Approach to costs
Solicitors at Humphreys & Co. always aim to approach
legal work in a financially-disciplined way. We offer
competitive rates. Our charging approach is both transparent
and geared to the options open to our clients. Our
solicitors generally charge by reference to time spent but
we can often agree fixed fees for specific work or in some
cases risk-adjusted funding structures.
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Send us a summary of your circumstances and objectives for a quick response. |
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Commercial
litigation lawyers
| Solicitors
experienced in the litigation of
disputes across the spectrum of
business for UK and international
clients
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Solicitors here are strong in
litigation, arbitration and other dispute
resolution mechanisms. The firm has strength in
depth in litigation in a large number of fields of
activity, including company shareholder disputes,
insurance, technology, internet, investments,
insolvency, land, farming, building and
construction, accountancy, banking, entertainment,
sport, holiday claims and boundary disputes.
Our solicitors are experienced in and we
have the resources to conduct commercial
litigation pursuing and defending causes of action
in negligence, nuisance, libel, intellectual
property (patents, copyrights, designs, unfair
competition, confidential information, trade
marks) infringement, debt recovery (contract law),
passing off and misrepresentation.
The firm has strength in depth in litigation
of all types. Our solicitors aim to make
court, arbitration and mediation procedures
work positively. They focus on achieving
clients' objectives but without tunnel
vision and always keeping the wider picture
in view. Solicitors here are equipped to
undertake:
-
contractual
claims and recoveries
-
shareholder
and partnership disputes
-
professional
negligence claims
-
land
and building claims
-
insurance
and reinsurance litigation
-
reinsurance
collections
-
financial
services issues
-
defamation
actions
-
receivership
and liquidation claims
- alternative dispute
resolution
We can offer a fixed
charge initial analysis of your case with options
and recommendations
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Litigation:
an
overview
The
pre-action stage
Before litigation
proceedings are commenced the first
thing a solicitor will do is
identify his client’s circumstances
and objectives. For example, the
client may be in a dispute with a
valuable trading partner, meaning
that ways of preserving the
relationship between the parties
after the dispute need to be
considered.
Other points that a solicitor will
address at this stage of the
litigation include:
- limitation
periods (whether the statutory
period within which the claim must
be brought has expired)
- solvency of
the defendant (it is not worth
pursuing litigation against a party
known to be on the verge of being
wound-up or being made bankrupt)
- methods of funding the litigation
such as no win no fee agreements
- consideration of available methods
of alternative dispute resolution
- compliance with the Practice
Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and
any relevant protocols (which set
out the procedure that parties to
litigation must follow).
Procedurally the most important step
at this stage is the issuing of a
letter before claim (or its
equivalent as determined by a
pre-action protocol), which sets out
the nature of the case against the
defendant and may facilitate early
settlement by providing information
early on in the litigation. This
should be followed by a letter of
response from the defendant.
Commencement
of proceedings
Should the dispute fail to
be resolved at the pre-action stage,
formal litigation proceedings are
commenced by issuing a claim form
and serving it on the defendant.
Either at the same time or shortly
after, the claimant must also serve
full particulars of their claim
against the defendant.
Interim matters
The court will allocate the
claim to a track and issue
management directions which will
function as both parties’ timetable
for the litigation going forward.
This will give the parties a clear
deadline (the anticipated trial
date) to which they will be working
with various major landmarks along
the way, such as the disclosure of
relevant material held by both
parties and the exchange of witness
statements.
It is during this stage of the
litigation that the solicitors for
both parties will consider making an
application for interim orders such
as an order to strike out the other
side’s case or an order for interim
payment into court on account of
damages.
The
trial
Attempts to resolve the
dispute before trial will be
considered at various points
throughout the litigation but if
these prove unsuccessful the
claimant and defendant will put
their cases to a judge in court. A
small claims trial can be relatively
informal and parties do not need to
comply with the rules of evidence.
Fast-track and multi-track trials
involve more restrictive rules of
evidence and procedure. At the end
of the trial the judge will make a
ruling as to costs and the general
rule is that the loser will pay the
winner’s costs of the litigation.
Post-trial
After the trial one
party may decide to lodge an
appeal. There may also be a
hearing before a costs judge
(known as a detailed
assessment) to determine the
amount of the winner’s
costs. In most cases the
loser of the trial will
comply with the judgment
against them. If they do
not, the winner will
consider methods of
enforcing the judgment such
as through the use of
bailiffs. It is prudent to
consider the possibility of
difficulties arising at this
stage before litigation is
commenced.
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Alternative
dispute
resolution
Arbitration
Arbitration
involves an independent
third party (or parties)
reaching a decision which is
binding on the parties in
dispute and enforceable as
if it were a judgment.
Arbitration clauses are
frequently contained in
business contracts and where
this is the case the parties
are compelled to use this
method of ADR before
contemplating other methods.
Alternatively the parties
can volunteer to submit to
the process. It can offer a
number of advantages (though
its appropriateness needs to
be assessed on a
case-by-case basis) such as
relative speed compared to
litigation, privacy, the
ability to select an
arbitrator with expertise in
the relevant field and the
possibility of coming to a
solution that is more
practical than a trial judge
could
impose.
Mediation
In mediation a neutral
third party, the mediator, assists
two or more parties in order to help
them achieve an agreement on a
matter in which they are in
dispute. Mediation is now
widely recognised in the UK and
Europe as the most popular form of
alternative dispute resolution as it
offers solutions beyond those that a
court could ordinarily impose and
can be used to settle disputes in a
whole range of situations.
Mediation is a voluntary process and
will only take place if both parties
agree. Both parties share the
cost of mediation, which will depend
on the value and complexity of the
claim. If the parties are
unable to reach an agreement, they
can still go to court, and anything
discussed at the mediation is
completely confidential.
Solicitors at Humphreys & Co
are experienced in mediation, and
find that clients benefit from
being able to put their case
forward at a more affordable price
and without the uncertainty and
stress of going to court.
Conciliation
Conciliation is a process
similar to mediation used in the
construction industry whereby a
conciliator seeks to facilitate a
settlement between the
parties. The conciliator (who
under the contract can often either
be agreed between the parties or
appointed by the Federation of
Master Builders in the absence of
agreement) does not decide any
issues of law or fact but conducts a
process whereby each party states
its position and then attempts to
work towards a compromise.
Any settlement achieved is then set
down in writing in document binding
upon the parties as a new
contract. The costs of
conciliation are the time of the
conciliator and the venue for the
conciliation. Parties do not
have to be represented. Conciliation
can only take place if both parties
so agree, whether in the contract or
after a dispute arises. Conciliation
can be an effective way of reaching
agreement over eliminating some of
the parties' more unreasonable
requests.
Adjudication
The aim of adjudication is
to resolve disputed issues in order
to enable work to continue, either
indefinitely or while awaiting the
decision of a judge or arbitrator.
Adjudication is a more formal
mechanism for dispute resolution
that is designed to be quicker and
cheaper than arbitration or
litigation. A third party
adjudicator, usually a technical
expert in the relevant field,
decides the (generally factual)
issues between the parties.
Adjudication has a statutory basis
under s.108 of the Housing Grants,
Construction and Regeneration Act
1996. The adjudicator’s decision is
binding upon the parties and may be
the subject of appeal or enforcement
in the courts.
Evaluation
An evaluator's opinion aims
to help you to decide how to handle
your dispute and may enable you to
reach a solution.
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Accessibility
We take instructions from UK & international clients. Our independent lawyers are available by email, telephone & fax. With central Bristol offices we are just 90 minutes from London by road or rail and 15 minutes from Bristol International Airport. We can travel to meetings if required.
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Independent approach
We are an independent professional law firm here, not a legal factory turning out mass-produced products. In our experience, determined case-handling is more likely to produce effective results.
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Turnaround time
Solicitors at Humphreys & Co. look to input not only
careful legal work and precision but also the determination
to keep matters moving. They aim to work in clients' real
interests with energy and pragmatism.
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Communication skills
Solicitors at Humphreys & Co. always try to open up the
legal process by giving advice and explaining options to
clients in a concise and straightforward way, identifying
clear courses of action whatever the technical or legal
complexities of the subject. |
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