THE MITCHELL DECISION.

A typically meticulous judgment of Mitting J ( although para. 200 should refer to 24 years not hours ). 

CIVIL PROCEDURE IN THE SUPREME COURT

Surprisingly , the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the RIORDAN case . This was one of the Appeal Court decisions post MITCHELL and pre - DENTON. When should a court vary an existing Order under CPR 3.1 ? 

THE NEW PART 36

We are on schedule for a new set of Rules in April 2015. 

TOP TALENT

Each year I put together a list of barristers and Judges that have impressed me . It is utterly subjective . It is also heartfelt . In no particular order here is my end of year roll of honour .
DAVID PILLING - This Liverpool barrister has a sublime appreciation of the brave new world of portals and fixed costs .
SIMON BUTLER - It is remarkable in these days of specialisation that one man can effortlessly and comprehensively master injury , public law , civil procedure et al. Recommended without reservation. A lovely man too .
ED PEPPERALL QC - This Birmingham silk is red hot on commercial disputes and is also heavily involved in re- writing Part 36 .
ROBERT WEIR QC - Thompsons think very highly of this injury specialist who won COX V MOJ ( which is off to the Supreme Court )
SEAN JONES QC - A stunning employment silk . High Court bench material. His speciality is advising in an area of law where there are just 20 employees  ( Premiership managers hiring and firing ).
DAVID READE QC - Great mix of commonsense and deep legal thought.
ALEX HUTTON QC and NICK BACON QC - A duopoly at the top of costs and funding law .
DR MARK FRISTON - The most senior costs junior who is back in business in January.
ROGER MALLALIEU - A costs junior who is really fast with paperwork and sound in judgment.
WILLIAM FLENLEY QC - A massive , modest talent with an astonishing command of professional negligence .
KATE LIVESEY - Already recognised as a bright young thing at the Professional negligence bar .
STUART McKECHNIE - The King of injury schedules , regularly instructed by pi specialists like Ben Posford .
SHANTANU MAJUMDAR - Chancery and insurance guru . Wine fanatic too.
TURNER J - Not long on the High Court bench but responsible for some searing judgments that have attracted praise from the Appeal Court.
MRS JUSTICE CARR - A certainty for the Court of Appeal.
JACKSON LJ - I admire his courage and integrity in producing dissenting judgments .
HHJ SIMON BROWN QC - So hard working and enthusiastic .

CAB RANK MEDICAL REPORTING .

This latest MOJ creation is in difficulties and I believe implement ration has been put back to April next year . 

IN - HOUSE TALKS !

To the amazement of many , myself included , I have completed my writing obligations for the next 2 months .
This means that I am available to deliver talks before the new season kicks off on 12th JANUARY 2015 .
Hot topics are , predictably , DENTON and getting out of trouble , new litigation tactics , exaggerated  injury claims and Part 36 / settlement .
Do drop me w line if you might be interested ! It is krug79@gmail.com . Thank you . 

PERSONAL INJURY AWARDS 2014

Thanks to the organisers for inviting me along . It was good to meet Geoff Silva at last and to see the whirlwind that is Emma Waddingham in action albeit at a distance.
Please one year could we have a 'comedian ' who  doesn't lazily picks on a member of the audience for a cheap laugh.

VICARIOUS LIABILITY

Just a day after i mentioned COX V MINISTRY OF JUSTICE  the Supreme Court granted leave to appeal so we have 2 big decisions coming ( the Morrisons case should be heard soon ) .

VICARIOUS LIABILITY

The Supreme Court has been sitting for a prolonged period upon the application to appeal COX V MOJ where it was held that the defendant was vicariously liable for injury caused by someone it did not employ ( a prisoner helping in the canteen ).
And the MORRISONS case is to be heard by the Supreme Court soon. Was D liable when an employee ran amok and injured a customer ? 

BLOGS

The fine Stuart McKechnie rightly complained that my writing here has diminished . I promise to restore normal service from now on .
We await the decision of the Court of Appeal in BLANKLEY ; does a CFA lapse of the client loses capacity ?
Monday sees the Mitchell libel actions start under the control of Mitting J . My first con ever was with him. Thoughtful , measured and decent . Why is he not in the Court of Appeal ? 

PROF NEG BAR ASSOCIATION EVENT

I was honoured to be invited to speak to the Association last night . I was very much the also ran after a ripping turn from HH J Hughes QC .
Mrs Justice Carr , a dead cert for the Court of Appeal , ran the show  like the celebrity she is and it was astonishing that so many turned up on a wet November evening ( but they did ).
Thank you to Victoria Woodbridge who is now back at the Bar and raring to go and also Kate Livesey of 4 Pump Court who beguiled me with a tale of  the kindest pro bono fight I have ever heard . 

9 GOUGH SQUARE CHAMBERS

My thanks to this lovely set for allowing me to do a podcast from there today.
It was gratifying to hear that Andrew Ritchie QC has won pi silk of the year . His roommate , the sublime Simon Butler , told me last week what a good man Andrew is . It is a joy when decent people get recognition .
I was relieved to hear that , despite the impact of recent reform , the injury and clinical negligence departments are awash with work . All is not lost .
I am going to the awards dinner at St Paul's on Wednesday evening . Please do say hello if you see me for I still have a dodgy eye and might not see you . 

WINE ! TESCO DEAL ASTONISHING .

The current Tesco promotion which runs for another fortnight is the best I can ever recall.
The deal is buy 4 or more bottles and get 25% off .
Why this is so good is that a number of their wines are already on promotion so you get a discount upon a discount.
At the top of the pile is the utterly reliable Tesco non - vintage Champagne which is fairly priced at £19-99. Well now it is £15-99 so buy it as one or more of any 4 bottles and it comes down to £12 .
A great Spanish red , Carano 2008, is half the usual price of £10 so apply the offer and it is £3-75 , a price below  what production and duty costs .