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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

When about to start or defend a Court case there are only three questions you need answered: How much will it cost? How long will it take? Will I win? This Blog provides answers in fewer than 750 words. How much will it cost? A lot! Always be wary of […]

As this is my first Christmas contribution for the #GuiseonJustice column it seemed appropriate to pick a Seasonal theme.  What better than to offer a cracker – that staple of Christmas dinner tables.  Sparkling they sit sentinel-like beside the dinner plates tempting with the enigma of what lies within! Then with a […]