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I cannot help but see this as one of those cases where Judges who have come from the Bar do not understand how litigation actually works and assume that the role played by solicitors is irrelevant.

Disclosure - Nobody really expects a smoking gun. What disclosure does is (a) let the lawyers discover the facts, and (b) keep the witnesses honest. Assessing quantum on a commercial matter without being able pore through the other side's books and correspondence with suppliers is often impossible.

Cross-examination - The value of cross-examination is not in what comes out on the stand. It is that the fear of cross-examination makes witnesses really check their statements. A witness who is not at risk of being cross-examined will often just write from memory and give testimony that is heavily flavoured by the subsequent arguments. Make them aware that they might be cross-examined and they will pore over the correspondence file to make sure that their evidence is spot on.

Just because it does not help the Judge does not mean that it is not important for justice.