After years of preparation, the Woolf reforms – likened by Lord Woolf himself to the Stock Exchange 'Big Bang' of the 1980s – have finally arrived.
Tomorrow (Friday), the courts will close for a day to allow staff and judges to prepare for the big day on Monday (26 April).
Many lawyers are predicting a rush of cases caused by plaintiffs who have waited for the changes to be introduced. But a Lord Chancellor's Department spokesman said there was no evidence that this would happen. "The courts are prepared for the reforms and all that is entailed," he said.
But Martin Bruffel, the president of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers, said: "It will be interesting to see whether the apocalyptic predictions of a rush of claims will hold true.
"It is believed that plaintiff firms may flood insurance companies with claims for tactical advantage and my concern is that defendant insurers will be placed in a position where they are unable to deal with the influx of work."
Beachcroft Stanleys litigation partner Anthony Cherry added: "In theory the profession is pretty well prepared, but no-one can know how it will work in practice."
Bar Council spokesperson John McCleod added: "This is not the end – just the beginning of change."