|
Other challenges abounded and the increased access for personal injury claimants was accompanied by a long rocky road for claimant solicitors.
The introduction of CFAs, success fees and recoverable ATE premiums was in part intended as a privatisation of civil legal aid in order to cut government expenditure, so the government was initially very keen that personal injury solicitors should be fully supported. Ironically however, the years since then have been characterised by important procedural court decisions being mostly supportive of claimant solicitors, while government legislation has been highly unsupportive.
That said, the “Jackson reforms” in early 2013 (now almost 7 years ago) were not the predicted death knell of personal injury claimants or their solicitors. On the contrary, solicitors acting for personal injury claimants have continued to thrive and flourish. The forthcoming Civil Liability Act reforms and accompanying CPR changes, certainly pose a further threat. The technical challenges posed by the proposed changes mean that the upheaval is probably at least one year away, but few doubt that personal injury claimants and their solicitors will face those major changes within the next 18 months.
This new challenge will not however be Armageddon. We can take heart from how successive difficulties have been overcome over the last 20 years – it is undoubtedly a signpost for the future. The personal injury claimant market will lose a significant proportion of its smaller claims (were they ever that profitable?), but consolidate towards slightly larger personal injury claims. At the same time many solicitors are tentatively moving towards a range of other types of financial claim. Those claims will require support from ATE providers (because they do not benefit from QOCS), but they appear likely to more than replace “lost” smaller personal injury claims.
In a dark winter, the future may be brighter than it looks.
Season’s Greetings!
Simon Pinner (Director)
|
