Regions, not London, best, says LCJ

Lord Thomas has championed regional firms and urged parties to look outside London to litigate, in his first speech as Lord Chief Justice.

Delivering the annual Birkenhead lecture last week, Lord Thomas, who took over from Lord Judge on 1 October, said more litigation should be conducted outside the Capital. This would be cheaper, would improve access to justice, and would boost regional economies.

He warned that if a party instructs a London firm for out of London work “it should do so in the knowledge that in the event of success, it will be necessary to explain to the court at the costs budgeting stage or on any assessment why it was reasonable to use a London firm for such a dispute. The differences in costs are now huge.”

Nevertheless, there seemed to be “an increase in the number of proceedings issued in the High Court in London or proceedings transferred to London where there is no apparent reason to do so,” he said. 

“London has no monopoly on skill or experience.”