Top judges last week defended solicitors over allegations from the influential constitutional affairs select committee that they have helped to create a 'compensation culture' and driven up costs.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, denied that there was a 'compensation culture' in the UK, pointing out that there had been an overall 5% drop in personal injury claims over the last year.


In response to complaints about disproportionate costs that outweighed claimants' damages, Lord Phillips argued that defendants now had sufficient mechanisms to challenge extortionate success fees and other anomalies through the courts. He insisted: 'Solicitors are simply not allowed to run up enormous bills.'


Senior Costs Judge Peter Hurst hit back at suggestions that there should be more cost-capping where fees exceed damages, saying it is often difficult for lawyers to predict the chances of success when they initially sign a client up to a conditional fee agreement (CFA).


Lord Phillips was also asked whether removing legal aid in favour of CFAs in personal injury cases had led to a slump in claims and an erosion of access to justice. '[The changes] don't seem to have resulted in an increase or a significant decrease in claims, but they do mean you need a good claim to ensure success,' he said.


Judge David Oldham, on behalf of the Association of District Judges, told the committee he had seen many cases where 'disproportionate' costs had amounted to twice the price of the claim, but said there was little judges could do about it.