Lord Justice Jackson has many talents, but slick salesmanship doesn’t immediately seem to be one of them. He ended a talk at the London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association with a very downbeat plug for his new book The Reform of Civil Litigation. ‘I wrote a wretched little paperback book,’ he began. ‘To my horror, it’s going on sale for the high price of £79.’

‘I would not pay that,’ he continued, mentioning that he had negotiated a 15% discount for association members. 

‘I would feel much easier if you do not pay the full price,’  he repeated. And if he hadn’t sold it enough already, he added: ‘I did not write it for fun. I found it a huge chore, to sit down and go through all this stuff again. My apologies for what looks like a hard sell. Save yourself some money if you’re going to buy the wretched thing anyway.’

But now Obiter comes to think of it, Jackson has just earned himself a free mention in the Gazette. Perhaps he’ll apply the same canny skills to promoting the findings of his review into fixed recoverable costs.

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