Gordon Exall

“Show, don’t tell” is, in my view, a foundational principle of persuasive legal and judicial writing.

In Yorkshire today we have a double rainbow - just to show we don’t do things by half…

www.apil.org.uk/training/avo... I’m adding a section on AI & the drafting of witness statements to this.

Today’s #legalwriting tip from the Ohio Supreme Court—don’t use any form of the verb “to believe” in any part of an affidavit when the affiant legally has to *know* that what they’re saying is true.

AVOIDING THE PITFALLS OF LIMITATION AND MAKING SECTION 33 APPLICATIONS: WEBINAR 20th FEBRUARY 2026 (MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON TIME…) We have seen a few interesting cases about limitation in the past 12 months.  Misunderstanding, and missing, limitation periods remains a frequent issue in modern litigation. This webinar deals wit…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2026/02/11/a...

PART 36: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES: DETAILS OF THE WEBINAR ON THE 26th FEBRUARY 2025 A working — indeed, a detailed — knowledge of how Part 36 operates in practice is essential for all litigators. Although it is famously described as a “self-contained code”, it is a code whose appl…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2026/02/03/p... Catch up on all the important developments on Part 36

NEW YEAR: NEW GUIDELINE HOURLY RATES: SEE THE DETAILS HERE: EFFECTIVE FROM YESTERDAY The new Guideline hourly rates were published yesterday. They take effect from 1st January 2026 (for anyone working).   They have been updated using service producer price inflation (SPPI).   …

New Guideline Hourly Rates for solicitors, effective from yesterday www.civillitigationbrief.com/2026/01/02/n...

This is awful. Please spread the word about this “payment into court” scam

My favourite opening line for a 2025 judgment.
From @civlittweet.bsky.social excellent commentary.
#Language and #Law

FRAUDSTERS OPERATING IN THE GUISE OF OFFICIAL COURT ENFORCEMENT STAFF: £45,549 LOST: A WARNING TO ALL DEFENDANTS AND JUDGMENT DEBTORS HERE A judgment debtor is in a vulnerable position.  There are companies out there taking advantage of that vulnerability by pretending to be official enforcement agencies and taking money off the debto…

This is information that must be shared far and wide. Fraudsters pretending to be court enforcement agencies conning money out of vulnerable parties. (No paywall) www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/12/22/f...

WITNESS EVIDENCE WEDNESDAY: DEFENDANT REFUSED PERMISSION TO RELY ON EVIDENCE SERVED (VERY LATE): “THE TIME IS NOW” We have seen examples of witness evidence served late, sometimes very late.  Here we see an example of witness evidence served five minutes before a hearing was due to start, and two months late. F…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/12/10/w...

REVISITING THE ISSUES: THAT IMPORTANT DISTINCTION BETWEEN A “NON-ADMISSION” AND A DENIAL IN A DEFENCE: THE KEY CASES CONSIDERED The post earlier today about the significant difference between a non-admission and denial has led me to revisit previous posts on the case.  This post from 2020 which reviewed the case law on the …

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/12/05/r...

MAZUR MATTERS 44: THE SRA STATES IT WILL TREAT “SYMPATHETICALLY” SELF-REPORTED INCIDENCES BASED ON MISTAKEN INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW The SRA updated its guidance on “Mazur and conducting litigation” today.  This includes its likely approach to reports of past errors.   The SRA states that it will look on such issues …

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/12/05/m...

MAZUR COMPLIANT SUPERVISION AND COST EFFECTIVE DELEGATION IN 2025: WEBINAR 5th DECEMBER 2025: “TASKS MAY BE DELEGATED BUT CONDUCT OF THE LITIGATION MAY NOT” With an appeal pending (at some indefinite time) and the profession still rife with uncertainty we need to consider, head on, issues relating to delegation and supervision.  Get this right and you …

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/28/m...

ANOTHER “HALLUCINATED” AUTHORITIES CASE: A FALSE CITATION AUTHORED OR REVIEWED BY A LAWYER WITHOUT ATTRIBUTION CAN STILL BE SUBJECT TO REFERENCE FOR MISCONDUCT OR CONTEMPT The citation of “false” authorities shocked me (and many others) when the cases first started.  Now it feels as if they are becoming a commonplace occurrence.  They are, however, just a…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/12/03/a...

LOOKING FOR A LITIGATION TEAM? THERE IS A WHOLE TEAM AVAILABLE HERE AND NOW… It is always sad to read of firm’s closing.  Not least because this has profound consequences for those working there. I saw this post yesterday on LinkedIn.  I have Daniel’s permission…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/30/l...

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE AND ACCIDENTS AT WORK: WEBINAR 1ST DECEMBER 2025: CRITICISM USING HINDSIGHT IS EASY BUT DOES NOT NECESSARILY LEAD TO FINDINGS AGAINST A CLAIMANT This webinar explores the complex area of contributory negligence in employer’s liability cases. It examines how courts approach allegations that an employee’s actions contributed to their own inju…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/24/c... Allegations of contributory negligence & accidents at work are subject to particular legal principles. The practical implications of these are considered in this webinar.

www.apil.org.uk/training/con...

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE IN ROAD TRAFFIC CASES: DO ALL ROADS LEAD TO FROOM? WEBINAR 19th NOVEMBER 2025 Issues relating to contributory negligence often play a large part in road traffic cases.  This webinar looks at the case law and guidance in relation to the key issues that often arise. Booking de…

Webinar on contributory negligence in road traffic cases tomorrow. If you miss it, and it becomes important, it will be partly your own fault... www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/18/c...

EXPERTS IN THE COURTS IN 2025: THE CASES (AND THE LESSONS) CONSIDERED IN A WEBINAR ON THE 20th NOVEMBER 2025 This has been quite a year for experts in the courts.  All kinds of mistakes and errors have been reported upon.  These are expensive issues for litigants and sometimes for the experts involved.  T…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/12/e...

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE: A SERIES OF THREE WEBINARS THAT LOOK AT THE LAW AND PRACTICE IN DETAIL Contributory negligence is one of the “Cinderella” subjects of legal practice.  It is often alleged and often conceded.  However the underlying principles that the courts apply are rare…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/13/c...

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE: THE LAW, PRACTICE AND SPECIAL CASES: WEBINAR 17th NOVEMBER 2025 You may be reading this for the second time – but it may be partly your own fault….  This webinar looks at the law relating to contributory negligence, the legislation and the key cases…

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/14/c...

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/12/w...

DEFAULT AND SANCTIONS CASES IN THE COURTS IN 2025: WEBINAR 12th NOVEMBER 2025 This year has see more than its fair share of cases relating to default, sanctions and wasted costs. Knowing what those cases are, the problems that arose, how they were caused and the results are …

www.civillitigationbrief.com/2025/11/11/d...

Only … you couldn’t go to jail for two if you fell foul of Mitchell..,

How about this for freebie’s at the ACL conference? (Although I thought modern publishers discouraged footnotes…)

I still have a bag full of them. They are marshalled very carefully…

Andrew Roy KC speaking on the problems caused by Mazur

Setting up at the ACL conference today

... generative AI.” The judge sanctioned the lawyer for violating Bankruptcy Rule 9011 (for legal contentions not warranted by existing law). The sanctions consisted of attorneys’ fees, mandatory CLE, and referral to disciplinary counsel. No sanctions mentioned for the client.