Dispute resolution is changing for many reasons. The Woolf reforms are designed to achieve early settlements without trials. There is a dramatic increase in mediation and other forms of dispute resolution. There is much more written advocacy and, for City firms in particular, international disputes are submitted to arbitration where long hearings and extensive cross-examination of witnesses are actively discouraged. Advocacy is changing for barristers and solicitors.
Solicitors were first given rights of audience in the higher courts under the Courts and Legal Services Act in 1990. Qualification under the old regime was a complex procedure and only a few solicitors managed to obtain their higher rights. They had to show significant numbers of hours of advocacy experience, undertake a difficult test and spend two weekends on an advocacy course, unless they were exempted from these requirements on the basis of appropriate experience.
