The Woolf At The Door

The Woolf At The Door

by Chris Hobbs and Nick Austin

This article was first published in Lloyd's List on 3.2.99.

In a little under three months time, on 26th April, the landscape with which those involved in civil litigation have become so familiar, if not so fond, will change irretrievably. For that is the day the much heralded reforms to civil litigation procedure, known as the Woolf reforms (after Lord Justice Woolf), come in to force.

Even a brief overview here of all of the rules would run to more column inches than this page, or the reader's patience, would allow. So we intend here briefly to outline the principal ways in which the commencement of proceedings will change and how, at the outset of a dispute, the tactical viewpoint of those seeking to resolve disputes in Court may be affected.