Practitioners now benefit from a section of the Looking to the Future commentary that has a breakdown of the relevant pledges from the manifesto documents of the main political parties. Read more…

A new guide, Electronic Signing and Witnessing, has been added to the Reference Materials folder in all By Lawyers matter plans. Read more…

The Looking to the Future commentary, available in the reference materials folder of the matter plan, has been updated to include recent legislative changes and new bills. Read more...

For centuries, a litigant's recurring nightmare of their costs bill can be found in a murky corner of every firm. Here, mischievous goblins weigh files, triple the weight, and calculate a figure by multiplying it with an arbitrary hourly rate determined by the senior partner’s mood of the day. The only perceived certainty is, that pound for pound, they will be paying a pound for every word in their legal documents. Therefore, the final bill is anyone’s guess. Read more...

As part of the continual updates and enhancements which take place across all our guides, we have enhanced the Freehold property disputes – Acting for the claimant guide. Read more...

As alternative dispute resolution processes creep towards becoming mandatory, we have published an article which can be used for in-house learning and development, or for clients to read and gain an understanding of the terminology and requirement to take part. Read more...

A new Consumer Dispute guide has been published. This publication covers the common claims arising from consumer contracts for goods, services, and digital content, as well as claims relating to defective products. Read more...

A new article about avoiding disputes after the death of a loved one has been published. Read more...

We are pleased to announce that a new Estates Disputes publication has been published. Comprising two guides, Estate disputes – Acting for the claimant and Estate disputes – Acting for the defendant, the publication contains all the commentary, precedents, and forms needed. Read more...

With the welcome return to some kind of normality for us all, the last vestiges of Practice Direction 55C have expired. This means the impact of COVID-19 no longer needs to be discussed in particulars of claim for possession proceedings. The relevant property dispute commentaries and precedents have been updated to reflect this. The related paragraphs in the defence precedents will remain for a few months as we appreciate that responding to a claim may take some time.

The new Contract Disputes guide has been published. Read more...

Most of the requirements for possession claims set out in Practice Direction 55C are no longer in force, and our commentaries have been amended accordingly.

A precedent Damages-based Agreement has been added to the Debt Recovery guide along with a new letter to the client and enclosure explaining the purpose of a damages-based agreement. The commentary has also been enhanced with some relevant discussion. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

New precedents have been added to the By Lawyers Family and Debt Recovery publications: The Family Court – Court bundle cover page and spine and Family Court – Court bundle index have been added to the Financial Remedy and Private Child Arrangements guides. The County Court, High Court and Appeal Court – Trial bundle cover page and County Court, High Court and Appeal Court – Trial bundle index have been added to the Debt Recovery guides. The precedents are customised for each court and comply with each court's requirements. The precedents will assist practitioners to create an indexed collection of documents that the parties rely on during the hearing. A properly compiled and indexed court bundle or trial bundle allows solicitors, counsel and the bench to easily navigate the matter.

With every new costs management practice direction comes a new spreadsheet and the 122nd Practice Direction update was no different. According to the revised Practice Direction 3E, Precedent T should be used from the 1st October to advise the court and other parties about variations in the costs budget during claims. Oppressive behaviour is also mentioned in the new practice direction and parties who believe that they are being pressured into spending money unnecessarily can apply to the court for relief. The By Lawyers Debt Recovery publications have been updated accordingly and Precedent T is available in the matter plan. The opportunity was taken to enhance the commentaries with recent case law discussions regarding: Security for costs applications relating to the economic consequences of COVID19. Reasonable adjustments which allowed a vulnerable witness to provide evidence. Choice of expert to provide evidence. The costs consequences of withdrawing a Part 36 Offer. The admissibility of ‘without prejudice’ material in limited circumstances. We invite you to explore the updated Debt Recovery – Acting for Claimant and Debt Recovery – Acting for Defendant publications. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.