Overview

In a written statement to Parliament yesterday, the government announced its intention to consult in the autumn on implementing a number of the recommendations in Lord Justice Jackson's final report on civil litigation costs, published on 14 January 2010.

In particular, the government will seek views on Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations that:

• conditional fee agreement (CFA) success fees and after the event (ATE) insurance premiums should cease to be recoverable from the opposing party in litigation; and
• contingency fees (where the lawyer is remunerated by way of a share in the client's damages) should be permitted.

In recent months there has been considerable speculation as to whether or not the new coalition government would implement Lord Justice Jackson's key recommendations. This announcement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Jonathan Djanogly, is the first concrete indication that the government supports the recommendations and intends to move forward with their implementation "as a matter of priority".

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