In yet another effort to curb the costs and delays involved in litigation, the Attorney-General announced that the Civil Dispute Resolution Bill will implement key recommendations made by the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council (NADRAC) in its November 2009 report, The Resolve to Resolve: Embracing ADR to improve access to justice in the federal jurisdiction (the report). Although the precise content of the Bill has not yet been made public, the report gives some guidance on the sorts of measures likely to be included in the Bill. Cynics of reform however point out that there have been many attempts in the past to make the justice system more quick, cheap and efficient and that they have continuously filed to achieve the outcome by simply adding to the expense of litigation through the extension of the number of boxes which lawyers need to tick before they can initiate litigation. It in some respects also increases the risks that litigants face by abandoning litigation because of concerns about the enormous cost involved. The report by Ronald Sackville in the latter part of the twentieth century concluded that lawyers fees were one of the key elements making the legal system more and more inaccessible to ordinary citizens and this this trend must be curbed in order to ensure that ordinary people would still have access to justice in Australia.

However, looking back on the time intervening since the reforms were suggested there have been many attempts but few successes. The experience of most people who are the clients of law firms is that that the situation is getting worse and that legal costs are getting higher. Compared to inflation, however, legal costs do not actually appear to be going up proportionally to other elements of the cost of living. Although it is now true that many individuals do not factor legal costs into the costs of living because it is so expensive and there is no system of legal costs insurance as there is with medical bills. In any event law appears to be set on another attempt to reform itself and become more efficient.

Obviously being sued is not a pleasant experience for anyone. However, if you are in business or if you are in any long term relationship or if one of your relatives has died, you will most likely come into contact with litigation at some point in your life. The law and the court system exists to protect everyone’s rights but sometimes it doesn’t quite work out like that in practice. Especially in the context of the modern legal system, there is a great weakness in the system results in a power imbalance against those with no representation or legal resources. Also, many of the litigants in the modern legal system are not legally represented which is a great disadvantage in the process of any litigation because it means that the person fighting the claim must themselves become engaged in the legal process and attending to the details of drafting documents, serving them, appearing in court and conducting their own administration of the case.

How do I know if I have been sued?

Normally, when a legal action is commenced, a document called a statement of claim, a summons, or an originating process is served on you. If you have been given a document which appears to originate from court or has the format of a court document, this means that you have been served. The first document that you receive when you are being sued is normally supposed to disclose a cause of action and if it doesn’t disclose a cause of action then it can be struck out. You may need to look at filing a defence, making a request further and better particulars, or using some of the other responses that are allowed to you as a defendant by the civil litigation process. If you have been arrested and subsequently charged with a crime but then allowed to post bail bonds with the help of your bail bondsman agent, you will then receive a summons to attend court for a charge to be heard.

What do I do if I have been sued?

Obviously the first step is to get legal advice on whether or not you need to defend the claim, admit the claim, get more information about the claim, or give a request a further and better particulars. Having the assistance of a trained professional with experience in the type of matter that you are dealing with is of enormous value and can easily mean winning or losing the case. A professional may also assist you look for bail bonds services if your financial situation is too strained to pay your bail. You should also try to collect any documentation which you have relating to the claim that can be used as evidence for or against you. this will allow your lawyer to assess the strength of the claim and to give you an accurate picture of your position which in the long run is the cheapest way of resolving the dispute.