Gordon Exall

The value of public R&D

Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...

Mistake-filled legal briefs show the limits of relying on AI tools at work Judges around the world are seeing error-riddled legal briefs that were generated with the help of artificial intelligence.

"A French data scientist and lawyer, Damien Charlotin, has catalogued at least 490 court filings in the past six months that contained “hallucinations,” which are AI responses that contain false or misleading information. The pace is accelerating as more people use AI, he said.

MAZUR MATTERS 27: TWO MORE USEFUL LINKS: A USEFUL GUIDE FROM INSURERS: PLUS THE FIRST “REAL WORLD” CASE WHERE MAZUR HAS LED TO A SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION IN COSTS The commentary on Mazur continues.  Here I want to look at two useful links. The first relates to guidance given by an insurer. The second relates to the first report (I have seen) on Mazur having …

First report of a case where Mazur had an impact on costs. £3,000 reduced to £500 www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/30/m...

LITIGATORS: SLEEP LIKE A BABY NEXT YEAR BY NOT REPEATING ALL THE CLAIM FORM MISTAKES PEOPLE HAVE MADE THIS YEAR: WEBINAR 5th NOVEMBER 2025 Needless to say there have been plenty of cases this year relating to service (or mis-service) of the claim form.  This webinar looks at cases over the past 12 months with the primary aim of ensuri…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/28/l...

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/27/l...

OCCUPIER’S LIABILITY CASES IN THE COURTS: A PRACTICAL APPROACH: WEBINAR 29th OCTOBER 2025 This webinar looks at how the courts are dealing with occupiers liability cases and the duty of care.  It takes a practical look at they way in which cases are decided and the factors which determi…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/24/o...

World Tripe Day Want to celebrate World Tripe Day deliciously? Look no further! We’ve come up with all the information you need.

WORLD TRIPE DAY - October 24, 2025 -

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COST BITES 299: PUTTING FORWARD A OVER-LARGE BILL IN NEGOTATIONS ON COSTS: SHOULD THIS LEAD TO THE BILL BEING REDUCED BY 75%? It is not unusual for a receiving party to make an offer on costs before detailed assessment proceedings begin, indeed this is a normal practice. Here the court considered the question of whether s…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/23/c...

ADVOCACY IN THE CIVIL COURTS 2025: WEBINAR 23rd OCTOBER 2025 Regular readers of this blog will know that I regularly take you through guides and hints to advocacy, being particularly keen on those articles and comments given by judges.  A lot of that will fe…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/17/a...

FACT FINDING FOR CIVIL LAWYERS: WEBINAR 22nd OCTOBER 2025: SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES OF INTEREST TO ALL LITIGATORS There is surprisingly little guidance for lawyers on the process by which judges approach the issue of fact finding and witness credibility.  However a detailed working knowledge of this is essenti…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/f...

PART 36 CASE OF THE DAY (1): WAS THE OFFER A VALID OFFER? TWO FIELDS, THREE TRACTORS AND £20,000 CAUSED A FURROW IN THE DEFENDANT’S BROWS Here we are looking at an argument as to whether a Part 36 offer, slightly unusual in form, was a valid Part 36 offer.  Later posts will examine many of the other issues relating to costs that were…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/p...

PART 36 CASE OF THE DAY (2): SHOULD THE NORMAL CONSEQUENCES OF A FAILURE TO BEAT A PART 36 OFFER APPLY? INTERESTING ISSUES OR ISSUES ON INTEREST? We continue looking at a High Court decision with some interesting issues in relation to the making of Part 36 offers and the consequences for a party if the offer is not beaten.  Here we look at t…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/p...

FACT FINDING FOR CIVIL LAWYERS: WEBINAR 22nd OCTOBER 2025: SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES OF INTEREST TO ALL LITIGATORS There is surprisingly little guidance for lawyers on the process by which judges approach the issue of fact finding and witness credibility.  However a detailed working knowledge of this is essenti…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/f...

PART 36 CASE OF THE DAY (3): SHOULD FAILURE TO MEDIATE PROMPTLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE COSTS ORDER? We are continuing with our examination of the costs implications of a costs order.  Here we look at the defendant’s arguments that the claimant’s failure to respond promptly to an offer…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/p...

PART 36 CASE OF DAY (4): THE AMOUNT OF INTERIM PAYMENT AS TO COSTS WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE PERCENTAGE? It is now normal for a successful party to be awarded interim costs at the conclusion of a trial.  Here there is consideration of some of the issues in relation to the making of such orders. In par…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/p...

MAZUR MATTERS 18: WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL MAZUR MAKE TO THE ASSESSMENT OF COSTS? HOW ABOUT – ABSOLUTELY NONE… Much has been written about Mazur, this includes many “column inches” about the implications for inter parties and solicitor and own client costs. However there is some support for the …

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/m...

MAZUR MATTERS 18: WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL MAZUR MAKE TO THE ASSESSMENT OF COSTS? HOW ABOUT – ABSOLUTELY NONE… Much has been written about Mazur, this includes many “column inches” about the implications for inter parties and solicitor and own client costs. However there is some support for the …

Why Mazur makes absolutely no difference to the assessment of costs... www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/15/m...

I have had a few cases recently where this type of thing has cropped up.

The tell so far are papers which say “the evidence shows…” and then there’s no evidence or it actually shows something else entirely…

MAZUR MATTERS 14: ENSURING THAT AN AUTHORISED PERSON HAS “CONDUCT OF LITIGATION”: A PRACTICAL GUIDE: WEBINAR ON 31st OCTOBER 2025 As all readers of this blog will now by now The decision in Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB) means that solicitors must ensure that an “authorised person” has …

More about Mazur. I am wringing out the guidance we can get from the statute, the case law and the regulators and seeing how litigators can fully protect themselves in practice www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/13/m...

I (jointly) got to get this into law. (With @justinbates.bsky.social and @queensparkkaren.bsky.social )

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/34

WITNESS STATEMENTS: GUIDANCE FOR THOSE WHO TAKE THEM AND THOSE WHO SUPERVISE THEM: WEBINAR 15th OCTOBER 2025 On a regular basis on this blog we see cases where judges have been highly critical of the witness statements used at trials or hearings.  This criticism is not a rare event and is usually justifie…

Webinar on witness statements www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/08/w...

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/07/c...

Blind prayers & “wishful thinking” (although they may be the same thing…)

Thanks for making this free to view. It is so important. Your wise words to only rely on source materials should be heeded by everyone. Some "commentators" are expressing unwise opinions that are based on blind prayers.

MAZUR MATTERS 8: WHAT IS MEANT BY THE “CONDUCT OF LITIGATION” (1): HOW HELPFUL ARE THE REGULATORS? This is the start of a new sub-series concentrating on one issue. We will be looking at what has become one of the key matters of concern for many litigators – what is meant by the “con…

I usually don't post on the weekend. However Mazur issues are so pressing that I have put this on (no paywall). www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/10/05/m...

I should think so. Some of the tribunals are very good at this...

"Unfortunately a rift has opened up between those who play and those who used to play. The 'newcomers', according to the old club secretary, Mr Smith, do not appreciate the efforts made in the past to secure the ground for future generations. " www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKF...

Another opening line "In the village of Cookhill, near the Malvern Hills, they have their own cricket ground, where they have played these last 65 years. As well as a pavilion it has a neighbouring pub, the Nevill Arms, where the players, young and old, and onlookers, can retire after a game."

A REMINDER: WEBINAR ON THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF MAZUR (AND HOW TO AVOID SOLICITORS BREAKING THE CRIMINAL LAW WHEN USING NON-QUALIFIED STAFF): 3rd OCTOBER 2025 The fallout, concern and – dare I say it – recriminations in relation to the decision in  Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys continues. There has been a lot of commentary already. This w…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/09/24/a...

2/2 "Whether certain tax mitigation investment schemes are awful or amusing is not relevant to this case; whether they are artificial is one of the central issues."