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19 April 2012 / Iain Stark
Issue: 7510 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Costs
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A brave new world

Iain Stark examines the changes afoot in the world of costs

The Jackson juggernaut may be ploughing its way through Parliament, but under the bonnet there has already been a great deal of activity on preparing the many reforms—the great majority, in fact—which do not require primary legislation. These may in the main be less controversial, but they will still have a significant effect on the conduct of costs claims and litigation.

Sir Rupert Jackson has been travelling the country giving a series of lectures on the implementation of his reforms. Lecture number eight, Assessment of costs in the brave new world, dealt with the assessment of costs. The changes will affect litigation of all sizes, but they are all being held in abeyance pending the general date for implementation. This, of course, has now slipped from October 2012 to April 2013.

While nobody can argue with the aim of improving the process of assessing costs, I am not convinced that everything Jackson

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

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A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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