to deliver a service or things. This […]
February 2022 On the last working day of January 2022 the final piece in the jigsaw of interlocking reports and consultations addressing the reformed civil justice system was published. The Report entitled “The Resolution of Small Claims” (the Report) is here. INTRODUCTION The Report recommends improvements to the system for dealing […]
January 2022 In England and Wales the Small Claims Track (“Track” simply means a set of procedures appropriate for lower value claims) is intended for disputes with a financial value of up to £10,000 that does not involve a personal injury caused: by a road traffic accident, in the workplace […]
November 2021 “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” (John 3:8 NIV) The purpose of this month‘s column is to divine (with Biblical inspiration!) the direction of travel for civil justice in England and […]
For the legal world, ’back to business’ is very much what the last few months have been about. However, the number of Covid-19 infections in the UK and around the world are rising again, and it may be that the dynamic, full-throated recovery we were promised will again be delayed. […]
September 2021 With these words the Government explained the basis for increasing Court fees: “The case for revisiting the way we charge court fees is based firmly on the need to ensure that Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service (“HMCTS”) is funded properly to protect the vital principle of access […]
Perhaps it is because it is silly season, or perhaps it is the calm before the storm. After a period of intensity which began with the rapid move to online courts due to Coronavirus in March of last year, it has been a quiet summer for technological reform across the […]
August 2021 “Racing to realisation” is the apt phrase Nik Carle, FCIArb used to describe recent developments in civil justice reform. He is right to use that phrase. For context: the restructuring of the courts that took place at the end of the 19th century was 70 years in the […]
July 2021 The acronym KISS stands, as most will know, for Keep It Simple Stupid and was most recently employed, in the context of civil justice reform, by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave when he delivered the Gray’s Inn Reading for Gresham College on 17 June 2021. Entitled “English Law and Descent […]
When it comes to legal technology, the conversation often centres around who will offer the best iteration of a solution — who will master the software that allows firms to be more efficient without skimping on quality? Who will develop workflow strategies that mean the offices of a multinational law […]
June 2021 May 2021 was a busy month for civil justice reform. It all kicked off on 10 May with Sir Geoffrey Vos’ keynote speech at London International Disputes Week 2021 (LIDW21) in which he explained his plan to look to the private sector “…to make the most of what is good […]
Technological innovation in the legal services sector is happening right now. Not only that, the legal tech market — set to top US$25 billion in revenues by 2025 — is getting bigger all the time. This year, Magic Circle law firm Allen & Overy had the highest ever number of […]
What better time to announce a dramatic extension of mediation to thousands more civil cases in England and Wales (E&W) than 4.30pm on a Friday? That was the time on 7 May 2021 when the Judiciary decided it would publish the 130th update to the Civil Procedure Rules, 1999. This […]
Sir Geoffrey Vos, newly in post as Master of the Rolls, has made ambitions for his tenure quite clear. Online civil justice must be made a success of. Digitisation of the county courts cannot come ‘a day too soon’, he has said. Sir Geoffrey acknowledges the sweeping changes that are already happening […]
To the University of Hull (virtually, of course) on 26 March 2021 for the launch of the School of Law’s Mediation Centre and to take in the Master of the Rolls’ robust rhetoric about the future direction of civil justice in England and Wales. His themes were, once again, IT […]
Online courts are coming to be embedded in the way justice is delivered. Not only that, since the outbreak of Coronavirus, they have changed from a theoretical concept to a way of life for many lawyers. If sceptics are looking for evidence of such a claim, they can do worse […]
In short, it was born out of frustration. Frustration in not being able to commercially help people and businesses with their small claims. (Small claims being claims at a value of £10,000 or less in the UK. I believe there are similar thresholds in other jurisdictions). I believe most dispute […]
Elizabeth Warren, the senior Senator for Massachusetts, has produced an eye-catching policy proposal for a two cent wealth tax on High Net Worths (HNWs). The Biden Administration have yet to come out for, or against, it. On March 1 2021 the New York Times carried a story about the Bill […]
As the song goes, every time it rains, it rains pennies from Heaven. Every CFO’s dream you might think. These days of extreme weather and medical events cause a perfect storm of times and tides to test even the best prepared of businesses. Cash is King in good times or […]
Small Claims Portal provides simple, modular choices & fixed price legal resources to help individuals and businesses navigate the Small Claims Court. Our growing Small Claims FAQ Portal has been designed to provide helpful guidance and resources concerning questions you may have. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, please do let us know. We’re here to help you every step of the way.
#GuiseOnJustice – Is no trial a fair trial? by Tony Guise | May 2022#GuiseOnJustice – Want to make a Small Claim? This explains how to do it! by Tony Guise | April 2022#GuiseOnJustice – The future of Small Claims litigation in England and Wales by Tony Guise | February 2022#GuiseOnJustice – So you have a Small Claim? How much time have you got to spend on that? by Tony Guise | January 2022#GuiseOnJustice – The winds of change: dispute resolution and litigation in England and Wales in late 2021 – by Tony Guise | November 2021