It used to be said that the UK and America were two peoples separated by a common language. Apart from the obvious “Tomahto”, “Tomaydo” which is really only a difference in pronunciation, we are all familiar with the American “line” instead of “queue” or the “trunk” of the car instead of the British “boot.” Numerous… Read More »
It has been a long time in the making! By April 2013, 14 years will have passed from the start of the Woolf reforms (Access to Justice) in April 1999 to the introduction of the Jackson reforms due to come into effect next year. There is much to be done and judges to be trained.… Read More »
Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan of the US 7th District Court is shortly to retire. Those of you who remember her will recall that she is the judge in the “other” case involving an argument about how best to deal with discovery, by which I mean, not Judge Peck’s case of Da Silva, but Kleen Products… Read More »
Most people are at least vaguely familiar with the concept of a sheriff, either from watching too many westerns or possibly from the stories of Robin Hood and his ongoing battles with the then Sheriff of Nottingham. For a more accurate and current description of a sheriff, the High Sheriffs’ Association of England & Wales… Read More »
Now seemingly dated, the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses” was slang for the phenomenon described by certain snooty commentators who noticed that the occupants of houses in suburban streets appeared to be copying one another in the acquisition of the latest material goods. I say it seems outdated because the phenomenon is now so… Read More »
In two recent articles to which I have already referred, His Honour Judge Simon Brown QC, the judge in charge of the Mercantile Court in Birmingham, has sought to set out his views, (some might go so far as to say his tips) on what to expect from the new regime being introduced for disclosure… Read More »
The summer (ha ha) is a time when I often find that work gets in the way of my social life. I am sure I am not alone in that, even if the weather is more like the Falkland Islands (30 years on) than what we expect of a reasonably temperate island to the north… Read More »
Litigation lawyers and others with regular dealings before the High Court in England and Wales will be familiar with the role of the Master. Essentially, Masters deal with the administrative aspects of a case in order to facilitate its arrival at trial in good order. Our own Senior Master Whitaker is the senior of the… Read More »
When I started out writing this blog almost three years ago I confess I did not think I would still be doing it in 2012, still less that I would come to write about soteriology. I admit I had to look it up, having never heard of it before. Apparently the word comes from the… Read More »
I enjoyed my life as a commercial litigation lawyer. Early in my career, I learned that the most important person in my working life was not the client, important as the client clearly was, nor the partner for whom I worked, although it was certainly important to have a good working relationship with him (in… Read More »