The Jackson Reforms To The Litigation Process: Three Years On

When the Jackson Reforms first came into force in April 2013, it was proclaimed they would lead to significant changes in the way in which civil litigation was conducted and would improve the culture of litigation for the good of all. Now some three and a half years on, Jeremy Glover (i) provides a reminder of the key aspects of the Jackson Reforms; (ii) reviews how they are working in practice; and (iii) takes a look at some of the latest developments.

Cost budgets

One of the key elements of the Jackson Reforms was the effective management of litigation costs through the introduction of cost budgeting. The basic idea behind cost budgeting is that cost budgets detailing a party's costs for the entire litigation must be filed and exchanged prior to the first Case Management Conference. Parties are encouraged to seek to agree cost budgets, in whole or in part, after they have been exchanged and the court will record any such agreed budget. Where the budgets are