Overview
Steptoe London partner Neil Dooley was quoted in a New Law Journal litigation trends survey titled “Fees a Crowd: When Justice & Politics Collide.” The survey, published on August 6, discusses the impact of cost control and hikes in court fees. Litigants in the United Kingdom will now be charged an extra fee causing many lawyers to fear that international rivals such as Singapore, New York or Dubai – with relatively attractive court fee tariffs – may scoop up disputes, thus losing the government money in the long run.
Mr. Dooley says: “It is clear that this is not the last hike in court fees…as a result, we will see more litigants in person and in my experience, this can often add to the costs because cases take significantly longer as judges need to give more latitude, meaning delays in the process.”
According to the survey, if clients find that lawyers cannot keep to the budget, there is a feeling among litigators that the likelihood of clients changing lawyers more frequently to try to manage their costs will rise. “Traditionally, once embroiled in litigation, there is a reluctance to change legal teams, but I suspect this will become more common as pressure over costs increases,” Mr. Dooley adds.
The full litigation trends survey can be read at the New Law Journal.
