Big scary bills come from the litigators, the fighters. They will try to mitigate your losses. The lawyer that creates value for a business is the builder.

It has recently become even more important for parties involved in litigation to pay attention to deadlines.

Rushing a process can be a false economy. Ask the hare

The latest statistics on cases that are received and processed through the justice system of England and Wales for January to March 2016 have been published by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

The most recent civil disputes I’ve mediated involved a division of assets but on the day of the mediation the absence of key information caused a blockage for the parties who were otherwise moving toward their chosen form of settlement.

The Judge in this case ordered indemnity costs against a party who refused to agree a very short extension for service of a Statement of Case.

Beware - this can mean a bigger bill for the ‘loser’.

The Court had regard to the overall justice of the case.