Woolf to cut defendants’ costs

Lord Woolf has said in an article in the Times that defendants facing disproportionate costs is a “very retrograde step”.

“Defendants can face huge, disproportionate and unjust costs. If the defendant wins, on the whole he is going to be out of pocket. And if he loses, he will face three sets of costs: his own, the success fee of the lawyers on the other side and the insurance premium.”

He said it was not all his fault. “Part of the explanation is the actions of the government after the reforms for which I am responsible. The costs that litigants are required to pay to the government have soared. The almost complete replacement of legal aid by conditional fee agreements, and after-the-event insurance have in themselves increased expense, while at the same time enabling those who could not otherwise afford to litigate to do so.

Lord Woolf said:

• The maximum costs recoverable should be subject to a proportionate cap in most cases
• There is room for the substantial damages that are recovered in some personal injury cases to establish a fund to subsidise other cases
• If the parties can resolve their dispute it must surely be right that they do so by whatever means are available, including mediation.