Prior to the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) in April 1999, a commercial litigator was not worth his fees unless he sent the most robust seven-day letter demanding payment on behalf of his client, threatening the prospective defendant with the service of proceedings without further notice should his demands not be met. The mere suggestion from a lawyer to his client that perhaps the parties should meet and explore the possibility of settlement could result in his retainer being terminated, with the client taking the view that he needed somebody tougher to act on his behalf.
These days, the lawyer’s practice is no longer to shoot first and talk later. Lawyers can now quite reasonably suggest to their client that it is sensible to see whether the other side might meet in order to discuss the matter. Furthermore, these proposals are normally met with a positive response, and if a meeting does take place it is usually against the background of a genuine attempt to settle the case, with parties exchanging views on a ‘without prejudice’ basis.
