Costs Round-Up #36
Legal costs news this week centres upon more personal injury reform announced by the government in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday.
The government is set to increase the small claims limit for personal injury claims from £1,000 to £5,000 and to remove altogether the right to general damages for minor soft tissue injuries. Find out more here.
Neil Rose writing in Legal Futures predicts the move will hit Claimant personal injury lawyers “very hard” and presents an interesting piece on progress in Where Now for PI Lawyers?
Reaction in the City saw share prices plummet at Slater and Gordon in particular while Irwin Mitchell solicitors made its own announcement of merger with Thomas Eggar Solicitors perhaps in a move away from their more traditional PI market.
Of note too is a chunk of money allocated to the digitization of the Courts although we continue to wait for confirmation that this will include the pilot HM Online Court proposed by the Civil Justice Council proposed earlier this year.
For those of us who enjoy a good read, proportionality arguments are pulled together in an excellent blog article from Kerry Underwood fully updated and revised from a previous article entitled Proportionality: the Emperor’s New Clothes .
And of note for legal aid practitioners is confirmation that the proposed legal aid residence test for eligibility for civil legal aid has been ruled lawful by the Court of Appeal in a decision this week.
Until next time..
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