4 New Square Chambers’ George McDonald and Matt Waszak explore new representative actions and the complex interplay between litigation funding and class actions, addressing the legal challenges that arise. They emphasise the importance of courts making early rulings on funding arrangements to ensure the viability of class actions.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Funding Challenges: Issues related to funding agreements and privity of contract among class members.
• Early Court Decisions: The potential for courts to provide early clarity on funding arrangements.
• Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs): Insights into CFAs, including success fees and cost recovery for class representatives.
• Damages-Based Agreements (DBAs): Limitations and challenges of DBAs in collective actions.
• Adverse Costs: Discussion on liability for adverse costs in representative actions.
• Legislative Reforms: Speculation on potential reforms to expand the CAT’s collective action regime for consumer claims.
• Judicial Management: The proactive role of courts in managing funding and costs early in litigation.
• Early Determinations: Advantages of pre-emptive court decisions on funding for smoother processes.
• Recommendations for Funders: Guidance on creating tailored funding agreements for representative actions.

In this latest episode in our costs and litigation funding mini-series, 4 New Square Chambers’ Nicholas Bacon KC, George McDonald, and Ben Smiley provide an authoritative analysis of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and the key cost-related issues that are arising in CAT proceedings.

This episode will cover:

• The CAT’s approach to litigation funding arrangements, including the scrutiny of funding agreements and the returns available to funders.
• The complexities surrounding the distribution of collective settlements, with a focus on how the CAT manages the allocation of damages and costs, and the potential for judicial intervention to adjust terms proposed by the parties.
• The impact of the ongoing PACCAR reforms on CAT cases, particularly with regard to procedural and cost-related considerations.
• Key procedural issues unique to the CAT, such as the treatment of costs incurred at the certification stage.

This episode offers an informed perspective on how the CAT is handling these issues and what practitioners can expect as more cases proceed to settlement and distribution.

In this episode of our costs and litigation funding mini-series, Roger Mallalieu KC, Hugh Evans, and Ben Smiley examine security for costs.

They discuss the fundamental principles and offer top tips for successfully making a security for costs application. The episode also explores the use of after the event insurance (ATE Insurance) and Anti-Avoidance Endorsements (AAE) as forms of security for costs.

In the second episode of our costs and litigation funding mini-series, 4 New Square Chambers’ Benjamin Williams KC and Theo Barclay discuss the complexities of costs in group litigation.

They discuss the distinction between individual and common costs, examining the mechanisms designed to simplify the allocation of common costs and offering insights into how these systems can be effectively utilised.

Furthermore, they delve into the role of cost budgeting, evaluating its effectiveness in controlling and forecasting costs in complex legal proceedings, and highlight the challenges posed by the detailed assessment of costs in large-scale group litigation.

Join 4 New Square Chambers’ Robert Marven KC, Pippa Manby, and Theo Barclay as they launch our mini-series on costs and litigation funding.

In this opening episode, the team delves into the repercussions of the Supreme Court’s unexpected ruling in Paccar, which sent shockwaves through the industry. They recount a tumultuous year marked by this landmark decision, which many feared could spell the end of litigation funding as we know it.

In this podcast episode, 4 New Square Chambers Barristers Clare Dixon KC and Ben Smiley explore the SRA’s guidance on SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), the implications for litigation conduct and the challenges it presents to solicitors, COLPs and GCs.

With the publication on 31 May 2024 of the SRA’s updated Warning Notice on SLAPPs, this podcast couldn’t have come at a better time.

In this latest episode of our back to basics Conversations in Professional Liability series, Helen Evans KC, Marie-Claire O’Kane and Will Cook explain all you need to know about audit, discuss key judgments and legal developments and consider what might lie ahead in auditor’s negligence.

In this latest episode of our back to basics Conversations in Professional Liability series, barristers Amanda Savage KC, Paul Parker and Ben Smiley discuss all you need to know about applications for wasted costs; what they are, how you go about making them and what hurdles there might be.

In this latest episode of our Conversations in Professional Liability series, barristers Hugh Evans, Stephen Innes and Matt Waszak look at some of the key points and topics related to costs from the perspective of a professional liability practitioner including pre-action costs, part 36, assessment of costs and the civil justice council costs review.