Fixed fast-track fees?

In his Preliminary Report on Civil Costs, Lord Justice Jackson said he was minded to recommend fixed fees across the fast-track and has said subsequently that nothing he had heard or read since publishing it has changed his mind. At his request the Civil Justice Council has arranged for 13 representatives from the legal profession and insurance industry, including the Law Society, to commence work on setting fees for all road traffic personal injury cases and employer’s liability, public liability and housing cases worth up to £25,000. If successful the agreed fee levels will be included in Jackson LJ’s final report which will also set out a timetable and procedure for finalising figures for other categories of case. Unsurprisingly, APIL does not support the further extension of fixed costs while FOIL says that even if Jackson achieved nothing else, this would be a big step forward.