November 14, 2005

The Americanization of the U.K. legal system proceeds, or so it would seem per the Daily Telegraph last month:

Businesses could face a big rise in class-action lawsuits if advice from the Civil Justice Council is adopted by the government.

The council, which is chaired by Sir Anthony Clarke, the Master of the Rolls, rules out an end to the "loser pays" principle on legal fees, but says that contingency fees, where lawyers can share the winnings as they do in the US, should be considered....

"Consideration should be given to the introduction of contingency fees on a regulated basis," the report says, "particularly to assist access to justice in group actions and other complex cases where no other method of funding is available."

According to the Telegraph, the recommendations could influence the eventual form taken by a civil justice reform bill being taken up for debate this month. The United States is among relatively few nations that permit attorneys to obtain a share of damages as their fee for prosecuting an action.