Top judge suggests using Skype to cut costs

Giving his first speech after taking up the new post, Lord Thomas spoke warmly of using lawyers outside the English capital. According to the Guardian, he said in a speech to lawyers at Gray's Inn: 'In the age of the internet, of teleconferences, Skype and FaceTime there is no reason why a litigant should not, or could not, properly instruct a lawyer from outside London to work for them at a cost significantly  less than in London but with equality quality experience.' The theme was developed throughout the speech. For instance, he added: 'As lawyers out of London charge less and provision of court accommodation is cheaper, litigation costs are less.'