Seamus Smyth comments in Commercial Dispute Resolution

Carter Lemon Camerons (CLC) is pleased to announce that Partner Seamus Smyth has been interviewed for Commercial Dispute Resolution.

Speaking on behalf of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), Seamus commented on the introduction of the Shorter Trials Scheme (STS) which allows for shorter, mutually-agreed trials within London’s flagship Rolls Building, including the Commercial Court and the Chancery Division. He said the move would be popular with clients, by limiting the length of litigation and “therefore the disruption caused by litigation and the indirect cost to the client of deputing people to deal with it.”

As well as making costs easier to predict and lower, Seamus noted that it would benefit smaller sized commercial claims. “For lower-level cases of £50,000 to £500,000, these factors may make the difference for the parties between being able to afford to sue, or to defend [a case], and therefore increase access to justice.”

Seamus further commented on Flexible Trials Schemes (FTS) that allow clients to voluntarily adapt civil procedure, including on disclosure, witness and expert evidence, and submissions at trial, in order to fit their particular circumstances on a mutually-agreed basis. Smyth told Commercial Dispute Resolution that arguably, both the STS and existing case management procedures made the FTS redundant and so there was no need for it.

The full article can be read online at: www.cdr-news.com/categories/litigation/5889-innovation-in-the-city-of-london.