The Jackson Report

There really is no other subject being discussed out there in the personal injury world right now. This thing really is huge.

Ive been around a while and Ive seen many changes. Woolf and Access to Justice, the scrapping of legal aid for (non clinical) PI work, the introduction of predictable fees for RTA's etc etc. It has been a changeable and quite traumatic past decade for the industry.

But things are about to get a whole lot worse: and not just for claimant lawyers

The Jackson recommendations will have an impact far and wide in the industry and there is no escaping the game-changing impact of the report. Yes, its purely a proposal document at this stage but trust me, lots of influential people want this to come in and even a change of government will not prevent the findings being implemented.

So where are the big hits?:

1) No success fees

All non RTA cases will be worth 20-30% less in fees. Even a contingency arrangement (which most of us may drop because of the competitive nature of the industry) will not significantly reduce the loss. Once all the other income layers such as med report fee and ATE (see below) commission get stripped out - you will see a 20% drop minimum

2) Predictable fees for Non RTA cases

Profit pinched even more and with little wriggle room for litigation. If the MOJ RTA scheme goes well then you can bet this will be mirrored in non RTA claims before long. Litigation drop off almost completely for bog standard claims. Defendant lawyers have effectively shot themselves in the foot by lobbying for this.

3) No "After the Event" insurance (ATE)

To me this does make sense in some ways. The ATE cover does allow for a "Teflon" process and a risk free claim for the clients. In no other legal environment does such a soft process exist for the claimant. This should quite rightly change. There ought to be however an exception for clinical claims (below)

4) The new rules would also apply to Clinical Negligence claims

Shock horror and revulsion. They are messing with the last bastion of true access to justice by suggesting that clin neg claims can and should be subject to the same rules. What a load of cobblers. How the heck can you fund a clin neg claim without adequate resources in place not least ATE when you have the risk of a long drawn out case hinging on finite clinical points and a completely intransigent unyielding unreasonable opponent in the NHSLA?

They couldnt give two hoots about injured patients at the NHSLA and make some of the most appalling judgements on case management you have ever seen. The idea that you would be backing such claims either with Third Party funding or some other mechanism is just obscene and very far from allowing access to justice.

5) Claims Management Co's are bad boys and along with referral fees - will be banned

Unenforceable, unreasonable, unlikely to even come close to happening. The industry is too big, too sophisticated and we are too reliant upon the referral system for things ever to radically alter. To enforce this rule would mean slapping some VERY big law firms and re-drafting the mechanism for LEI referrals which make millions for the likes of Aviva and Direct Line.

I could write for hours on this stuff because it is just so big. May add more later but I will wait with baited breath for more news following the election in May.

Exciting [if somewhat scary] times.

Spy

Legal Spy Predictions for 2010

This being the time of year for reflection I thought I would set out my thoughts and predictions for 2010. In many ways it is going to be a BIG year for the industry and for the country.


MOJ Fast track RTA reforms will crash and burn
The insurers wont cope with the new regime, plain and simple. There will be a roll out of a revised version of the new process by the autumn

HIPs (Home Information Packs) will die a quick death once the Conservatives win their landslide victory
The system isnt working and every conveyancer / solicitors in the industry knows it. Now that the sales surge following the hibernation period during 2008 is over, the slump will return.

50% of legal work and instructions will begin online.
This year we are reliably informed that up to 38% of legal services readily available to the public were initiated online. This can only increase and long may it continue to do so. The web levels the playing field between the smaller firms and the big firms.

More jobs will go
Think we are out of the recession? If you work in law - think again. Many sectors are going to suffer in 2010. Not least in the RTA personal injury field as the MOJ reforms kick in and the pre-lit process becomes automated. Conveyancing will continue to stagnate. Divorce and Family Law may be the safest bet for an aspiring newcomer.

But here's some good news.....

The Conservatives will win the election
How the hell can they lose it?

England will get to the final of the world cup in the summer
What a fantastic summer it is going to be!

Ed Miliband will become the next leader of the Labour Party
Thats right, Ed not his Mekon like brother David. Ed went down a storm at the Recent Copenhagen Summit and God bless him for trying to save the world if nothing else.


Have a Great Christmas readers.
Its been a tough year but the worst may well be behind us.

The New Road Accident Claims Process 2010 - MOJ

Huge changes are on the way for lawyers who deal with road traffic accident (RTA) claims. From April 2010 the beloved MOJ are introducing a new claims process which will radically alter the way these claims are dealt with.


Check this baby out

A few key points from legal spy:

The new process is geared towards reducing time and costs.

If insurers can keep up with the timetables and get rid of claims during stage 1 (nice juicy pre med offers etc) they will save a packet

Claimant lawyers will do what they can to get a case bounced out of the process, make no mistake about that

Clever claimant law firms who can automate the process in house, de-skill and reduce the wage bill to save costs, will also make a packet

The days of claimant lawyers litigating to increase revenues are over

The days of defendant lawyers doing very well indeed on the back of the litigation process are also over (if you work in a def dept - start looking for a job now because by the time the run off happens in 2011-12 you will be stuffed)

What with this and Jackson round the corner, we are going to be faced with many challenges in the industry during the coming years.

Hold on to your hats PI lawyers, its going to be a rough ride!

Medical negligence claims

A pal of mine works in the grim world of clinical / medical negligence claims. He has asked me to plug his site which I unashamedly am more than happy to do.

I used to work in med claims many years ago and have disturbing memories about the cock ups and generally poor attitude of some of the professional people who work in the NHS.

The NHS is an extremely tough environment and I seriously admire anyone who commits to such a vocational life. The problems lie with the beaurocracy, the snobbishness and laziness of some of the consultants who are more than happy to golf on Fridays rather than do their job because they dont want to screw their weekend. But also in the fact that we in the UK expect everything for nothing.

We should contribute more to our healthcare system and I hope the next government will revisit their long buried plans to seek part paid medical services for those that can afford it. For now they are blustering about other things such as getting elected.

More here from the incoming prime minister:

Showing your age in the workplace.........how you know you are getting old

Legal Spy is getting a little long in the tooth. Whilst I still feel sprightly and have no worries about reaching middle age, there are times when you wonder whether you are leaving the rest of the world behind.

Top 5 reasons why you can be made to feel OLD in the workplace in 2009:

1) Not Twittering
Dont get it - dont want to get it.

2) Facebook
See reason 1

3) Trainees look like teenagers
Theyre not - usually they are aged 23-25 but they just look like kids nowadays. They also use comments like "cool" when a simple yes would suffice

4) Daft questions
eg: Did you have colour Tvs when you were young?; Did they have driving tests in your day?; Did you need a degree to become a lawyer in the 60s? (bearing in mind I was born in 1966!)

5) Celebs and trendsetters Ive never heard of
Ive always liked a chinwag with my staff and as such like to keep abreast of all things "hip and trendy". But I am seriously losing my grip. I dont know who they are talking about half the time. For example, who the heck is Hannah Montana? Who is Lindsay Lohan and why is she such a bad girl? Then there's La Roux, Lily Allen and a whole list of other names / slebs of which I know nothing.

There is a lot to be said for growing old gracefully and perhaps thats exactly what I need to be doing. Bring back "Top of the Pops" thats what I say

The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies list - Would you believe 10% of the firms are law practices!

This really did surprise me. The ST list which is based primarily on in depth research contributed to by employees contains more than 10 legal practices or related companies.

Some big hitters are in there such as Pannones, Mills & Reeve and Freeth Cartwright. However there are quite a few firms notable by their absence. No DLA, Irwins, Beachcrofts, Eversheds, Clifford Chance [cough]

Such omissions will not go down very well at the top table of the top firms let me tell you! I can almost visualise the round robin email to senior partners conducting the inquest.