Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31October 2016 LocalGovernmentLawyer 26 It has been a challenging and unpredictable time since the implementation of the Jackson reforms and still, three years on, there is still uncertainly in the implementation of the reforms and how practical the terms are to apply. The Dispute Resolution Survey 2016 resulted in the alarming statistics that, out of 62 local authorities, 42% believe there to be a moderate rise in legal disputes and 22% believe there to be a sharp rise in legal disputes in the foreseeable future. Why is this? One of the common denominators coming out of the survey is that there are higher expectations demanded from local authorities but fewer available resources. This is a dangerous combination and can lead to challenges to decisions. Furthermore, there has been new legislation in adult social care and housing. With all new legislation comes new challenges in which local authorities or the claimant need to test the waters as to what the rules/procedures actually mean in practical terms. The Jackson Reforms It was anticipated that with the Jackson reforms that hopeless cases would no longer be pursued. Long gone are the days when private practice solicitors used to advise their clients that it will not cost them anything if they are successful in the litigation as the other side will pay the costs! This is certainly not the case, especially given the recent leading decisions on proportionality that have now gained some teeth and are significantly reducing the successful party’s costs. Reference is made to May & Anr v Wavell Group [2016] EWHC B16 (Costs): costs were reduced from £208,236.54 to £99,655.74 as being a reasonable figure before being further Have the Jackson reforms increased the use of ADR and is the system proving increasingly advantageous for litigators and clients alike? Jessica Swannell reports. Costs ADR: The growing phenomenon?