Resources
Short explainers on areas that come up often in civil practice, written for clients and for solicitors instructing on a matter for the first time. Each one is a PDF you can download and keep.
These are general information about how the law works, not legal advice. What actually applies to a dispute depends on its particular facts — get in touch to discuss a matter.
-
Summary judgment in the High Court
How the summary judgment procedure under Part 12 of the High Court Rules works, for a plaintiff saying the defendant has no defence and for a defendant saying the claim cannot succeed — the test, the evidence and timetable, the Court's residual discretion, costs, and appeal or review of an Associate Judge's decision. It also sets out where the procedure tends to work, typically documented claims turning on construction rather than fact, and where it tends to be an expensive detour, such as disputes over an alleged oral agreement or where fraud, credibility, or a connected counterclaim is in issue.
-
New High Court Rules
A detailed summary of the amendments to the High Court Rules that came into force on 1 January 2026.
-
Making an insurance claim
How an insurance claim is made and assessed, what an insurer is entitled to ask for, and the options when a claim is declined or the settlement offered falls short of the loss.
-
Relationship property and business assets
How relationship property claims work where the assets include a business, shares, or a trust, and the valuation and tracing questions that usually decide them.
-
What to expect in civil litigation
The shape of a civil proceeding from first letter to judgment — pleadings, discovery, evidence, mediation, and trial — with a realistic view of the time, cost, and costs exposure involved at each stage.