As a solicitor of 46 years, I am fascinated by the conflict between the current reality for practitioners and Lord Justice Briggs’ view that, for claims up to £25,000, civil justice can be done without any lawyer involvement (particularly in the areas of pleadings and disclosure).
On the one hand, solicitors now have an irascible judiciary condemning qualified practitioners in costs for not strictly following the rules and producing bundles to meet their often petty requirements. At the same time, Lord Justice Briggs implies that all that is unnecessary; and that we can do without strict compliance and leave it to litigants in person to bumble along online.
Peter Mason-Apps, Mason-Apps Smallmans & Co, Maidenhead
