Legal Costs

Judgment was recently handed down in an important decision concerning the correct treatment of VAT for medical records and medical reports. In Barratt Goff & Tomlinson v HMRC (see judgment) it was held where medical reports or medical records were obtained by solicitors, for the purpose of personal injury claims, the solicitors did not need […]

We are now into the final frantic lobbying in relation to implementation of the Jackson Report (much good it will do claimant lawyers post-MGN Ltd v United Kingdom). Here are some entirely random quotes from some claimant solicitors: “Despite what is suggested in the [Ministry of Justice’s] consultation paper, solicitors do not cherry pick and

Over the last day or two I’ve been highlighting some of the more novel arguments put forward in opposition to Jackson LJ’s costs proposals. Inevitably, most arguments, both pro and anti Jackson, are generated by the self-interest of those making the arguments. It is therefore a welcome relief that an independent voice has stepped forward

Following on from yesterday’s post on some of the more novel arguments being put forward in opposition to the Jackson costs proposals, is one I stumbled across on a law costs draftsmen’s website: “It appears that the Senior Judges of this country are trying to damage the legal industry which for the past number of

Take any controversial subject: the death penalty, abortion, legalising drugs, immigration, Marmite. Most people will have a view, one way or the other, on these topics. When presented with new arguments or studies supporting or opposing these pre-held beliefs, do we objectively weigh the strengths or weaknesses of them? Of course not. Those that support

In an earlier post on the Young Report, I predicted that with implementation planned for April 2012, the full impact would start to be felt about six-months later. I can now be more precise. The legal costs industry will be killed off on 21 December 2012. This is what the ancient Maya predicted (see link)

We’ve enhanced the Playtime section of Legal Costs Central with a Selected Cocktail. My first recommendation is the Classic Cocktail. I can’t believe that I’ve only just discovered this great drink. If you don’t have maraschino liqueur, I suppose you could substitute any cherry liqueur, or even crème de cassis at a pinch. If you

Now that judges are being asked to satisfy themselves that any travel they undertake is necessary, and consider very carefully whether video conferencing would be an appropriate alternative in the new age of austerity, can we expect the courts to take a similarly robust approach to conferences by solicitors with counsel and experts? Perhaps Lord Justice

The Legal Costs Blog will sign off for this year with something seasonal, if off-topic. Whoever did the visuals for this monologue obviously spent an enormous amount of time on the job but I don’t feel it adds anything and recommend simply sitting back in your chair, closing your eyes and enjoying. The only piece

Lord Justice Jackson has won a Golden Bull award from the Plain English Campaign for one of the year’s “best” examples of gobbledygook.  This was from an excerpt from his Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report on page 184. “Personal injuries litigation is the paradigm instance of litigation in which the parties are in