Why the Jackson Reforms mean the biggest-ever upheaval for UK litigation

March 21, 2012 - PRLog -- C Dale: Hello, I'm Chris Dale of the UK-based eDisclosure Information Project, which carries information about electronic disclosure - electronic discovery as every other jurisdiction calls it - between judges and lawyers and clients and suppliers. I have with me Dominic Regan who is a solicitor, writer, broadcaster, and an adviser to Lord Justice Jackson on cost management, and on the Costs Management pilot. He is also a professor at City University, London. He provides litigation training to a number of Government departments and to many law firms throughout the UK, and hosts webinars, writes, and generally spreads the word about case management and other aspects of litigation. Professor Regan is due to speak at IQPC's annual Information Governance and eDisclosure Summit, which takes place in London between 14th and 16th May. His subject there is 2012 - The Most Significant Year in the History of eDisclosure? Like Richard Susskind's book title, The End of Lawyers?, this has a question mark at the end of it. From where I sit I think that 2012 will indeed be the year of disclosure.

We have just seen a significant judicial opinion in the US by Judge Peck in the Da Silva Moore case, which gives judicial blessing to the use of advanced technology known as predictive coding. The UK Courts have just penalised a party in costs for its disclosure failures, which will help focus minds on the risks of inadequate disclosure. The Richard Susskind line - that law firms will see their traditional practices whittled away by what he calls disintermediation, as others offer the components of litigation tasks at lower and more certain costs - is something else that solicitors have to look out for. And we have the Cost Management pilot coming out of Birmingham, and other aspects of Lord Justice Jackson's proposals, which are now heading into law.

Dominic, let's start with a very broad question about Lord Justice Jackson's reforms. How important are they?

D Regan: Chris, hello. I think they're the biggest bang that we've ever seen in our jurisdiction. Just to give one example, and I don't know that a lot of attention has been paid to this so far, we are going to see it lawful for lawyers here to act on the basis that they take a cut based on a contingency which, for centuries, has been utterly illegal. Next April, and that is now the target date, 1st April next year, when this kicks in (and we'll see later that much of Jackson's already happening in one way or another), but when this kicks in we will have the opportunity for litigation to be conducted, as it is in other jurisdictions, with the lawyers taking a percentage. And if you think that already we see, for example, Russian oligarchs, who could litigate anywhere in the world, coming to London, and we have had one major case already and two more imminent, then it seems to me that this jurisdiction is going to be more important for litigators than ever. And more attractive, I should say, for litigators internationally than ever before.

Dominic Regan is speaking at IQPC’s Information Governance and eDisclosure Summit, where Chris Dale will introduce and moderate the session. The Information Governance and eDisclosure Summit will take place from 14 - 16 May in London. For more details, please visit the website: www.informationretention.co.uk, call freephone: 0800 652 2363 or email: enquire@iqpc.co.uk.