*/
Civil procedure – Personal injury – Expenses – Voluntary pre-action protocol. Sheriff Court: In a personal injury action in which the pursuer's solicitors sent a letter of claim to the defender's insurers proposing that the claim be negotiated in terms of the voluntary pre-action protocol, of which the insurers were signatories, and then raised the action without further warning after receiving no reply within 21 days, and the sheriff found no expenses were due to or by either party after the action settled, taking the view that a further warning letter was required, the court held that the sheriff's approach was erroneous; where it was accepted that adherence to the protocol reflected the normal and reasonable approach there was a risk of causing uncertainty and undermining confidence in the protocol if the court superimposed additional requirements such as that suggested by the sheriff.
Civil procedure – Personal injury – Expenses – Voluntary pre-action protocol. Sheriff Court: In a personal injury action in which the pursuer's solicitors sent a letter of claim to the defender's insurers proposing that the claim be negotiated in terms of the voluntary pre-action protocol, of which the insurers were signatories, and then raised the action without further warning after receiving no reply within 21 days, and the sheriff found no expenses were due to or by either party after the action settled, taking the view that a further warning letter was required, the court held that the sheriff's approach was erroneous; where it was accepted that adherence to the protocol reflected the normal and reasonable approach there was a risk of causing uncertainty and undermining confidence in the protocol if the court superimposed additional requirements such as that suggested by the sheriff.
Chair of the Bar reports back
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, outlines the drug and alcohol testing options available for family law professionals, and how a new, free guide can help identify the most appropriate testing method for each specific case
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the latest ONS data on drug misuse and its implications for toxicology testing in family law cases
A career shaped by advocacy beyond her practice, and the realities of living with an invisible disability – Dr Natasha Shotunde, Black Barristers’ Network Co-Founder and its Chair for seven years, reflects on a decade at the Bar
Responding to criticism on the narrow profile of government-instructed counsel, Mel Nebhrajani CB describes the system-wide change at GLD to drive fairer distribution of work and broader development of talent
The odds of success are as unforgiving as ever, but ambition clearly isn’t in short supply. David Wurtzel’s annual deep‑dive into the competition cohort shows who’s entering, who’s thriving and the trends that will define the next wave
Where to start and where to find help? Monisha Shah, Chair of the King’s Counsel Selection Panel, provides an overview of the silk selection process, debunking some myths along the way
Do chatbot providers owe a duty of care for negligent misstatements? Jasper Wong suggests that the principles applicable to humans should apply equally to machines
