2018 – a year of opportunity
2018 will be a year of opportunity for those responding to change says Matthew Pascall: Senior Underwriting Manager, Temple Legal Protection. As we move forward into 2018, I share some insights likely to affect litigators over the coming months. Some will be anecdotal, some technical and, hopefully for the reader, all of significance in some […]
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Temple Legal Protection 2017 Review
This year has been challenging for the legal industry: pre-LASPO cases are in decline and the new legislation is now being applied with some cases finding their way to the appeal court; abolition of tribunal fees has led to increased risk exposure for employers without appropriate BTE cover and legal services; and there have been […]
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Sharp rise in employment claims after tribunal fees scrapped
Four years ago the government introduced fees of up to £1200 for employment tribunal claimants with the premise being to reduce the number of malicious and unmeritorious claims. Much has been debated on subject since and I recall the appetite of both camps to advance their views. In one corner, the objectors voiced their concern […]
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Appeal Court rules in favour of ATE insurance from the inception of a claim
In another landmark ruling this year, the Court of Appeal has re-asserted that ‘block-rated’ ATE insurance premiums are recoverable in clinical negligence claims, even when the claim is settled before proceedings are issued or experts have been commissioned. Lord Justice Lewison dismissed the appeal of Peterborough & Stamford NHS trust v McMenemy and upheld the […]
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A Premier League football star, phone hacking and litigation costs
In an ironic twist the media and communications litigation privacy case BNM v MGN has become substantially more well known for its impact on costs legislation than revelations that a premier league footballer was ‘privately dating’ a school teacher. The Court of Appeal judgment in favour of the appellant has been awaited with eager anticipation […]
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Temple Online Policy System (TOPS)
We are delighted to confirm that the new version of the Temple Online Policy System (TOPS) is scheduled to go live on Wednesday 8th November at 09:00hrs. While the new system is being installed, the original system will be unavailable between 16:00hrs on Friday 3rd November until 09:00hrs on Wednesday 8th November, which means that […]
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Does SRA case for publishing legal fees hold water?
Malignation of the legal industry’s failure to support SMEs and provide better clarity relating to the cost of legal services is a current vogue topic. The issue is clear: the SME business community in general is reluctant to seek legal advice because of uncertainty over the cost risk posed by escalating a commercial issue into […]
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RECOVERABLE ATE PREMIUMS, IT’S TURNED FULL CIRCLE AND GOING ROUND AGAIN …..
Post-LASPO 2012 ATE insurance premiums are recoverable on a between the parties’ basis in clinical negligence cases pursuant to Section 58C of the Courts & Legal Services Act 1990 and Regulation 3 of the Recovery of Costs Insurance Premiums in Clinical Negligence Proceedings (2) Regulations 2013 (the 2013 Regulations”). Section 58C stipulates: “Recovery of insurance […]
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Spurious NAO claims are not helping the NHS or access to justice
National Audit Office (NAO) claims that imply excessive legal costs are the cause of rising NHS Resolution expenditure are unhelpful at best, disingenuous at worst and either way do not provide any answers to the NHS’s problems or support genuine access to justice. Recent NAO comments on the subject contradict themselves, stating no evidence has […]
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