Civil Litigation

We have a very busy and experienced civil litigation department

We also deal with cases in the High Courts across the United Kingdom.

We assist with the bringing of a claim as well as the defending of a claim. This can be all types of cases whether against an individual or against a company or organisation and for all amounts of money.

We have dealt with a large number of complex cases involving fraud, money laundering, undue influence, contempt of Court for varying amounts of money.

The Courts are currently experiencing high backlogs due to the amount of litigants in person and the problem with this is delay for other cases in the Court and the cost risks for those who do not obtain advice and lose the case leading to severe financial hardship.

Obtaining advice towards the beginning of a case, will allow a merit assessment of a case to be conducted. The tactical approach on how to deal with the case can then be established to achieve the best possible outcome. Even with a case with poor merit, whether the client is the Claimant or Defendant can achieve a positive result provided the correct tactic is used and at the most appropriate time.

There are a number of people who believe that they have the best case which is bound to win however, unless there is sufficient evidence to support the claim or defend the claim and provided the situation has the law and case law to support it, there is a possibility that the claim will be unsuccessful. Just because someone believes that their case is bound to win, does not mean that it will win. Case assessment is crucial.

We have been successful in a number of cases where other solicitors have rated the merits as poor and our success has in part been due to the tactical decisions made at relevant times and thinking ‘outside the box’. You cannot be closed minded in civil litigation cases. Attention to detail and legal experience in dealing with different cases is invaluable.

Always consider costs. Generally any claim over £10,000 in the Courts will attract cost risks and the general rule is the loser pays the winner’s reasonable costs. If however, the claim is just over £10,000, a Judge may decide to allocate the case to the small claims track. It is important to note that if the case is allocated to the small claims track (for cases where the value of the claim is less than £10,000) then each party bears their own costs general although there can be exceptional reasons for this general rule not to apply.

We believe that a case will run smoothly once a client has obtained initial advice from a solicitor and the Court procedure explained. We also offer a service where clients can deal with the majority of the case themselves and when they need assistance with an issue, they can approach us at that time. This level of support provides our clients with some comfort.

For cases allocated to the fast track and multi track (generally those cases valued at over £10,000), cost risks need to be addressed. A client does not want to issue a claim and at the end of the case find that they have to pay the Defendants costs amounting to thousands of pounds. Advice is therefore the sensible option towards the beginning of the case. Again, we offer the service of clients approaching us at different stages of the Court procedure when they require assistance or we take on the file and assist the client throughout the case. We offer our clients the opportunity to undertake tasks within their case that are simple and provide us with the information that we require to help reduce their costs.

It is also essential at the beginning of a case to consider what happens at the end of the case if our client were to be successful or unsuccessful. If successful then how will our client be able to obtain the money that the opposition owes to them? How much information does our client know about the opposition and their finances? If the opposition does not have any money or assets, is it actually worth issuing a claim in Court as the chance would be that the client will never see any money, yet will be spending money to obtain a County Court Judgment. Considering enforcement options at the beginning is therefore one aspect of a merit assessment and unfortunately, this basic point is missed too often.

There are so many applications that a Claimant or Defendant can apply for to assist their case however, they are underused due to a lack of knowledge about them. We will ensure that we apply for the applications, which are the most suitable for a client’s case in order to attempt to obtain the desired result.

Time Limits

There are time limits for both bringing a claim and for defending a claim so it is essential that if a client believes they have a case to claim or have a defence that they seek advice immediately. Provided all paperwork is produced in order for us to assess whether a case has merit to start action or defend, we can in the majority of cases make a decision instantly. If we feel that a case does not have merit we inform clients of this and will advise on the next steps which can be taken but more importantly, whether there are any risks in continuing or the options in concluding the case as positively as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

I want to defend the Claim against me but I don’t have much money, can you help?

We can assist you with the Claim but would look at ways that you can keep our fees down. This can involve you doing certain parts or jobs yourself such as making necessary telephone calls, drafting your witness statement and then we would only have to look over it or tweaking it to ensure that it contains all relevant information.

I have issued a Claim and the other side have made an application to strike out my claim, what do I do?

Your case will need an assessment. Generally when applications are made within proceedings, cost risks apply. This means that usually, an application to strike out especially when the party is legally represented believes that they have sufficient evidence to support their defence and as such your claim is at a real risk of being struck out by the Courts. There are however, lots of such applications made where there is insufficient merit and the application is made for other reasons regardless of the cost risks if they were to lose costs in the application.

I have already prepared my case but I am not sure about matters which can be raised by a Judge at trial, what happens at a hearing or how likely I am to win my case?

We conduct ‘mock trials’ whereby you can present your case as you would at trial, but it would be in front of a solicitor. That solicitor will then pick up on matters you may wish to consider before your trial date including different types of evidence to consider to prove your point, the way that you present your case, the contents of your witness statement and such alike so that you have a better idea of what to expect when you attend trial. No case law is used in respect of providing advice as this is an assessment of you presenting your case and things that you can do to present your case in a more beneficial way. It should be noted that the earlier you attend for a ‘mock trial’ the more beneficial it will be for you as there will be deadlines for you to file and serve evidence in your real trial and our handy hints will assist you a lot better at an earlier stage although, we do conduct them at any point up to your real trial date. For more information about our ‘mock trials’ please see our mock trial page or use this link (LINK TO BE ADDED)