Under new Government proposals the amount of fees that solicitors can charge for successful libel cases on a no-win, no-fee basis will dramatically be reduced from April this year. The move is designed to deal with the soaring costs of defamation actions. From April the maximum success fee rate will be capped at 10% thus redressing the balance between the freedoms of journalists and publishers against lawyer fees. This news story highlights forthcoming changes to the law of defamation for institutions as part of a Government drive to bring it in line with modern society. More details on this news from the Outlaw website at: http://www.out-law.com/page-10809. Alternatively, you may wish to refer to our Law Watch feature for more details on the wider reform available at:
http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ManageContent/ViewDetail/tabid/243/ID/1133/Defamation-on-the-Internet--Consultation-16092009.aspx.
(09/03/10)