header-logo header-logo

Jackson, fixed costs & the long view

14 March 2017 / Francis Kendall
Issue: 7739 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Costs , Jackson , Budgeting
printer mail-detail
nlj_7739_kendall

If costs management is judged to trump detailed assessment, then the rush to fixed costs could be stopped, says Francis Kendall

Lord Justice Jackson is busy revisiting old haunts from 2010 to gather the views of practitioners and others from across England and Wales about the extension of fixed recoverable costs (FRCs) that he has been charged with examining.

He openly came to the task with a view in favour of the wider application of FRCs in “lower-value” cases, but in his keynote address to a costs conference in early March, observed that the written and oral submissions received to date delivered a “strong message” that “despite all the criticisms in the past, costs management is now working much better”.

Sir Rupert reported: “It applies the new proportionality rule to the circumstances of each individual case. Many people are arguing that this does away with the need for fixed costs in the multi-track. The counter-argument

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
back-to-top-scroll