Speech by the Chancellor of the High Court to Harvard Law School: Online courts – Perspectives from the Bench and the Bar – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Speech by the Chancellor of the High Court to Harvard Law School: Online courts – Perspectives from the Bench and the Bar.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 25th November 2020

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Still no rules but full steam to April for whiplash reforms, says MoJ – Legal Futures

‘Ministers remain “determined” to implement the whiplash reforms next April, a top Ministry of Justice (MoJ) official confirmed yesterday, although it is still not certain when the rules governing the process will be published.’

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Legal Futures, 24th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitors oppose move to digital signatures for LPAs – Legal Futures

Posted November 16th, 2020 in electronic filing, fraud, news, powers of attorney, solicitors, statistics by sally

‘The vast majority of solicitors want to retain the rule that donors must physically sign lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) rather than move to electronic signatures, a survey has found.’

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Legal Futures, 16th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Vos: ‘lawyers face steep learning curve on tech’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘All lawyers will need to become familiar with the concepts and workings of distributed ledger technology, smart legal contracts and cryptoassets, according to the next master of the rolls. In a foreword to a landmark report on the regulation of blockchain technology, Sir Geoffrey Vos says that the pandemic “has only emphasised our need to understand the ways in which technology is affecting our professional lives. Lawyers face a steep learning curve.” ’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th October 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

SCCO will use remote hearings more once back to normal – Litigation Futures

Posted July 31st, 2020 in coronavirus, costs, courts, electronic filing, news, remote hearings by sally

‘Video and phone hearings are set to become a permanent feature of the Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO) even after the coronavirus pandemic has passed, the Senior Costs Judge has said.’

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Litigation Futures, 30th July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

General guidance on PDF bundles – St John’s Chambers

Posted May 29th, 2020 in case management, computer programs, documents, electronic filing, news by sally

‘Mr Justice Mann, Judge in charge of Live Services, has issued guidance to judges today about PDF bundles. The guidance applies to all courts, but not to tribunals.’

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St John's Chambers, 20th May 2020

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

E-Bundling Guidance for Remote Hearings – Falcon Chambers

Posted May 21st, 2020 in coronavirus, electronic filing, news, remote hearings by sally

‘As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, on 19 March 2020, the Lord Chief Justice delivered a message in respect of the Civil & Family Courts in which he said: “The default position now in all jurisdictions must be that hearings should be conducted with one, more than one, or all participants attending remotely.” Legal professionals are naturally anxious to know what may be expected of them in practically in preparation for such hearings.’

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Falcon Chambers, May 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Court issues guidance on e-bundles for short applications – Litigation Futures

Posted May 12th, 2020 in coronavirus, documents, electronic filing, news, time limits by sally

‘Counsel presenting short applications should be “retained in sufficient time” to enable them to advise on the contents of the electronic bundle, the High Court has recommended.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th May 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judges back guidance for remote detailed assessment hearings – Litigation Futures

‘Guidance on the conduct of remote detailed assessments (DAs) has been produced to get the system moving during the lockdown.’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd April 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Covid-19: FAQs on electronic signatures and e-signing – The 36 Group

Posted April 21st, 2020 in chambers articles, contracts, coronavirus, documents, electronic filing, news by sally

‘An electronic signature is data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form, and which is used by a signatory to sign.’

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The 36 Group, 15th April 2020

Source: 36group.co.uk

Witnessing an Execution: What Does s1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 Require Today? – Falcon Chambers

Posted April 21st, 2020 in chambers articles, documents, electronic filing, internet, news, wills by sally

‘There have been two recent thought-provoking articles on whether documents which require a signature to be witnessed (that is, wills and deeds) can be witnessed either “virtually” in real-time (with attestation[1] by the witness on a separate counterpart simultaneously, with the execution being observed online) or after the event (with the execution being witnessed online, and the document then being posted to and subsequently attested by the witness).’

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Falcon Chambers, April 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Value Based Charging and Electronic Disclosure – Ropewalk Chambers

‘Practice Direction 31A of the CPR 1998 contemplates specifically that disclosure of electronic documents may be carried out by using keyword or other automated searches.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 6th April 2020

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

E-Bundling Guide – 4 New Square

Posted April 17th, 2020 in chambers articles, electronic filing, news by sally

‘Drawing on extensive experience of working with different types of e-Bundle, David Turner QC has created a guide setting ou​t the advantages and disadvantages of different types of standalone e-Bundle, a step-by-step approach to their compilation and how to get the most out of them.’

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4 New Square, 14th April 2020

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Out-of-Hours Appointments: A Temporary Fix to a Permanent Problem? – Radcliffe Chambers

‘The past year has seen repeated attempts by the courts to solve the conundrum of electronic working and how it interfaces with outof-court appointments of administrators. Six decisions, all conflicting in whole or in part, none likely to result in an appeal, did little to ease the uncertainty surrounding the validity of notices efiled outside court hours by CE-File. There was no substantive attempt at resolution on the part of the Companies Court or the Insolvency Rules Committee; the Chancellor issued guidance to the effect that notices filed out-of-hours would be referred to a designated High Court Judge.’

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Radcliffe Chambers, 8th April 2020

Source: radcliffechambers.com

Expert Evidence: A Cautionary Tale – Exchange Chambers

‘On 3rd March 2020, Robert Buckland, the incumbent Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, confirmed that electronic signatures are permissible and legally valid if used in commercial and consumer documents. This declaration followed a Law Commission report, published in September last year, that looked at the electronic execution of documents, including deeds.’

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Exchange Chambers, 25th March 2020

Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk

Check your Email Signatures! – Falcon Chambers

‘As every property practitioner knows, s 2(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (the 1989 Act) requires a contract for the sale or other disposition of land to be ‘signed by or on behalf of each party’. Neocleous v Rees [2019] EWHC 2462 (Ch), [2019] All ER (D) 25 (Oct) was the first occasion on which the court was asked to determine whether an email footer satisfied the requirement for a signature in s 2(3). The issue arose in the context of an alleged compromise agreement between the parties to a property dispute, which was contained in an exchange of emails between their solicitors. Viewed in the wider context of the earlier authorities, and a recent Law Commission report, the decision encourages practitioners to consider how formality requirements in property transactions—and more generally—are now operating in an increasingly digital world.’

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Falcon Chambers, 13th March 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Email blocked by tribunal’s firewall not validly served – Litigation Futures

Posted March 12th, 2020 in appeals, electronic filing, electronic mail, news, service by tracey

‘An email blocked by a firewall at the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) did not constitute valid service of an appeal, a judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Case highlights need for certainty in out of hours administration appointments – OUT-LAW.com

‘The High Court ruled that it is not permissible for a notice of appointment of administrators by the directors of a company to be e-filed out of court hours. The court ruled that the defect was curable and that the appointment took effect at the time the court opened for business the next working day. This judgment adds to the growing number of conflicting cases about the validity and time of the appointment when notices are e-filed out of hours.

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th March 2020

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

MoJ: Three months is enough to prepare for whiplash reforms – Legal Futures

‘Three months should be enough time for personal injury law firms and defendant insurers to be ready for the whiplash reforms, the government official leading the work said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Developments since Keyworker Homes – Exchange Chambers

Posted February 26th, 2020 in administrators, chambers articles, electronic filing, insolvency, news by sally

‘In a judgment which disagreed with the recently reported decisions of Re Skeggs Beef Limited[2019] EWHC 2607 (Ch) and Re SJ Henderson and Co Ltd [2019] EWHC 2742 (Ch), HHJ Hodge QC sitting as a Judge of the High Court found:

1) Notices of Intention to Appoint Administrators (“NOI”) can be filed at any time via e-filing and take effect at the time they are filed via e-filing.
2) Directors or the Company can make out of hours appointments of Administrators by filing a Notice of Appointment (“NOA”) at any time via e-filing. The appointment will take effect at the time the documents are filed via e-filing.
3) That for the purposes of the computation of the period of 10 business days pursuant to para 28(2) of Sch.B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986, the first business day will be the business day after the date on which the NOI was filed – thus it is a ‘clear days’ calculation.’

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Exchange Chambers, 20th February 2020

Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk