Counsel Magazine

Lord Justice Jackson has recommended sweeping reform of civil litigation, including raising civil damages awards by ten per cent and introducing US-style contingency fees.

Jackson LJ’s eagerly-awaited 584-page Final Report into civil litigation costs, published in January, contains a number of controversial suggestions.Conditional fee agreements (“CFAs”) or “no win, no fee” cases should continue to be used but success fees and after-the-event (“ATE”) insurance premiums should cease to be recoverable from unsuccessful opponents, he recommends. This means that any success fees will have to be borne by the client, not the opponent.