Business Context
The England and Wales Part 7 Proceedings Accelerator is designed to accelerate the configuration of Part 7 litigation by providing a package containing:
- Design documents that can be used to define requirements with your stakeholders.
- Process maps that can be used to facilitate process design workshops.
- ShareDo configuration samples, including work types, workflows, personas, portals, reports, and forms.
The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) set out the procedural code and requirements for dealing with court cases in England and Wales, including requirements for pre-litigation (pre-action protocols), issuing and litigation management. Not all cases reach litigation; however, where there is a dispute over facts, the majority of civil claims that litigate will follow the Part 7 procedure. Part 7 proceedings refer to the procedures for initiating and managing claims in the civil courts under the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). These rules outline the process for handling most civil cases, providing a framework for fairness and efficiency.
The Part 7 Proceedings accelerator encompasses both ‘Raise’ (claimant) and ‘Respond’ (defendant) routes of litigation, with sub-types for the respective sides. Where there are common elements such as key dates, processes, etc., the configuration is built at the Part 7 level (to leverage the inheritance model and remove the need for duplication or unwanted variation).
During the lifecycle of a Part 7 litigated case, there will be key phases, with slight variance in the initial steps to raise or respond to the proceedings.
Raising proceedings specific:
- Issuing (drafting/filing/serving proceedings and receipt of the AoS/Defence).
- Default Judgment (if applicable).
Responding to proceedings specific:
- Issued proceedings (receipt and review of proceedings).
- AoS/Defence (drafting/filing/serving AoS/Defence).
Common proceedings phases:
- DQ (drafting/filing/serving the Directions Questionnaire).
- Disclosure/Exchange (preparing for and drafting/filing/serving documents, reports, evidence, etc. based on court directions)
- Pre Trial (preparation for trial/final hearing).
- Trial (attendance at and outcomes from the trial/final hearing).
- Discontinue (with slight variation based on which side discontinues proceedings).
To continue delivering a best-in-class service to clients and internally whilst ensuring compliance and maximising efficiency the Part 7 solution accelerator aims to:
- Assist the case handler/case team in complying with court directions (instructions and deadlines).
- Drive efficiencies through streamlined micro-processes for common activities such as instructing experts or counsel.
- Streamline data capture of litigation-related information to drive consistency in data capture and reporting and enable intelligent workflow. automation based on relevant variables such as track type or method litigation.
- Track the key dates associated with the litigation ensuring that deadlines are not missed.
Solution Components
The following diagram illustrates the overall solution components for the Part 7 Solution Accelerator.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Client's Statement of Work and Contracts |
In ShareDo, matters (and indeed instructions) are performed under the control of a Statement of Work (SoW). The (SoW) will define for a given set of parameters such as:
The security or processing teams – who is allowed access to the matters under a statement of work. Note: Where proceedings are performed under an existing matter, the variables should be included in the parent matter's SoW. |
| Matters | Typically, within ShareDo, various matters are performed for both claimants and defendants. These matters can trigger related litigation containers at key points within their lifecycle. |
| Claimants | In some circumstances, defendant cases may require data capture, reserving, date tracking, etc., at claimant level. In this scenario, a child work type for each claimant could be used. |
| Instructions |
Instructions (also referred to as lead/enquiries) are the primary container for processing inbound instructions. Just like any other item of work in ShareDo, they can be specialised to meet specific processing requirements. Using instructions, you can model the different data and processing requirements for different case types. Once an instruction has been validated/approved, it is then converted to a matter. |
| Proceedings – Part 7 | ShareDo provides this specialist work type for litigation; the proceedings modeller can be used to configure litigation for different court procedures, tracks and jurisdictions. |
| Task and Activities |
ShareDo provides a number of core task building blocks out of the box. Examples include document automation, contact (email, Fax, SMS), appointments, telephone calls, and the like. Similar to all other work types, these can be extended for specific processing needs, such as to extend the data capture that is required. |
| Workflows |
In ShareDo workflows can be as automated or assistive as you like. They can simply guide users or aim to replace case handlers as is appropriate for your work management style. There will be a variety of Part 7 litigation-specific workflows running for both raise and respond proceedings (see below). |
Related Accelerators
ShareDo's accelerators are designed to be componentised, with common accelerators being referenced by other accelerators. The Part 7 Proceedings Solution accelerator should be implemented with reference to the following accelerators.
| Solution Accelerator | Description |
|---|---|
| Offers | Describes processes for making or receiving offers. |
| Part 8 | Management of Part 8 proceedings. *currently in design |
| Disputes – Defendant | Matter type (which will have sub-matter types and variations) under which proceedings are responded to. |
| Dispute - Claimant | Matter type (which will have sub-matter types and variations) under which proceedings are raised. |
Solution Highlights
The following table lists some of the highlights of the solution from the Part 7 Accelerator.
| Highlight | Description |
|---|---|
| Key Date management |
Adhering to deadlines is crucial in Part 7 proceedings, missing a deadline can result in adverse outcomes, such as
|
| Management of Hearings | ShareDo allows you to record and manage multiple hearings during the litigation lifecycle. Automated workflows can tailor the handling approach based on the type of hearing, such as preparing pre/post-hearing reports and notifications to clients and other parties. Data quality rules can also be applied to ensure the capture of valuable data regarding outcomes and court orders. 
|
| Adaptable handling approach |
Parties are encouraged to settle disputes out of court when possible and appropriate, using alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation or negotiation. These can be managed alongside this accelerator. Different practice areas and types of users often require different approaches to the level of automation when managing litigation. Higher-volume matter types may benefit from a more prescriptive approach to managing litigation, using integrated workflows to walk the handler through the litigation procedures. Whereas lower-volume or more complex areas may prefer a more assistive approach, utilising the key dates tracking and micro processes as and when needed. These approaches can be easily configured in ShareDo and applied appropriately based on the matter type, avoiding the need for a one-size-fits-all methodology. |
| Micro processes | Some activities can occur at different stages of litigation or be needed multiple times; for these ‘common’ standalone processes, users can run micro-processes. See below for a list of micro-processes (workflows) included in the Part 7 accelerator. |
| Litigation SLAs/ Processing Variables | There are invariably different ways of handling litigation, often varying based on the matter type and client requirements. The litigation variables form assists in automating these by recording them on the Statement of Work (SoW) and then referencing them in the relevant workflows. If or when requirements change, they can be changed on the SoW without the need for configuration. 
|
Solution Workflows
The following table lists some of the pre-configured starter workflows that are available in the Debt Recovery accelerator. These can then be extended to meet your needs – see the following article to understand workflow automation in ShareDo.
| Workflow | Description |
|---|---|
| Common Workflows | |
| Calculate Key Date | Automated calculation of the AoS and Defence key date due dates. |
| Allocation & Directions (DQ) | Manages the drafting/filing/serving of the DQ and draft directions. On receipt of directions, capture the direction due dates, hearing details, etc. |
| Disclosure |
Manages the drafting/filing/serving of the list of documents and the potential request for inspection of documents by the opponent. Includes parallel processes for awaiting the opponent’s list of documents, disclosed document review and optional request to inspect their documents. |
| Exchange (Expert Report) | Manages the drafting/filing/serving of the exchange of expert reports and a parallel reminder for awaiting the opponent’s exchange. |
| Exchange (Witness Statements) | Manages the drafting/filing/serving of the exchange of witness statements, and a parallel reminder for awaiting the opponent’s exchange. |
| Pre-Trial | Manages the pre-trial preparation activities, such as confirming attendance, preparing the trial bundle, and drafting/filing/serving the pre-trial checklist. |
| Hearing/Trial Reports | If pre-trial/hearing reports are required for internal purposes or for external/client requirements, the workflow creates tasks for the handler to draft the relevant reports ahead of the hearing date. |
| Trial | At the conclusion of a trial, the workflow creates a task for the handler to capture the trial outcome and prompts any appropriate follow-on activities, such as notifying the client, recording court orders, or expressing payment expectations. |
| Raise Workflows | |
| Issue | Manages the drafting/filing/serving of the claim form and particulars of claim, accounting for who needs to sign the claim form. The workflow also assesses the method of issue (portal or paper) and routes the handler accordingly. |
| Court Issue Fee | The workflow evaluates the value of the claim and calculates the appropriate court issue fee, and if wanted automatically adds the disbursement amount to the costs & disb budget. |
| Default Judgment | Based on the method of issue (paper, DCP, OCMC), the workflow generates the relevant court form (specified/unspecified amount) for the handler to review and file; once the outcome is recorded by the handler, the workflow will then transition to the relevant stage/activity. |
| Receive AoS | The workflow automatically creates a document expectation for the handler based on the AoS due date, from which the handler can record receipt or transition to default judgment if appropriate. |
| Receive Defence |
The workflow automatically creates a document expectation for the handler, based on the defence due date, from which the handler can record receipt of the defence or transition to default judgment if appropriate. On receipt of the defence, the handler can choose to do a reply to defence, and set the DQ due date. |
| Discontinue | Manages the process for drafting/filing/serving the notice of discontinuance, and notifying relevant parties. |
| Respond Workflows | |
| Receive Proceedings | On receipt of proceedings, this workflow creates a task for the handler to review the claim form and particulars of claim, update the reserves, and decide on the next steps (e.g. take instruction, make counterclaim, application to set aside, draft AoS). |
| Draft AoS | Manages the drafting/filing/serving of the AoS. |
| Draft Defence | Manages the drafting/filing/serving of the defence. |
| Proceedings Discontinued | On receipt of the notice of discontinuance, the workflow will create a task for the handler to review, update the litigation information and notify participants as required. |
| Micro Process Workflows | |
| Instruct Counsel | Process for sending an instruction to counsel and tracking their response, and if required instructing alternative counsel. |
| Instruct Expert | Process for sending an instruction to an expert and tracking their response, and if required instructing alternative an expert. |
| Skeleton Argument | Process for drafting/filing/serving a skeleton argument. |