Commercial Litigation Lawyer

Commercial litigation lawyers and the Woolf reforms

The following explains the Woolf report and the impact this has had on commercial litigation.

First of all, it is important to establish what the process of commercial litigation involves and the role of a commercial litigation lawyer in facilitating this. Commercial litigation involves the resolution of disputes arising in corporate and commercial sectors.

A Commercial litigation lawyer would usually deal with disputes involving banking transactions, fraud, professional negligence, corporate governance, EU competition and mergers and acquisitions.

Background

In 1986, with the English Civil Justice system deemed to be in an unsatisfactory state, the Civil Justice Review was established, with the aim of investigating flaws in the system and make suggestions on how to improve it. In 1988, the Review published a series of findings and suggestions, however these were met largely with criticism from many solicitors as their implementation would mean a loss of money to them. As a result, only a few of the suggestions raised were ever implemented.

The Woolf Report

In 1994 the Government appointed Lord Woolf to head a further review into the civil justice system.

1996 saw the publication of the "Access to justice report" aka "The Woolf Report." In this, Woolf identified fundamental problems with the system and set a series of reforms for the rules governing the procedures involved in commercial litigation. These were intended to create a quicker and less expensive system to encourage the early settlement of disputes by means of alternative dispute resolutions. These rules finally came into force in April 1999.

There is disagreement amongst commercial litigation lawyers about the merits of the Woolf reforms, with many questioning their effectiveness. Whatever your viewpoint however, it cannot be denied that they have served to reduce the amount of commercial litigation cases which go to court.

EAD Commercial litigation lawyer

At EAD, the dedicated commercial litigation team will endeavour to resolve your dispute as quickly and easily as possible. We are with you every step of the way, to ensure that you receive the outcome you were looking for.

Click here to fill in our commercial litigation claim form or call 0151 735 1000 now for more information.